Spartancrest

Hi Zac, beautiful authentic piece, age is pretty much correct, so in excess of 200 years and counting. Multiple metals used in the inlay, the birds black colour as well as the filled hitsu-ana is shakudo an alloy of copper and gold. The pine trees in sentoku [brass]? I don't see much silver but it could be there? I do like the box with the hand typed message even with the confusion of the +/t If I were you I would keep hold of it

From an old Japanese book https://www.jauce.com/auction/w1188787484 Tsuba Oshigata Horii Nagaoka Akasaka Tsuba 5 volumes Approximately 800 drawings

These five other examples don't show any marks on the blank faces - perhaps the cuts were made as a "key" to re-attach the face - which once again failed? Your example is the only one I have seen with that feature. I wouldn't worry about the signature too much they tended to vary a lot and are all gimei anyway. You are correct that there are several variation in design I have found one with an iron face - integral or added I don't know.

In Japanese art there is a tradition of "utsushi" which translates as homage or emulation at its basic level. Popular designs were done over and over again but generally not as direct copies but as the new artists interpretation of the original design - at least in the best case senario. Copies have been made, some as "practice" by students/apprentices others as outright forgeries aimed at deceit. Yes there are also cast copies made in large numbers but these would not be called utsushi as they do not celebrate the art and are more about making fast money. From what I have seen almost every school of tsuba artist has had followers who make utsushi of their school or other schools master works. I would not be surprised if on some rare occasions some buyers might put in a request for some change or enhancement, there are rare signatures where the maker has included "made to the order of ... " Some schools were almost production lines producing the same pattern over and over again just to keep up with demand Kinai school was well known for it.

Tell the French company that is selling it.

Yeah that would explain a lot!

Hi Gran, welcome. https://world-seiyudo.com/product/tu-040525/ https://www.seiyudo.com/tu-040525.htm a Daigoro here as Mauro has said - it is much thinner work and perhaps more effeminate [No offence to the Samurai spirit ] From a Bonhams auction eight years ago - the site is no longer active. This one also has a silver fukurin - Sorry but these images are very small. https://blog.goo.ne.jp/tsuba_001/e/230a24e205e0cc960a170e796b26dc8f a Kyo-sukashi version https://nipponto-ken.fr/Chap8 Typologie Detaillee9.html Lets add a little gold. https://www.tessier-sarrou.com/en/lot/22961/5002947-japon-debut-epoque-edo-1603-1868-maru-gata-en-fer-a-decor?search=& supper fine gold work currently for sale https://www.samuraimuseum.jp/shop/product/antique-tsuba-for-samurai-sword-t-623/ I tend to like your's more than all these!

https://de.aliexpress.com/i/1005003232133421.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2deu cast iron would be better than this zinc alloy one [but not by much ]

Some auction houses do pull these fakes, I have sent messages to some in the past. I have real doubts though that the auctions will pull the lots after they have already received bids.

There are so many of these I can't say it is the same piece, but I wish there was some way to warn the bidders off! 600 euro so far - why don't these buyers do a little image search before they put in a bid? https://item.rakuten.co.jp/shicmx/xtong02/ and they can have this piece of crap for just 30 euro! That would leave them plenty of cash to waste on the next piece of crap they didn't bother to check out! I seriously thought there was a worldwide monetary crisis, yet some people can really get stuck-in, throwing their money away. Good luck with the "investment portfolio" - when it comes time to launch these back on the market, but I guess people aren't actually getting smarter, when their phones do all the thinking.

Do the papers mention who does the assessment - the actual person? If people had that information they might boycott that inspectors opinion. Who gets to judge the judges? Is there a test these people have to pass in order to make these "informed" opinions and are they ranked in any way? Clearly if someone is paying for these papers they could/should get their money back.

Mainly using a bone awl to remove the rust and rubbing with a soft cotton cloth - nothing drastic as I don't want to damage the fine inlay. The brief answer is "elbow grease".

Update on the beautiful butterfly and vine tsuba. There is the remains of a signature there - it was well hidden under the rust. Any ideas?

This may not fit in with this thread - but when did the NBTHK start certifying mass produced tsuba? First off, I have no idea if the papers are "real" I can't read kanji but I recognise a mass produced "shippo" design that turns up in the thousands. https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1188041144 "Traditional Nagasaki" Early Edo Period Butterfly and Peony Design. A rare original Shippou Tsuba" REALLY! see: https://www.katanacenter.com/316 Tsuba couple Daisho enamel.html this company clearly states "First half of the Shōwa era 昭和" The incredibly "rare" ebay examples https://www.ebay.com/itm/316158776912 https://www.ebay.com/itm/396607088190 https://www.ebay.com/itm/286198233512 Even more "rare" from Japan - https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u1055807796 https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n1186861675 and buy in bulk https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h1136698250 These are endless, mass produced - but hey, the papers are what people want to see. Papers separate the fool from his money.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/p1187563804 - looks like an unsigned one?