Motif?

[lotus]

I am trying to understand what the Motif is for this Tsuba. Seller had someone look at it and their opinion was that it was probably the rear view of a woman's Yuigami(hairstyle) during the Edo period. And the golden inlay would be the hair ornaments.

 

Anyone have any ideas? Also, have not seen anything even remotely close to this so would like to know the school for this one.

 

Thanks,

Pat R.

[jason_mazzy]

It does look like a hair piece.

[Bugyotsuji]

Those look like the strings on a bag/purse, the purse being below, the mouth above.

 

The decorations on the first shot look like Left: the key to a Kura storehouse with decorations attached, and Right: a Fu-rin wind chime, well, to me anyway.

[Grey Doffin]

I asked my wife if this looks like the rear view of a woman's Yuigami and she slapped me.

Grey

[MauroP]

Hi,

I think the shape of the tsuba could represent a treasure pouch (takarafukuro 宝袋); see http://x181.secure.ne.jp/~x181007/kamon/shop/3400.html.

I was driven in that direction by the objects represented in nunome zōgan which are described as treasure (kisshō zu 吉祥図) in this tsuba: http://www.japansword.co.jp/nanban/gif/nanban3_2.jpg.

Bye, Mauro

[Marius]

Pat, you do not intend to buy that tsuba, do you?

[lotus]

No, I was just curious about the design of it.

[sanjuro]

Good. Actually, I'm rather glad Mariusz asked that, since I have been wondering since the beginning of this thread if we are just satisfying a curiosity about the motif, or perhaps seeing a tsuba that interests the original poster as a possible acquisition. If the latter, I would then ask what would possess you want to buy this tsuba regardless of the motif.

 

Now, since you dont want to buy it, and we have now been down this road a few times with tsuba you have posted, Why dont you want to buy it? Forget about price and whether or not you like the design, what is it about this tsuba that makes it unattractive as a collectable piece to you?

 

So far the information has been coming from the members of this board to you. What have you learned from all of it?

[lotus]

Keith -

 

The condition of the piece is poor. It is riddled with rust. Also, it has an odd motif and I have not seen anything like it before, which makes identification (school, age, etc) very difficult. Not too mention it was on Ebay. I do hope, one day, to be able to look at a piece and say exactly what attributes make it less desirable as a collectable. Something to aspire to. I am still awaiting arrival of my Tsuba books afterall and I hope that may help me out a bit on that end.

 

As for all the other things I learned from this board. Off the top of my head :

 

- There are lots of reproductions and fakes out there, some are much easier to spot then others.

- Some sellers or previous owners can mess up Tsuba by using abrasive cleaners, polish, paint, modifications, misuse, etc...

- Some sellers specialize in selling flash Tsubas (some very late Edo made for export, some cast, some modern repros) to the unsuspecting or new collectors (like me).

- I learned what NMB members recommend for Tsuba books to start out with.

- Don't trust in Boston MFA attributions.

- You can get carried away with a pretty motif and overlook poorly executed details like misalignments, drunken rim work, poorly executed seppa-dais, etc.

- I learned I have a lot more to learn about collecting Tsuba (and that I am sure I will make some mistakes).

 

I am sure there is more but you get the idea.

 

Pat

[Brian]

Pat,

Sounds to me like you are doing just fine in your studies. A lot of those are forgotten even by advanced collectors.

 

Brian

[sanjuro]

Thats great! You have a good start then... Even before the books arrive. At least you know a low end one when you see it, and that puts you ahead of the game.