Spartancrest

These reproductions seem to be very numerous, they come in various colours and the quality of the casting varies - but they are not genuine tsuba. https://www.jauce.com/auction/n491403321 It is very common for the facial features to be worn away due to the soft metal alloys used. This last example is a handmade utsushi , you may note there is no signature, but the detailing and hand carving is evident.

I agree with Björn, a museum defacing an art work with a permanent stamped in number? Any ideas on which museum would do that? There are numerous examples of painted on catalogue numbers, but paint can be removed. Also how did a museum piece get on the open market? [I know the Metropolitan Museum of Art sold off a large number of excellent tosogu back in March 2006, but none of their items were marked in this way]

I was looking through my books on the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford and found they have a guard by Namitoshi EA1956.2061 almost identical to Tony's original post. https://collections.ashmolean.org/object/367338

Mauro, thanks for that information. I don't think it will stay at a low price for long - my budget is empty as well! Isn't it always the way when a bargain comes along, you still don't have the money,

This guard has just been listed for sale - what are your thoughts? https://www.jauce.com/auction/l659192492

Jean how is your Swedish? Bjorn is doing well enough with his translations to get his message out. Bjorn the tsuba looks in overall good shape you can remove the rust with bone, antler or ivory [old piano key] if the colour worries you a relatively easy method is to heat the iron just enough to be too hot to hold in the hand and using a soft cotton cloth rub gently - now if you want chemicals use some saliva on the cloth, The ptyalin in the saliva reacts with the metal to darken the iron - its natural always with you and causes no harm. I am also sure that the Japanese likely used the same technique but it's not talked about [you know tsuba has at least three meanings? Guard, Brim and Saliva - there is probably a clue there.] The fuchi would likely match a tsuba featuring a honeypot like these from the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences [Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Australia] (A5308-58) (A5308--111)

Similar design listed as Owari https://richardturner.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/owari-sukashi-tsuba-尾張透鍔-2/ Also this one is listed as owari http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/?page=tsubaI_tsuba Itomaki Karakusa tsuba unsigned Koshoami vertical 82.4 mm http://fluorite.sakura.ne.jp/contentspage/kodougu/009_warabite_inome/009.html https://www.barnebys.com/auctions/lot/iron-tsuba-katana-sized-mgj156-rbvn5n0-kz [I managed to find the image, which is no longer available] "Iron Tsuba, Katana sized. Sukashi Tsuba possibly Owari School. Tsuba shows evidence of rusting over the centuries, but still has pleasing appearance." It would appear that the majority of sites believe these designs are Owari in origin with only one example being described as Ko-Shoami.

Dealers often stretch the imagination when describing their items, but this auction is really stretching the truth ! https://auctions.roseberys.co.uk/m/lot-details/index/catalog/549/lot/170319

There is a guard by Inshu no ju Naomitsu [Naomitsu of Inaba Province] in the Brooklyn Museum of the same general type - taken just a little more to extreme. The Brooklyn Museum only has B&W images. Stephen the seppa-dai looks like it has obliterated a signature in your example?

School utsushi - like the many Kinai school examples? Those two examples are close but as you say not the same. That is a good trick to flick from one image to another- would come in handy very often detecting mass produced copies.

There is one here at catawiki https://www.catawiki.com/l/21380241-iron-tsuba-signed-kofu-ju-namitoshi-gold-inlay-Japan-19th-century It has a little more gold highlights. [ I have lightened the image so the mei is a little clearer, still difficult to read] The rim also has gold overlay. It is in fact the same tsuba as number 9. in the post by Andrey E. above. There is another in the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences [Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Australia] Similar flower theme but the mei looks to be from another hand. A5308-31 Also one in the Ashmolean Museum [Jameel centre] http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/8/object/20284 I am no expert on mei and the signatures may well be by different people but the style of work is the same.

The auction site translates the 'signature' as 正保 = Shōhō I don't know of a smith or tsuba-ko with that name but Shōhō (正保) was a Japanese era name after Kan'ei and before Keian. This period spanned the years from December 1644 through February 1648. [I cannot see this tsuba being made within 300 years of those dates]

Tony, no fakes at least, the last one is badly corroded, could even be a battlefield find? The fourth is 'Hot stamped' Tembo [also called Tenbo & Tempo, depends on how you want to spell it ] as Barry has suggested.The carved landscape with gold highlights [2] reminds me of a Umetada that I have seen but it could be Shoami school it has a badly damaged 'mei' maybe someone else could try to read. Number 3 could well be Akasaka or even Owari , there is some overlap in these two schools, see the designs in the image. All of your guards could do with a good clean, nothing harsh, maybe boiled in clean water for a few minutes and a soft cotton wipe down till absolutely dry. There is a huge following of tsuba collectors on NMB and many specialist areas you can draw from.

Not close enough I think.

This Mekugi looks like the same chevron shape https://www.jauce.com/auction/u421938794

That original Chinese fake - https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/A-Japanese-signed-tsuba/1293649-japanese_signed-21.2.21-bukowski - they want somewhere near €250 ($285 USD)

Samurai stealth -

Well the black tiger was cheap [and nasty] but what the hell I bought it for 1,000 yen just to see what was under that paint. What I found is a construction technique I haven't seen before. While the core of the 'item' is Lead or alloy composed mainly of lead, the outer layer is a gold coloured thin foil. This foil is harder and of a higher melting point than the base metal so I am wondering how this would be applied without melting the base material? Does electroplating work on lead? I had the thing for five minutes before removing the ridiculous black paint. Please no sympathy notes - it was just curiosity, not ignorance of it's true nature.

As an up-date the example from Jauce - https://www.jauce.com/auction/q429219730 - took someone to the cleaners for 25,555 yen or close to $250 USD. + Fees.

Pietro, I think it is not meant to make sense, it is meant to deceive. 侏 Mijika = in English means 'Actor'

Robert if you see ten that look the same - run. The Chinese fakes are everywhere. You just don't get signatures like that on a real tsuba. This one is also up for auction - any idea of the mei? https://www.jauce.com/auction/r443391065 It looks very modern. The design is by Goto hokyo Ichijo who may have used a woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada for inspiration. Goto Ichijo's original design below. The proportions are way off in the copy above. These steel reproductions are closer to the correct proportions, these were factory made in large numbers and in other various metals, all are the same rounded shape rather than the subtle mokko of the Goto original. They also lack any celestial body rising on the horizon, [There is at least one example with a silver 'moon' in place of the sun] So what do we make of the first example currently up for auction?

Geraint you are certainly right, one on it's own is a maybe - three all with the same imprints around the nakago-ana that is definitely a series of fakes, darn good fakes at that. What are the chances though that they all turn up on the same week? The small amounts of 'gilding' are not identical so they are three individual pieces, not doubling up as sometimes happens when a dealer sells on two sites at once. Is it worth telling Diamyou54eb that he is selling a fake?

WWII Armory marks.

It loses a lot in translation

So what you are saying is I should stop torturing the mailman? What do I do with him now?