Jake6500

I'm still new to collecting Tsuba but I have yet to see one like that with a different base metal, and one of the kanji is absent as has been pointed out already. A lot of Kinai works feature the Hollyhock leaf which is because the Kinai school was one of the official schools of craftsman for the Tokugawa Shogunate. A lot of them also tend to be open works. Given that the Tsuba is neither an open work, nor does it feature the Hollyhock and it is also missing a kanji in the inscription I would be dubious about its origins. Here are a couple photos of one of my Echizen-ju Kinai. I have two like this that are similar designs featuring the Hollyhock leaf, both using an iron base with modest gold adornment like so:

Hi all, I recently started an Edo Period Tsuba collection and am still building my knowledge base about different schools of craftsmanship or appraisal. I have two Tsuba that are authentic Echizen-Ju Kinai Tsuba with iron bases and gold inlay. Whilst these are not certified through the NBTHK I am confident in their authenticity based off my own research and comparisons to other authentic Tsuba by the same school in the same Edo Period Han. In addition to these, I have a Hozon certified Tsuba depicting the deity Daikokuten. Once again, this Tsuba has an iron base and gold inlay. My last Tsuba which I recently acquired is different from the others and therein lies the reason for this post. Whilst the seller whom I purchased the Tsuba from appears to be reliable (a lot of their items are certified) my most recent addition is an uncertified piece with little information to work with. The Tsuba has an iron base again, however this time the decorative fittings appear to be from brass and depict Benkei at Gojo Bridge. As there is no inscription or information about the artist or school of craftmanship and as I have no experience until now dealing with Tsuba decorated/fitted with brass, I was hoping to seek some expert advice here. Any potential information about the artist, the school of craftsmanship or about how to authenticate/assess Tsuba with brass decoration like this would be appreciated!