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Yamakichibiei Tsuba


Steve Waszak

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Happy Holidays, all... :)

 

Offered on this Christmas Eve is an iron mokko Yamakichibei tsuba, featuring what I believe to be a (very) partial wheel motif.  Two udenuki-ana are present on the lower lobe of the guard.  This piece is notable for its exceptionally beautiful iron, boasting a wonderful combination of strong tsuchime and bold tekkotsu, and finished with a yakite-shitate treatment in combination with hiashi-yasuri radiating lines emanating from the nakago-ana.  A fascinating highlight with this tsuba is the clear signs of the folding of the iron, visible near the edges of the four lobes. 

 

This is a sword guard that deliberately expressed elements pointing to the process of its making, an aesthetic especially valued in the Momoyama Period and closely associated with the Tea Culture of the time.  Due to the heavy yakite-shitate on the plate surface, the Yamakichibei mei is all but gone (Yamakichibei sword guards are often signed prior to the application of the yakite treatement).  Dimensions are 7.6cm x 7 cm; thickness is 4mm at the mimi, 1.5 - 2.0mm at the nakago-ana.  For those who appreciate the Yamakichibei aesthetic, this is a gorgeous tsuba.  $850, plus shipping.

 

 

 

 

 

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Yamakichibei MokkoD.jpg

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Yamakichibei MokkoC.jpg

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