Help on Attribution and Decoration meaning

[zanilu]

Dear All

This is one of my most recent acquisitions.

 

 

It is a nice mokko gata iron tsuba with brass inlay. Dimensions 86.3 mm x 85.5 mm, 3.8 mm thick at seppa dai.
The brass inlay is almost the same on the omote and ura sides. The only difference is in the positioning of the ten-zogan away from the seppa dai.
My first idea was of course Heianjo, but the practically symmetrical design between front and back leave me with some measure of doubt. Any of you have a different attribution?

 

 

Aside of the four kiku mon (菊文) the chevron like decorations are a little puzzling in their meaning. If I do a search on Jisho (https://jisho.org/search/chevron) I get as a result "Yamagata" (山形) i.e. "mountain shape; chevron; cone".
Is this a fitting description for the triangular shapes surrounding the chrysanthemums? I am missing something? Do you have/see a different interpretation? Or the combined design chrysanthemum-chevron have a meaning by itself?

Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Best Regards
Luca
 

[Curran]

Onin tsuba.

ie. a grade or two above Heianjo.

 

It looks to me one of the thicker later sukashi ones of the 1500s. For similar, see the Compton Onin that sold off Andy Quirt's site:

   [hmmm... image seems to be gone now. I guess you have to pop open Vol 2 of the Compton Auctions. It was a very nice piece. Andy has 2 other nice ones up.]

Torigoye-Haynes publication by the Northern California Tokenkai has a very good multi page discussion of Onin.

 

 

 

 

[zanilu]

Thank you Curran.

 

Do you mean this one?

 

 

In the mean tine I have found another Onin tsuba with a similar desing:

 

 

From Gemmel, Tosogu: Treasure of The Samurai, Sarzi-Amade Limited, 1991 pag 142 number 17 described as "Onin iron tsaba of star design with cast brass strip inlay. Early Muromachi period".

 

Regards

Luca

[MauroP]

Chevron-like decoration are frequently referred as sugi (杉 - Japanese cedar), but I suspect (and somewhere indeed I read about it) that it could also be a highly stylized representation of waves.

[zanilu]

Grazie Mauro. 

 

I will look into it! If they are indeed waves then the decoration can be regarded as an extremely stylized kukusui mon? Or I am letting my imagination running too wild? 

 

Regards 

Luca

[zanilu]

From:

 

Mori Yuzan, Hamonshu: A Japanese Book of Wave and Ripple Designs

 

Volume I, page 5:

 

Volume I, page 15

 

Volume III, page 17

 

Regards

Luca

[Curran]

Excellent. I learned something about tosogu today.

Thank you Luca and Mauro.

 

Yes, that one was the Compton one.

Nice tsuba. Thin too. Onin are much more ko-katchushi in feel than the Heianjo.

I find the thin Onin, especially the sukashi ones, a side pleasure outside of my usual Owari and Higo interests. I have owned three of them and on/off regret having sold two of them. If I ever permit myself a larger less focused collection, one of theses thinner sukashi Onin will be on the short list of what I want to have.

 

[MauroP]

Luca, you have open to me a whole library of wonderful design Meiji book. Thank you!

[Curran]

Mmm. Ding!

That is a good book.

 

I think some people know Waves are my favorite theme. Wave themed tosogu are about 20% of what I own.

Now a book that compliments them perfectly.