Spartancrest

I think the Jittoku is fairly late Edo, it doesn't appear to have been mounted [I could be wrong] Have you noticed the 'Fuji-san" likeness to Jittoku's head? I wonder if this is deliberate or just a coincidence? I have blurred his features to show the shape better.

Yes we were supposed to have "paper free" offices by now as well - where did that go wrong! PS. Where is my personal robot and flying car - fifty years and still waiting! - "They lie to the fishes" favourite quote from "Falling Down"

Darren tells me it is made of resin - very convincing iron look though!

A stand that adds a bit more style - excellent workmanship. Rising star!

Same design as this [but not as good! ] Matching paperweight - https://www.jauce.com/auction/1081919825

Still works - it is a very recognizable image. This guard by Goto Hokyo Ichijo 1791-1876 has the same orientation as yours does. It must all depend on where you are looking from? But the design does fit better having the small rock on the left.

Me too! I have six of these "Beauties of the Floating World" - my camera just ran out of batteries #*#*#! Added one like this single example decorating a wall in our "Granny flat" I had to find a similar image on the net since my camera wants to play up! #### Did you notice the Kunisada image has the taller rock on the opposite side to the one on your guard? One image must have gotten mirror reversed at some stage?

Bookends https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1085576207

this could very easily be the number 3 copy! https://www.jauce.com/auction/m1085360736 The patina is off and the sekigane look like part of the body, not an added feature as does the ategane. Someone will not be happy when they get it!

What is advertised is not what you get! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/314449795999 Antique Edo Kumihimo Obijime Goto Goto it is not! Try Kinai? With the accessory of the obi it is still cheaper than without it! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/354617105984

You never see a happy Shachi - what got them so upset!

Yes watching it go past my play money limit!

I could not help noticing this dragon 'tsuba' - https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1085765929 or https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/s1085765929 I am sure it will attract some attention and is reasonably convincing. However it is one of four designs put out by the Hachette model company of Japan [this is issue 1] - sort of "buy one every week/month and build the entire set". It has become an item taken out of its original context once it has been removed from it's box. The original premise was that collectors could accumulate a large number of replica tsuba and finally house them in a tiered display box. Sales were so poor that the editions were cancelled after four issues. - [There must be a warehouse somewhere with a lot of nice storage boxes gathering dust.] So don't be too surprised if these replicas start to turn up on auctions or for sale. PS. the Hachette company no longer sells the items. I will keep my example in its box - much like Star Wars figures it might actually be worth something if kept that way for the future!

" Takase Yoshitoshi was a talented tsuba maker from the Hitachi Province working as part of the Mito School circa 1800. His pieces can be found in museum collections around the world. See the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, access. no. AK-MAK-1140 for another tsuba signed Takase Yoshitoshi of similar design on loan from the Royal Asian Art Society of the Netherlands. Also, see the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, access. no. 13.2696 for another tsuba by Takase Yoshitoshi featuring crashing waves purchased from Chikami Kiyoomi (1856-1916), former governor of Kagoshima. Cf. R E Haynes, The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists, no.H12191; also see B W Robinson, The Art of the Japanese Sword, p.81, pl.88." He seems to have had a predilection for doing waves as these examples and the fuchi would show. https://collections.mfa.org/objects/13779/tsuba-with-design-of-waves;jsessionid=6BA31578AAD07C41893E94B21D9CADDE Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, access. no. AK-MAK-1140 Also a previous auction with almost the same design as that in the Rijksmuseum. https://www.lotsearch.net/lot/an-impressive-Japanese-shakudo-takase-yoshitoshi-tsuba-54045298

IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Oh that was so yesterday! I need a time stamp for my images. Nice little piece with or without a rim, I can see those bottom curls getting caught on a sleeve though. From a few days ago - watching it! https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1085412988

I saw that one, it has a very complex edge on the rim - nice!

Are we sure they weren't using it as a golf club?

I have copied the entire A.H. Church collection as well as all the other tsuba in the Ashmolean museum [Oxford] and turned that into a four volume book so I can sit up in bed and read and look at the pretty pictures - that was a fun three or four month project. I can't sell the books as the images are still under copyright of the museum - but I sure can use them for research. I did talk to the museum about releasing a book, all profits going to them, but when I pointed out the sales would not make them rich they declined the offer. PM me if you want a bootleg edition

Darrel I was not having a go at you at all. I was merely venting at the fact you can't please everyone. Besides your idea was a good one, why are things like the DVD no longer a viable option? We could all afford them in the Eighties. How far have we really fallen in this digital age. I did have one extra thought, our technology is getting so out of control, how long will it be before you can down-load the coordinates of every museum piece and 3D print your own collection? My goodness what is the future going to be like for counterfeit copies - will the landfill ever keep up!

Sorry it is a very low resolution image.

Vitaly the iron tsuba is beautiful and not so badly damaged as you might think from first impression, well worth 'bringing it back'. There are probably as many recipes for getting rid of rust as there are members on this forum. I would start 'easy' and maybe just boil in water for a few minutes, wipe off, make sure it is dry - you will have a better impression of what needs doing after that. I have seen Dan's example and it works and is not detrimental to the metal. I am sure you will get plenty of other methods and plenty who will say leave it alone - try the doctors creed "do no harm"

Great idea, one that I have seen in the past for a Botanical book [pre-internet] - Convincing publishing houses to do this is near impossible these days. I would have to organise a private print run, like those early editions such as A.H. Church Collection. A print run of two or three hundred books - but I don't have the tens of thousands $ that this would cost. How about a link in the book to a Cloud data base with images? But then again you can always look up the image from the book reference number from the online museum collection and get the high resolution. I think it still works out just as many clicks with the mouse. The next edition I think will be entirely in Braille. - - but this will only upset the blind limbless people, so maybe a talking book? No the deaf people will have a whinge. - - How about not buying any form of book and just imagining the whole subject - everyone will be happy!

There is one big issue I didn't touch on about pdf's - they can be easily copied and traded. That is great for the consumer - not so great for the people who made them. Where is the guarantee that the writers get something back for their efforts? I have given away quiet a few pdf's to many members of this forum and am still happy to do so but it is my choice what and to whom they are given, this is not the case when pdf's are available to buy, some people are very happy to become proxy sellers - easy money in their pocket for no effort. [I make it sound like a big profit making venture but in reality there are no big sums to be made - the profits of seven years selling books would equal less than a single week's wage - you won't get rich.]