Marius Posted March 15, 2016 Report Posted March 15, 2016 A very interesting set. A naginata naoshi in a great early Edo handachi koshirae. To be honest, the koshrae is the main attraction here, but the blade, despite shortcomings of its polish, is really beefy, if you like that sort of stuff. Somoe people would proudly announce: "a real cleaver" The naginata naoshi is papered to Shinto Takada Yukinaga, but some people who know much much more than I, said it is a koto blade. 41.2cm - Nagasa 33mm - Motohaba 6mm - kasane Jigane is a tight ko-itame. Hamon is suguha cho but it is pretty weak (shimi). On the omote someone attempted to bring it out with a hazuya stone, but left tiniest scratches which obscure it. This could be polished out with a finger stone by a qualified polisher. On the ura the blade has some bright spots which look like the effect of keeping the sword wrapped in foil. They are almost certain to polish out with a finishing polish. Again, the sword here is not the carrier of value, but the two - blade and koshirae - should not be separated. The blade can be enjoyed as is - he steel is bright and packed with sparkling ji-nie. On the koshirae: this type of mountings is said to be typical for Kyushu. Interestingly, the tsuka seems to be wrapped with copper sheet. Utilitarian but tasteful, this was a mounting of a real samurai in the 17th century. One thing is sure - this koshirae is early, unmolested and valuable. If you are seriously interested, I can take some more pictures. Current pictures are courtesy of Ray Singer. Thanks Ray! $2,450 incl. shipping, PayPal extra. I think this a really tasty tart - just find me such old and unmolested koshirae made ~400 years ago. Old original koshirae are very very rare (much more so than early kodogu), because having been made of wood and lacquer, they are so easily damaged and destroyed. This one has been lovingly preserved for us to enjoy. Usually such koshirae are to be found only in Japanese museums and shrines.
Brian Ayres Posted March 17, 2016 Report Posted March 17, 2016 Those menuki are fabulous. The koshirae alone makes this deal a tart.
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