Steves87

hi Colin, Jean could very well be correct, there are quite a few Soten/Hikone Tsuba that were done this way. Quite often one will pop up for auction that is just the base casting - no added inlay/zogan, they are mostly complete, just missing the alternate metal faces. A typical example of this is the soten grazing horse theme. I have personal doubts that the mei on these guards were cast in, but that is not for today. I have one a guard with a theme that I believe is similar to your example. Although I have no confirmation, I believe it could depict poet Li Bai, who derived inspiration while sighting a waterfall.

There is a guard in Grev's Birmingham I believe is also related to these devil guards

Good thread, I've never considered a cat theme for Tsuba. Not quite as rare as fire themed Tsuba though!

That looks like Paul Southren from SBG

And this one too

Ooh! I have one to share that I really like

yep, since the first day I started collecting Roger. In some cases, you can literally buy a "sub-par" Tsuba which comes with a free box, for less than you can buy an empty box!! And I must admit, I have done this in the past. Generally speaking about boxes, Japanese Kiri boxes are top quality, even the lesser ones are still above average. When you add in cushioning, there is a warranted reason for the (reasonable) cost. I am a bit of a self-confessed box enthusiast; I collect, refurbish and sell carved wooden boxes/chests and I have seen so much differing quality and construction over the years.

Barry, was the coincidental placement of the two Tsuba (onto the table), synchronous? then that would cover both cases!

yep, that was the one, no problems, I misunderstood!

you are lucky you got it, I was going to bid on that the week before (something else came up), then I was going to bid and I saw there was another bid already, so I left it. congratulations! a nice cheap pick-up

yep, that is a good practice to get into. Not sure how critical it is for iron guards, but any of the softer metals/alloys, it is important. Just in the last couple of weeks while searching, enough cases have appeared to know that it is a problem.

There are a few leather ones out there, but this one is by far, the best of them. Most of comparable age are in very bad condition, and none are of a quality that can compete with this one.

The other issue for collectors is exchange rate. A 75usd Tsuba is actually about 130aud for me after paypal adds their cut and that's not including local taxes and the post covid shipping rates of 35-75aud on top. Bidding against someone who's primary currency is USD is almost impossible these days. The cheap bargains are a life saver

Dale, I think that seller's tape measure is older than a lot of the Tsuba we see on this forum

Reverse side

As promised and with a massive thank you to Dale (would not have happened without him) here are the two! I think they are a perfect difference in overall size?

I followed back, great shots!

Great, I'll keep an eye out for you, do you post your Tsuba there? Im in a similar boat, I usually look at timber carvings there. My user name is tachikaze350 if you see me follow at some point

I generally suffer from bad timing syndrome, I really must thank Dale a thousand times over for the opportunity! It really is a popular theme, didn't think so before this thread though! I'll post both together soon, all things going well

Great collection! I vote for the bottom left (as orientated on screen)

Nice shot David, are you on instagram?

That is excellent, thank you for sharing. I also want to add how very rare it is to see depictions of fire on Tosogu. I have not seen it depicted as finely as this.

That looks great Marcos, congratulations! My Iaito has modern reproduction menuki (which I specifically requested). TSUBA is a great theme, as well as an item!

I have a pic like that ! This is approximately 14 months wear from dojo use. The material is magnetic and was advertised as iron.

according to a post by Hristo Tenev on the facebook post, the translation is "the sound of the mountain is high"