A million reasons to own a Yasuchika tsuba

[Surfson]

I was very interested in this tsuba, which was pictured prominently in the Nara Sansaku, a book featuring three great Nara artists including Yasuchika.  My feeble bid was overrun very quickly, even though the tsuba had no papers.  I would love to hear what the cognoscenti on the board think about this piece, which apparently is somewhat unusual in style for Yasuchika.  

 

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/w395552996

 

I am attaching some photos since these links have a very short shelf life.  They include the pages from the Nara Sansaku as well. 

 

 

[Pete Klein]

'wei bother' bought it.  That pretty much sums it up.

[Surfson]

?

[Brian]

A case of buying the mei and not the work?
Also...why would this have no papers? That makes absolutely no sense. Unless...

[Surfson]

I love the work.  

 

My interpretation is that the bat is eyeing the frog (maybe thinking about dinner) and I guess the frog is eyeing the cicada for the same reason.  The patina of the iron and the quality of the floral and animal inlays are first rate to my eye.  

 

Obviously Yoneno, who wrote that book, thought enough of it to feature it prominently in his important book.  

 

Frankly, Yoneno's views about it are likely to be more valid than those of a shinsa team that haven't spent their life studying this particular maker.  Had I gotten it, I wouldn't have bothered to submit it for this reason.  

[Brian]

I think it is very good work too..I like it. But is it Yasuchika good? I don't think so.

[Surfson]

I'm not sure if Yoneno is still alive, but if so, perhaps you can debate it with him Brian!  Or as Mr. Klein says, "way bother"?  

[Curran]

The Nara-san-saku is a pleasant book with some fittings in it that the NBTHK does not seem to agree are authentic, or they 'Horyu' as a recent trend.

A fair number of them seem to have come to market in the last year or two.

 

Risk to Reward on Yahoo!Japan is very bad, unless you really know what you are doing AND get lucky.

(ie. someone like "Wei-bother" doesn't spot it first).

I've only bought one thing from Yahoo!Japan this year, in late January. Probably that is it.

[Ken-Hawaii]

For almost $10K, somebody liked it a LOT!

[Curran]

For Wei the White Whale, that isn't too much.

 

He has deep pockets. Real person- not a shill.

Usually if you are bidding against him, give up.

[Surfson]

An expert - friend of mine told me that the Higo Kinko Taikan has been plagued with bad items but that the Nara san saku has not.  

 

I'm curious Curran what examples you have heard of from that book.  

 

My friend also told me that the going rate for authentic shodai Yasuchika is $12,000-15,000, and some fine pieces have reached many fold that amount, so $10,000 seems to indicate that the market (in this case bidders on the tsuba) thinks that this piece is correct.  Of course the market can be wrong, sometimes dramatically so.  

 

As to Yahoo Japan, I have had a lot more success buying items that I am very pleased with than ebay or other online sources.  I recently bought this piece for just a few hundred dollars and it has a custom fitted box and feels great in hand.  I won't defend Yahoo too vigorously though, because it, like ebay, has a huge percentage of junk, modern reproductions or pieces misrepresenting themselves designed to trap the unwary.  

 

I'm sorry to hear that none of you like the design of this tsuba nearly as much as I do, but I guess because of that I'm glad that I don't own it and have to face the eventual prospect of selling it!  I think it really gives the impression of being in a cave and maybe that isn't very appealing.   

[Surfson]

It's funny Curran, I thought that "wei bother" was a joke that Pete made.  Who is this person?  

[Curran]

@Surfson

 

Real person. Been around for years. He likes his privacy, so I will die before revealing it. He can out himself, if he ever wants.

That is all I will say. Perhaps that is already too much.

 

Given the age of the Higo Kinko Taikan, I'd expect some duds in there. But the NBTHK seems to paper anything in there, as if sworn on a bible.

The Nara San Saku, on the other hand.... the NBTHK seems to not agree so much. Who is right vs wrong? Up to a certain point, I was a big NBTHK fanboy.

Now, not so much.

 

Most good fittings trade privately. I'd always heard that, and now consider it to be true.

[Brian]

With a name like that pun, I am betting money that he is a Westerner with good Japanese contacts. Probably someone spoken of occasionally here, maybe posting seldom.
Probably a higher end dealer. I don't need to know who he is, nothing wrong here.