Spartancrest

Nice! https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1220501390

This does not exclude you handling it - often! These things were meant to be touched and they often gain more beauty from hand contact. Probably the worst thing to do is just throw them in a drawer. One caveat being if you handle them with dirty/oily hands a wipe with a cotton cloth will stop the dreaded "fingerprint" etching. [After all it is no use having the fingerprint if the owner of it is unknown by the police! ]

A bit of cash needed for this as well! just over $3,000 USD https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/asian-art-furniture/metalwork/antique-Japanese-meiji-period-tsuba-decorated-box-dish-fujii-yoshitoyo/id-f_45586682/ Or if you shop around https://jacksonsantique.co.uk/product/Japanese-komai-style-box-dish-fujii-yoshitoyo/ £1,400.00 which is $1886.92 USD - - It pays to look around!!

https://www.tsukamaki.net/PDF/gary_montgomery01.pdf An amusing story of early tsuba collecting - and why cleaning is not something to undertake without research.

Yes the dirt and muck ADDS to the value - hard to believe but true! [but I did get rid of the chewing gum on one of mine! ]

Aha! Bi-metal consruction

Hi Mark, a very nice guard! The overall design is not uncommon but so far as I know all other examples are in iron so yours is even more unusual. https://varshavskycollection.com/collection/bizen-shoami-sukashi-tsuba-with-a-butterfly-design-early-edo-period/ https://www.flyingtigerantiques.com/ca-1600-large-Japanese-katana-tsuba-of-the-ikeda-clan-mon-form.html https://www.liveauctioneers.com/price-result/bizen-shoami-sukashi-tsuba-with-butterfly-design-a-cut-off/?srsltid=AfmBOoqXf04EdDxx-K4vRdHHHFGXVgEhwJa_3yaSjEVbIdiUzrIZBmu4 Very likely these examples have had the rim removed. MFA Boston https://www.espace4.com/en/collections/marugata-iron-tsuba-butterfly/ https://world-seiyudo.com/product/tu-030522/ Welcome to NMB

We definitely need a drooling emoji 🤤

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26913 All I could afford of Ishiguro Koreyoshi work was this tiny badge. [Ishiguro really liked his pheasants!] One selling now in fact https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g1194727171 or https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1194727171

I hate to say it but some Japanese "treats" can taste very bland or even awful to a European palate. I almost starved in Japan till I found an Indian curry house

Reminds me of Mr Pineapple head

Certain schools fitted kuchi-beni type sekigane as a standard feature [Tanaka - Nara]. "Kuchibeni were also used by masters of other schools - Akasaka, Hoan, Kinko". [ https://en.topwar.ru/152197-legenda-o-cuba-cube-chast-3.html#:~:text=Kuchibeni were also used by,of the kogai-hitsu-ana and kozuka-hitsu-ana. ] I guess it made fitting easier or was a decorative feature for those that collected tsuba without intending to mount them?

Let them eat cake! [chocolate for desert!]

The hidden Christian tsuba brigade are really stretching it: https://www.jauce.com/auction/h1218777130 The fact that there is nothing hidden about the religious nature of this design, plus the fact that it is a cast piece [only designed to be seen on one side at that!] totally negates any idea that it is in anyway real or worth even advertising!

AI - still needs some learning !! AI Overview This is a vintage Chinese cash coin amulet or charm. It features a unique, decorative shape with multiple openings and Chinese characters inscribed on its surface. Type: Amulet or charm, designed in the style of a cash coin. Material: Likely a brass or bronze alloy, showing signs of age and patina. Design: Features a central opening and two side openings, with a loop at the top for suspension. Inscriptions: The characters suggest it might be a commemorative or a general good luck piece.

Back in 2020 https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/33920-mekugi-nuki-ii/ but not in this thread. Miniature tsuba mekugi-nuki it cost me ¥3,000 and here is a "folding" version

late reply - this shows some "extreme" tagane-ato https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/8666/ The tang of the blade would be very thin unless it represented fullers?

Kashira "Key chains" https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1218491451 I think the owls expression is resigned shock! [Can you imagine the damage caused by a set of keys rubbing against these!] Something like these saucers has been seen before: https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1189151587

I do like the quality of the display fabric, very Wabi-sabi or 汚れた雑巾 Kegareta zōkin?

Thank goodness they don't make gold lips or you wouldn't be able to use a straw!

But UGLY goes clear to the bone! - Dorothy Parker

With the price of gold now - I am considering melting down my wedding ring! [Heck, she won't notice!]

Reading a copy of the "Times"?