Matsunoki

Always the best reason to buy anything.

Yves, sorry to say I agree with Mauro…..it is gimei and nowhere near the quality and artistry you would expect from Hamano school.

@Jake6500…..Why hijack Yves thread? He came on here asking for opinions on the Mei of his fuchi kashira!…and then in you crash with your stuff so we end up looking at yours and chasing the possible theme on yours etc and Yves gets no answers.

I have no idea why @Jacques is comparing the sugata of an ubu sword to another that clearly appears to be suriage and possibly o-suriage. That is nonsensical.

Buy first, wonder about it later🙂

You have to give us a price.

Your thoughts echo many others Alex.

Pure guess…..crashing waves. Beautiful iron texture imo.

I believe all of these were made in a”studio” environment where many artists collaborated but it is reasonable to think that there were specialists….maybe on faces especially. I don’t think just one artist made each panel.

These plaques are Meiji period and yes, they were made in large numbers aimed at the gaijin/export market. Your is most likely one of a pair (usually sold in pairs) as suggested by the figures both looking one way. It’s pair would show whatever it was they were looking at.. The one shown is of good quality The carving in the figures (Ivory or bone) is highly detailed. Many are surprisingly low quality made quickly whilst some are truly stunning…..this one looks to have all its inlay….often areas fall out and are a sod to restore. You will find quite a few in this link…. https://www.bonhams....uery=Shibayama+panel

@Bugyotsuji Agreed Piers, almost certainly percussion lock as per one of the ones you show. Easier to see if you enlarge one of the images Probably the rarest kozuka subject I’ve ever seen and with the backstory it’s probably worth the money. If I was buying and not selling…… Brian, sorry to hear of the eye trouble, hope something can be done to help.

@Brian @Bugyotsuji I am thin ice and probably need my eyes tested but is that a left handed gun? The cheek rest is on the side for a normal right handed shooter as is the lock (only partially visible on the other side?) ….and is the geometry correct for a percussion lock? Is that a frizzen I see and the remains (?) of a cock with the top jaw missing but jaw screw intact Possibly depicted with the lock facing away to avoid all the work in actually carving the complex lock….or maybe the now absent Kogai had it facing the other way with lock visible. I know I know stop being pedantic🙂🙂 OK…I’m waiting to be made a fool of! 🙂

Did you see the link to the Hikone example above?

Link still works.Scroll down.

Compare the quality to the real thing……. https://www.bonhams....y=Netsuke+rat&page=3

Sorry but it’s most likely a modern (probably Chinese) very low quality fake. Might even be resin but difficult to tell the material from these images.

Just for interest…. https://www.ebay.com/itm/297001587025

Do they even own the sword or have they just stolen the images hoping to sell it before they buy it. Be careful. All sorts of tricks happen on these sites. Ask them for a very specific image…..a close up of say the kissaki/ boshi or the nakago mune or similar and see if you get one. Personally I’d start running now.

Thanks John, I rather thought that would be the case which is why I asked the question about reliable period dating….which seems not to exist…..but some papers I’ve seen have really “surprised” me. I ponder “how on earth did that get papered?” Anyway best I stop there or I’ll be strung up!

Dunno. That’s why I asked. I assume not then? So we must judge by technique, quality and prevailing market drivers. Most just seem to be attempts to emulate Mino or maybe Omori. I can fully understand and appreciate the real thing being papered but poor quality copies??

Sadly we are now seeing a far more effective offensive weapon used…..cars. They going to be banned?

Agreed but I think they all fell under the category of “zombie knives” or the like or were classed as “offensive weapons” along the lines of flick-knives or gravity knives….whatever the hell that means. Well I guess we just have to keep our fingers crossed but I still think we are safe. We would be talking a vast sum of money for the total of everything that is in the country. Then …..what about antique guns that can knock a hole in a brick wall …..percussion revolvers etc etc. Hmm, a right can of worms. Fingers crossed for now I guess. Im going to collect ring-pulls and beer mats🙂

Sorry Alex, I wasn’t clear….i was talking about internal UK shipping for Auctioneers, dealers, private transactions etc If you watch the sheer volume of antique weapons of all types ( not just knives/sworss) going through the rooms every week there is a large potential customer base for a specialist carrier.

Is there any reliable dating source for tsuba like the daisho pair being discussed here? I don’t mean quoting shinsa results which seem very doubtful to my eye (ko-kinko???) - but serious historical evidence? In no way can these be considered good quality……cheap poorly copies of the real thing….imo Do the NBTHK paper shiremono kozuka?…..because these tsuba fall into the same category of work….imo

Just to add….i don’t believe that any UK Govt would impose an outright ban on ownership of genuine old/antiques/collectable bladed pieces …..unless they are prepared to pay massive compensation as per the handgun ban (which has achieved nothing in reality but cost the taxpayer a fortune). Where would they draw the line?…..impossible to enact imo. Maybe an opportunity for an entrepreneur to step in with a specialist weapons shipping proposition?