Matsunoki

True!

I think the issue ripples a bit wider. If UK internal shipping becomes either a total no-go or becomes prohibitively expensive with an independent courier  you can envisage auction houses saying its just not worth the “hassle” or “the negative publicity “…..and simply stop selling all blades. 
Imagine the impact not just on Japanese things but the millions of other blades sitting in collections. 
That could make the arms fairs more popular but it could also go the other way if demand is strangled and they wither and die. 

I try not to think about what this could/will do to the value of any bladed collection….Japanese or otherwise. 

Many congrats. I knew it was a great sword!! Enjoy. 

Entrusting swords to parcelforce within the UK transforms me into a nervous wreck anyway. I’ve had all sorts of problems. Give the potential values involved and the damage to our nervous systems I guess it makes sense to shoulder the responsibility ourselves and maybe either deliver in person or meet halfway. At least the risk is removed….thats a worthwhile result. Of course not so easy in larger countries.

@Spartancrest

Hi Dale, sorry but advising someone to hit it with a hammer is just plain daft and to me very offensive and disrespectful and extremely ill-advised….and deserves to be called out. 
 Had he said something similar on a sword for example the world would come crashing down on him. 

14 minutes ago, Dan tsuba said:

Are we all just “floundering” around

Well you sure as hell are. Just keep your hammer advice to yourself. 

12 hours ago, Dan tsuba said:

Take a hammer to it and see if it breaks!

12 hours ago, Dan tsuba said:

With respect,

I think you meant to say “with no respect”?

why do you think it’s good advice to tell someone to “take a hammer to it” when you haven’t got a clue what it is?

Actually there is something else to say. Imo ability like that cannot be fully taught. At that level it is a gift, a talent that is so rare. A bit like the difference between a good Japanese smith and a genius smith. Something indefinable that sets them apart and no matter how they try, few pupils can ever match them. It is true genius….almost mystical. 
I often look at the best Japanese metalwork and think, how the hell did they do that?

Truly mind boggling. What else can you say?

Russ, I love just about anything well hammered from iron…..your pieces are beautiful. There is something undefinably powerful hidden within.

Heat, flames, sparks, noise……..apart from power hammers I guess not much has changed for hundreds of years?

3 hours ago, The Blacksmith said:

Did you by anychance take any before and during pictures while you were restoring these? Regrettably, I have rarely done so, and that is something that I greatly regret now. All too often, especially when I have been in a rush to deliver something, I haven't even taken photos of the finished item.

 

Russ, no I hardly ever took “before” images☹️. Yes, I also really regret it☹️Never took “during” pictures either and hardly ever took “finished” pictures☹️ I could kick myself, my wife always said that I should. 
Thankfully I was adequately rewarded for my labours…..worked (purely as a hobby) for the major London dealers….but I never begrudged them their profits…..they had the worlds super rich as their customers….i didn’t. I really miss all that but when the Ivory ban came along the whole game changed but it coincided with my hands worsening so “that was that”. Great times

If I can ask, what was your “line of work”? 

Morning @The Blacksmith

Russ, while you were hammering, and purely for interest, the tusk vases in this link were the type of things I was restoring. I bought these as total wrecks from Paul Peters in Harrogate years ago. They had massive sections of inlay missing…at least 50% of both eagles, large areas of tree trunks, god knows how many leaves and flowers. The stands were in pieces and they were filthy. But they were obviously superb. Using exactly the correct shells etc they took me months to finish. I sold them to Kevin Page in London and since then they have obviously changed hands again prior to this auction. They are probably the pieces I am most proud of. Please note what the auctioneers say about their condition!,

Apologies for letting my ego out🙂

https://www.zacke.at...tands/?lot=2676&sd=1

1 hour ago, The Blacksmith said:

but if you can use tools,

Sadly Russ my thumb joints are too damaged from years of carving. But it was enormously enjoyable. My wife used to frequently utter the words “are you ever coming out of that workshop?”

21 minutes ago, The Blacksmith said:

Not sure if I'd make it in iron and russet it, or make it in copper

Hi Russ

Making such a thing is way beyond my abilities but if I could do it, russet iron would be my choice. The market is awash with poor and cheaply made copper jobbies. I’m not saying yours would be poor or cheap….. just that iron would be far far more distinctive and uncommon.  Over the years I have restored many articulated crabs, crayfish, lobsters, dragons etc but they were either ivory or boxwood….and that was bad enough. Making those elements in iron……hats off! 

Over the last few years prices for the very best Meiji works (and some older art) have skyrocketed driven probably by a realisation of just how unbelievably wonderful they are and how cheap they (still) are compared to many other works of art. It’s like “the penny has finally dropped”…doubly so for the finest metalwork. 

Some exceptional cloisonne and Meiji metalwork in this upcoming sale……

https://www.bonhams....eased-estate/?page=4

7 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

We had this discussion last April! 

Thus causing further concern re my memory🙂

Techniques can vary but commonly the “shell” is sieved onto damp base colour lacquer. The further coats of base colour are applied over the top. When fully hardened the whole is polished down to a smooth surface until the shell emerges. The “inlaid” shell is also polished in that process but the skill is obviously in not polishing too deeply. The aogai can tolerate polishing and indeed it can change colour and iridescence in the process. A clear coat is probably applied over it but I’m not totally sure on that. Perhaps wax was used? ….anyone else chip in?

59 minutes ago, katonk66 said:

 

How can one tell how old a saya is? Well, more-or-less a date range?

 

A very very rough guide……flashy saya are more likely to be Edo, especially late Edo. Workmanlike saya often with heavy polished black lacquer stand a chance of being older. Remember saya that saw use were often damaged and replaced.  The overall condition is sometimes the best guide but even that can be distorted by simple neglect or storage in adverse conditions. Simple truth…..no easy way to tell. 

….crushed beetle wings are also used  but abalone is by far the most common.

Abalone and mother of pearl are two totally different things. Mother of pearl are the large flat plate shaped shells that give us the following colours when polished…..white, yellow, black, bronze and shades thereof.  Turban shell is also used but that again is a totally different species
Abalone (as used by lacquer artisans) gives us the vibrant iridescent kingfisher blues, pinks, greens and similar. The process of preparing it (as explained to me by someone who knew)  for lacquer usage is as usual with Japanese art, very complex and goes roughly like this….

Firstly the sections containing the desired colours are boiled which separates them into mica-thin layers. These are then crushed to varying degrees  and passed through sieves and filters that can yield particles from dust sized upwards. The desired sized particles are applied to the damp lacquer base using a selection of sieve-like shakers that enable an accurate distribution. Templates and masks can be used to achieve designs.  Further lacquer is applied on top and then polished back to give a smooth surface revealing the iridescent shell embedded.

Depending on the balance of metals used to make the alloy and the patination process used, shibuichi can be almost black.

2 hours ago, Spartancrest said:

Found this guard in the British Museum

Don’t know what to say about that Dale!! I’m so glad that the British Museum think it’s a good idea to spend their (our) money actually buying such things😳😡

Also, the way the fish scales have been engraved/carved is extremely crude. Usually Japanese artists will take the time to carve them properly, and not by using  a hasty cross-cross pattern that in this case also extends beyond the intended boundaries.

Tsuba looks like a Nagoya mono piece

2 hours ago, French nihonto said:

I wonder about this line. It looks a lot like a nakago welding mark

Sometimes caused by a loose or damaged habaki, loose tsuba or loose seppa. Maybe even an ill fitting fuchi.