Jump to content

Good work or not?


raiden

Recommended Posts

Guys, this is not carved in soft metal, it is repoussé and chasing work on a copper sheet. No, it is not superb IMHO.

 

Of course, among all the NMB members, Ford is the most qualified person to elaborate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the vote of confidance, Mariusz :D

 

Most of you will already know much of the following but for the benefit of newcomers to the subject...

 

The metal is a brass type alloy, shinchu, typically around 15 % zinc and a trace of lead ( > 0.5% )

If you look closely at the the patina you can make of what appear to be flakes, a bit like an opal. This is a result of the way zinc combines with the copper. This feature is also found in various Japanese intermediate brass/bronze alloys and also sentoku. We call it 'kesho'.

 

The background texture, the little 'Y' shaped marks, is called chidori-ishime. Chidori are small coastal birds and are often depicted flying above waves. These marks are named after their 'footprints' in wet sand. Using the same punch but packing the marks much closer and overlapping results in a texture reminiscent of crushed leather, that's called kawa-ishime.

 

The clouds are neatly carved and shaped. The details on the clouds are a combination of kata-kiri (the crescent shaped cuts) and careful punch work to form a rounded drop shape where where some of the cuts end.

 

The patina on these sorts of alloys is not the most stable and tends to wear off quite easily from handling. It does self-patinate fairly easily, although it's often quite patchy where it does. It also darkens quite a lot, as can be seem here in the deeper recesses that have escaped the effect of sweaty fingers. The copper bloom that's visible on the right of the image is a consequence of the zinc oxide present in the original patina having deteriorated leaving a copper rich layer behind. From the perspective of conservation or restoration I'd suggest this piece is in very good condition and I would touch it.

 

The gold edge detail looks to be kinkeshi, murcury fire gilding.

 

As to the level of quality I would suggest the workmanship is competent but fairly generic. The actual technical skill displayed is good but there is a lack of finesse in the way the clouds are 'drawn' and the flow of lines is irregular. Worth bearing in mind the true size though, we're seeing this piece greatly enlarged.

 

regards,

 

Ford

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is good to be wrong and to be able to learn form one's mistake. I still cannot stop thinking it is not repousse...

 

Thanks Ford :bowdown:

 

At least I was right - it is not superb! That was the child in me, sorry :glee:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the perspective of conservation or restoration I'd suggest this piece is in very good condition and I would touch it.

Ford,

Did you mean you wouldn't touch it? :?:

Mariusz, I had thought this was repoussé with carving afterwards like menuki. Ford..so is this all carved from solid?

Are we perhaps looking at a kogai or......?

 

Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian,

 

it is a NAGINATA FUCHI as was mentioned.

 

To be completely sure about the production process it would surely be helpful to have a look into the inside of the item. I have seen objects being preformed and then worked on with small chisels (Yes, Mariusz, you are not yet completely out of the race!). This might only be visible on closer inspection, but of course I trust the judgement of Ford.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some pieces do exhibit some deformation of the metal (Mino Goto work frequently does) on the inside to help create more height but in this case the relief is so shallow it's unlikely neither would it be considered repousse work really. In either case the entire outer surface would be carved, scraped and polished before the chidori-ishime texture and kata-kiri work performed.

 

And someone send Pete some specs ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Decent, but not great.

Skilled individual not really taking any chances or pushing it too much. I'm curious if the other side has something more grand, so would turn it over right away.

 

Take a shot in the dark here and say Kyoto / Nara area smith.

Not really cracking open the books on it.

Possibly one of those where the signature is make or break point in terms of value, just as some signed Ichijo f/k can be a bit boring.

 

So flay me if I am horribly wrong. I'll join Mariusk as an archery target for the slings and arrows of opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think I'm with Curran on this one. No doubt it will turn out to be some top level maker, but unless there is a great deal more to show, I think it's good work (very nicely done strokes) but not eye popping. If it were on a table with a bunch of other fittings, not sure I would jump on it immediately. I haven't seen an elaborate naginata collar like that before. I'm guessing by some late Meiji high level artist?

 

Brian

 

PS - Pete, those are sunglasses, not specs :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fooled me. I was thinking Yasuchika having 'mailed it in' a bit on a doldrum week.

Wasn't too sure because of the chidori being more (different) than I remember of Yasuchika.

But I don't have the Nara San Saku or Yasuchika book, so didn't really check.

 

If you say it is someone doing en suite with an existing Yasuchika work, makes sense.

In other words, someone blending in?

 

---------------------

(edit)

I see Ford posted while I was typing the above.

No idea then...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one, unless your post is really relevant and adds to the topic..

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...