A couple Soten Tsuba's

[Jorgensen]

Dear collectors and Soten experts,

 

I have a couple Soten Tsuba, that I would like your help with.

 

The first one seems to be Mogarashi Soten? -if correct, what does the other kanji say?

 

Are the signatures valid?

 

The other one looks to be very, very nice, but can someone help me translate it, I cant figure it out?

 

Otherwise, just posted for your enjoyment =)

 

Thank you.

[Jorgensen]

Other Soten Tsuba

[Jean]

Try with this

 

http://www.aoijapan.com/img/fittings/2013/F13272.jpg

[Jorgensen]

Jean, Thanks for reply... Comparing to your link and other Mogarashi, my tsuba here seems gimei...

 

How about the other tsuba - to me mei may seems to read something like "Soheishi Nudo Soten Saku. Koshu Hikone Ju"??? Question is if this is gimei too?

[docliss]

I would very much like one of our linguists to translate the mei on //Jimi-san’s second tsuba. It is of very nice workmanship, and appears to be lacking the usual soft metal decoration of the face – or is that a false impression caused by the photograph? Kinkō Meikan, p.520d illustrates a mei not unlike this one, in a rather ‘cursive’ script.

 

I am rather intrigued by this tsuba,

 

John L.

[Jorgensen]

I would very much like one of our linguists to translate the mei on //Jimi-san’s second tsuba. It is of very nice workmanship, and appears to be lacking the usual soft metal decoration of the face – or is that a false impression caused by the photograph? Kinkō Meikan, p.520d illustrates a mei not unlike this one, in a rather ‘cursive’ script.

 

I am rather intrigued by this tsuba,

 

John L.

 

Hi John, Thanks for your kind comments... Is it possible to post a picture of the mei from Kinko Meikan? Is there a translation of the mei as well?

 

The soft metal decoration is definitively there. Both on the hands and face, as well as gold, silver and shakudo on the tsuba. Pls see markings on picture below.

[Mark Green]

WOW!! That 2nd one is wonderful!!!

 

Thanks for sharing. Great pics!

 

Mark

[docliss]

//Jimi-san

 

Thank you for confirming the presence of soft metal decoration of the faces on your tsuba. Sadly the photographic reproduction of the mei in Kinkō Meikan is of such a quality that they do not scan satisfactorily. The translation of this entry, however, is GOSHU HIKONE (NO)JU SOHEISHI SOTEN SEI.

 

Personally, I am reluctant to label the multitude of Sōtenesque tsuba as gimei. The original two masters, working in the first half of the eighteenth century, had a large number of students, most of whom signed their work with the Sōten mei. Their work, together with the innumerable copies emanating from the Hiragiya and Aizu Shōami schools, and later shiiremono made for export at the Yokohama docks, makes genuine work by the masters extremely rare. Their's was generally less decorative, and with less openwork, than that of later copyists and, often on a solid plate, was not unlike that of the Mino-bori artists.

 

Thus I prefer to call all of this Sōten-style work ‘Hikone-bori’ rather than ‘gimei’.

 

John L.