Big Saotome Tsuba

[Alex A]

Lets face it, no iron tsuba collection is complete without one.

A very good, strong and surprisingly heavy Saotome tsuba.

For me, the classic Samurai tsuba.

Good ones like this dont come up for sale too often, and dont come cheap.

Around the year 1600, Momoyama to Early Edo

Well forged and balanced, and with a very nice patina.

96.77mm at largest diameter, 7.26 mm at the mimi (feels massive)

SOLD

Pics in low res, only noticed camera setting after uploading.

[Marius]

OK guys, to cut a long story short... Large tsuba are rare and more desirable. Hence, more expensive. 

 

Alex's tsuba is a big mean guard, a real badass. One thing to note - the spokes are an integral part of the plate, unlike in many later examples. This is a quality tsuba.

 

This is a great tsuba made for a big sword and made to do its job well. I haven't seen many that big, but since I own two (ko-tosho and ko-katchushi) I can assure you, they are simply awesome in hand.

 

Remember that Ashikaga Takauji painting? He holds a big sword with a big tsuba of this type: https://jref.com/media/ashikaga-takauji.6829/full?d=1462374394