Killing A Good Tsuba - Ichiryu Tomoyoshi Dragon

[Curran]

I had been following this tsuba for a while, waiting for the seller to slowly drop the price down to a level where it was worth cleaning up from its AS FOUND condition.

 

Original:

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w190728504

It is an Ichiryu Tomoyoshi, one of their popular dragon designs.

I believe the seller thought it was a first gen, whereas my feeling was that the signature is 2nd gen. I owned a kinko second gen for a few years, before selling it in Bonhams.

 

FiX Er Up:

I guess the seller decided to Fix Er Up quickstyle:

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/j453972103

and put lipstick on her.

 

I can't tell what has been done, but the copper sekigane are bright and look distorted. Buffed and shoe polished, or chemical treatment of some sort.

The signature is now muted and mucked up.

Someone else might be able to save this tsuba, but it looks to me like it died on the operation table.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

This one made me sad, as the shodai Ichiryu Tomoyoshi dragons can be beautiful tsuba, even though I avoid dragon themes.

The nidai was no slouch, working for daddy for most of his life and probably did much of the real work as they became better recognized.

Oh well.... another one for the graveyard.  Ford could revive it, but it is beyond my traditional ivory, hair horse brush, and time approach.

It could have restored beautifully.

 ... Now, stick a fork in it.

 

A friend calls these "Stepped On" tsuba.

[John A Stuart]

Saveable I think. A little TLC. I thought worse by your description. John

[Curran]

The tsuba is savable. The signature less so.

I would have bought it around 80,000 - which is where it ended when originally an auction.

Then it might have been worth it in time value and academic interest to clean it up, Hozon it, and sell it around $2000

 

In its current Stepped On state, maybe 40,000 to 50,000 and the time/energy/ etc...

Just maybe- now that a lower probability the NBTHK would even Hozon it.

 

Seller thinks he has helped it, when he has largely defaced it.

[christianmalterre]

" only the dead dragon- is a good dragon- Not? )

 

there are better ones outside there Curran!

 

...just did "hike" Stephen to one really good one,just actually available,-just yesterday....

 

 

 

no worry!

 

many many Tsuba outside there...some worth to considder- some, not.

 

 

Christian

[Steve Waszak]

Wow.  That's a shame.  Certainly looks as though some substance has been applied to the whole piece and then the tsuba was buffed with an electric shoe polisher.  Can you even see the actual steel now?  As you say, Curran, it's definitely worse off now. 

 

Steve

[sabi]

Yeah that's a shame indeed, definitely appears to have been coated with something as the entire plate is the same tone of black....every crevice is covered, including the sukashi walls...

 

Even worse is that the original really didn't appear to need too much "saving".  Hard to tell what that yellowish residue is, could be just how some of the oxide build up appears in that lighting.  But as you said Curran, this could have been beautifully brought back to life and I don't think it would've taken much if anything outside of the normal, accepted procedures to do so. 

[Stephen]

Id still like to give it a bath, the seller is bonkers!