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Two Nanban Tsuba


Higo-san

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Dear fellow board members,

 

I would like to part with two nanban tsuba that have been in my collection for quite a long time now. All prices include PayPal fees and worldwide shipping!

 

1) Nanban or maybe Hizen tsuba

 

Design of a temple with cloud dragons chasing a tama pearl on the obverse and botan flower, Ken and probably a paper dragon on the reverse side. It is a fantastic and powerful design!

 

diamter: 7.0 x 6.9 cm

 

asking price is USD 290.

 

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Chris,

Your tsuba 1 is very interesting. A fellow could be tempted!

By saying "Namban or maybe Hizen" are you saying that you think may have been made in China? I think that would only enhance its desirability BTW. And if it is of Chinese manufacture, do you think it was made FOR the Japanese market? Or was it a Chinese sword guard that was repurposed in Japan. 

I sure wish there was an accessible literature on Ching Dynasty sword fittings.

Thanks for posting.

Peter

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Peter,

thank you very much for your question! I am not an expert on Nanban tsuba but I would say that both tsuba were made in Japan (which is - despite their Name - also true for most Nanban tsuba that we see around on the market).

 

I tend to say that the first tsuba is actually a Hizen tsuba because of the following aspects:

 

- the design is neither typical for Indian or Chinese tsuba made for the Japanese market nor is it typical for those type of tsuba called Nanban that were made in Japan (No. 2 is rather typical for those IMO)

- the whole design has a Chinese legend flair (similiar to the Choshu or Jakushi landscapes) but uses techniques and symbols which show a certain stage of tsuba craftmanship evolved throughout the centuries (just like Choshu and Jakushi tsuba do)

- the iron plate is carefully forged and the gold application has an educated appeal which I would not expect from Nanban tsuba (not saying that these do not have their very own appeal)

 

Taking all these factors together, one may identify the first tsuba as a Hizen tsuba. But it will always remain a lot of gut feeling in the end ;)!

 

Best,

 

Chris

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Peter, much as I greatly respect your contributions to the study of the Namban group of tsuba, your recent posting has me puzzled.  By describing his first, very interesting tsuba as 'Namban or maybe Hizen' Chris is correctly reflecting the confusion regarding the nomenclature of such tsuba.  Most collectors would confidently label this as Hizen while, if submitted to a shinsa it would almost certainly be labelled as  Namban.

 

But what features prompt you to raise the question of a Chinese provenance - surely not Chris' description?  Personally, I fail to recognise any such pointers in this tsuba.

 

John L.

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Chris and John,

Thank you for your insights and forgive me for  "urging you into discussion" - even if it is proving to be a discussion that exposes my ignorance. 

The tsuba we are discussing is clearly very good and certainly collectible. My willingness to ask if it might have been created in China is based on a couple of features.

The main factor is the hitsu - which to my naive eye - looks like it was added to what had been a complete surface.

Beyond that the odd seppa-dai does not strike me as like those of clearly Japanese namban tsuba.

Was the nakago-ana slightly squared or rectangular? Not as much as some, but it was substantially reworked suggesting that it was adjusted for Japanese use.

I don't know enough about Hizen guards to express an opinion about this, but I will say that to my eye this embellishment and technique look exotic.

I really wish the Chinese sword collectors would get their  act together and publish some books that would show use how Chinese sword guard developed!

In any case, I will say again that this is a very interesting fitting

Peter

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Peter,

 

again, thank you very much for this interesting question - my comment above was not meant as an offence to you. As I said, I am not an expert on the field of Nanban tsuba - therefore, asking John as an authority on this field would have been an easy way out for me. But since John does not benefit from this sale, I felt it kind of wrong to let him do the work for me. So, I made up my own mind and came up with the criteria above. I was glad when John decided to comment without having been asked and - at least - confirmed my general approach.

 

Coming back to your question (which is a valid and good question IMO): it is difficult to say whether or mit the hitsu ana was added later on or not. I believe that it may have been added later: the sekigane show that this tsuba has been refitted at some point to a smaller blade. At that time, the hitsu ana could have been added and parts of the original plate and design have been lost since then. Again, this may also have been part of the original design which was intended to look altered like those Nanban tsuba coming from abroad.

 

The shape of the nakago ana was definetely intended to look sort of occasional and therefore tried to immitate tsuba coming from abroad. As my wording already indicates, I still do not believe that this was done by a Chinese artist. Uncommon nakago ana were also used e.g. by the Umetada school. But it in the end, it remains again a lot of gut feeling.

 

Best,

 

Chris

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Oops - apparently Chinese sword guards do have seppa-dai!  That on the attached image is narrower and more rectangular than those commonly found on Japanese tsuba.  Interestingly - or perhaps coincidentally - it is similar to that on Chris' tsuba.

 

John L.

 

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