Kozuka Inlay material

[mareo1912]

Hello everybody,

 

I have a nice Kozuka with massive and high (6 mm) inlay work. However, I am not quite sure with the material of the inlay.

Some underlying material is visible on the peony, maybe you can give me some suggestions. 

 

Photos were made by the way, so please excuse some blurriness and dust on the piece. Also had to shrink size for the upload...

Higher quality https://drive.google.com/file/d/1alLqxIOsb5YTa4Bz6RoykbPZ24cv35_P/view?usp=sharing

 

Best,

Marco

 

[vajo]

Gilded copper Marco.

[John A Stuart]

Lots of faces in this one. John

[Ken-Hawaii]

Could be brass, but gilded-copper is a possibility. Very nice work.

[Ganko]

Could very well be shakudo, the same as the shakudo nanako substrate or else copper.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Marco

 

if you mean the slightly silvery grey areas in the flower then I would suggest this is mercury. The decorative panel is possibly well gilded copper which was gilded by the kinkeshi or fire gilding method. This uses mercury as a base by which to get the dissolved gold to evenly cover the base metal. The mercury is then burned off using heat, but inevitably some mercury will always remain in the surface. Over time it appears to 'sweat' together and concentrate in protected recesses. There are also traces of sumi ink on the decoration, this is sometimes wiped on and off,  by dealers, give the appearance of age 

[mareo1912]

Thank you very much guys and of course thank you Ford for the enlighting information. My guess would've been gilded copper...

 

Towards Ford, would you recommend any restaurational work for the piece? Some of the gilding has also worn off on the backside of the kozuka.

[Ford Hallam]

you're welcome, Marco.

 

As for restoration, I tend to err on the side of doing nothing too less in most cases. I wouldn't have though your kozuka really needs any serious work. Perhaps just a gentle wash with warm water and a mild soap, and using a worn toothbrush. That will take care of any dirt and the ink.