Help With 天長斎保寿

[Curran]

天長斎保寿

How to correctly read 保寿 for this artists.

 

Is this artist "Yasutoshi"  [Amanagabun Yasutoshi"

or are we dealing with "Ho____"

 

Arggh......

 

 

[John A Stuart]

保寿 I agree, likely one of the Yasutoshi as opposed to other possibles. 天長斎 is more unusual for me, Tehsho-imi, as in mourning for Tensho, whats that if not a memorium? John

[Toryu2020]

Tencho-sai?

[Guido]

My take on it: 天長斎 = Tenchōsai, 保寿 = Hōju or Yasutoshi

[John A Stuart]

Not in the index in any case. John

[Curran]

Gentleman: thank you.

 

I do these exercises with Japanese auctions and found a few tough ones this week.

The Herculean Haynes Index is sort of the answer key, but sometimes I find NBTHK or NTHK papered matches where Haynes uses a different kanji.

Other times, on some of the papered ones either it can be a name with many Haynes entries and the preceding 天長斎 = Tenchōsai isn't listed amongst any of the Hoju or Yasutoshi enteries [possible I missed it in first two tries]

In this instance there is a "Yasutoshi" where the style of his wormanship and the period match this tsuba, but Haynes has him listed under a different Yasu and 天長斎 [Tenchosai] is not listed among those alternatives he used.

 

Fun exercise, but this one has me beat and the work is too skilled for the artist not to be one listed in Haynes.

Just none stand out head and shoulders as a clean match.

[Pete Klein]

I have the working copy of Henri Joli's 'Shosankenshu' in which he attributes this as 'Yasunaga' and in ink annotates it to (Nukagawa) Yasuyoshi => Haynes 11353. Note that the mei kanji for Toshi is different than in the actual mei. Also, they use the 'Nukagawa' in parentheses: 天長斎(額川)保寿.

 

The Nukagawa School is seen in Sesko's 'Japanese Toso-Kinko Schools'page 315.

 

Hope this helps more than confuses.

[Curran]

Multi bow to Pete. :bowdown:

 

Haynes entry doesn't give much onthis guy, nor do other texts I have.

Only Markus' all too useful 'Japanese Toso-Kinko Schools' has some information on the school.

 

Founder of the school [Yasunori] was formerly a student beside [ichijosai Hirotoshi]- the founder of the Uchikoshi school.

It fits well, so think Pete nailed it.

 

Exceptional work by a relatively unknown [barely listed] artist

[John A Stuart]

So, a peek, Curran? John

[Brian]

Nice one Pete!

 

Brian

[Curran]

So, a peek, Curran? John

 

John,

 

Live auction. I will post it when it is over.

Within recent memory I posted a live auction that others on NMB were bidding.

After that one and some joking/well meant words of caution to me, I will try and refrain unless it is something I think of general education or interest.

 

This particular auction, the artist is a relatively lesser or unknown artist of a late Edo school that sort of got lost as side stage relative to the Natsuo, Ichijo, and other biggies of late Edo.

A 3rd chair underling in a 3rd chair school....   yet darn darn skilled. Maybe the Muses got into him for a bit.

 

I think Pete's ID is excellent, as the style is very in keeping with Uchikoshi designs popular at the time, but the base material is different and the execution a bit different.

[John A Stuart]

OK. Maybe later. Luck. John

[Curran]

John,

 

Here is the auction: http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f152691431

 

Unpapered, not so known artist from a lesser school....

It is getting impossible to find good kinko tsuba. Must agree with James and Fred that prices are climbing for non iron.

Been searching for over 10 years now for a Tokubetsu Hozon level ko-Mino tsuba.

[John A Stuart]

Very appealing. Did you drop out? John

[Curran]

John:   ?

 

I wasn't bidding, nor interested in doing so.

Impressed by the workmanship, but I try to limit myself to only keep 15 tsuba.