Comments, please, on a mumei, shakudo kozuka ...

[docliss]

Do any members have any comments to make on this mumei, shakudō kozuka, The metal is of high quality and of a rich, black coloration, and the nanako, not shown clearly in these photographs, is very worn – almost smooth at the upper end. The reverse is polished and undecorated.

 

Regards, John L.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hi John,

 

A very enjoyable ume (?) piece that is well balanced and of good quality in nice old original condition,

If memory serves there was a very similar piece on Tetsugendo some time ago, only wish I could recall the tradition, school, and artist, hmm.

[Ford Hallam]

Judging by the shape of the stamens of the flower I'd suggest it's a camellia.

 

Clearly the piece has age as evidenced by the honest wear to the nanako, and the subsequent healing of the patina. This self healing of worn patina is not a feature of Edo period shakudo so I confidently place this pre Edo, most probably Momoyama period. The feeling of the motif seems about right to me, too.

 

So we're left with a relatively small pool to choose from....Ko- Mino seems obvious.

 

regards,

 

Ford

[nagamaki - Franco]

Judging by the shape of the stamens of the flower I'd suggest it's a camellia.

 

Hi Ford, yes, the leaves and stems do have that evergreen leaf-branch appearance, don't they,

[docliss]

Thank you both for your helpful comments on my kozuka.

 

Some time ago, in an attempt to understand how the patination of soft metal kodōgu is retained in spite of a loss of the profile of the nanako, I suggested that this loss may not be entirely due to ‘wear’, but also to a correction of the stresses produced in the metal by the creation of the nanako and brought about by the natural elasticity of that metal. I even went so far as to suggest that such kodōgu might undergo these changes after storage, even without wear, for a number of centuries.

 

I do not recall any feed back over this suggestion, and would be interested to hear Ford’s thoughts on this.

 

Regards, John L.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John,

 

I'm a bit rushed right now but will try to add some more info regarding your query asap.

 

regards,

 

ford

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hi John,

 

Shakudo patina is the result of oxidation of the surface metal (copper/gold in measured percentages), when exposed to atmosphere and/or chemical catalyst. The effect nanako will have on the process is that it will increase the amount of exposed surface area, which in turn should increase the rate of oxidation. As nanako wears down and new surface becomes exposed the oxidation process continues, even in storage. I would imagine there is a saturation point where the ongoing oxidation process will stop increasing in its effect. The higher the quality of the shakudo the better the resulting patina will be. At least this is my understanding to this point, corrections welcomed.

[Rich T]

Hi all, nice Kozuka John. I agree with Ford's dating, probably Momoyama if not late Muromachi, but I think the design is far too barren for Mino work. This sort of centered, minimalist design was favoured by Gotô Sôjô and the revisited by some of the slightly later artists such as Tokujô and Eijô.

 

I think this kozuka would fall into that area somewhere, Ko- / Gotô but I wonder if it might not just get a Ko Kinko attribution in this day and age :-)

 

John, is the center of the flower finished in iroe ?

 

This is a nice typical Tokujô kozuka.

 

http://www.ginzaseikodo.com/tokujou.html

 

a Sojô kogai form my collection.

 

 

Just some thoughts.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[Ford Hallam]

On more careful consideration I have to say I agree wholly with Rich's assessment of this being most likely early Goto. As you say Rich, Mino work is never this restrained.

 

The patina on shakudo, is as Franco described, a thin layer of copper oxide that is induced by means of a very mild, aqueous copper salt solution. In the case of early shakudo (ie; made with impure copper) this patina can reform through general handling, this is due to various oils/acids/salts etc on the skin reacting with the metal particularly minute traces of arsenic in the copper. This sort of self healing is rarely particularly even, or complete, on later shakudo that has been made with more refined copper. The exact reasons have to do with the specifics of oxide formation and actual alloy compositions.

 

John, the idea that the initial deformations caused by the creation of the nanako gradually easing back to the initial position is an interesting one. In fact, to a certain extent, this sort of movement can occur in metal but it is only a microscopic sort of effect. In addition to which it is quite common for the plate baring the nanako to be made before the kozuka is soldered together. The heat required to join the constituent parts would necessarily anneal the metal as thus relieve all stress set up by the punch work.

 

The other thing to note is the actual wear pattern. Typically, you'll find that those areas that would be shielded from the caresses of fingers and thumbs etc ( In the areas adjacent to the frame and just around the raised inlay for instance), tend to retain quite crisp nanako albeit clogged with grime and dust. :D

 

Franco's idea that the wear may be accounted for by an ongoing corrosion process is also intriguing but as far as the specifics of the patina make-up on shakudo, it has been clearly shown, through various analysis and electron microscope examinations, that this is a very stable film. The sort of ongoing conversion of metal to oxide layer, that is suggested, would be identified by a green, verdigris layer.( rokusho) In fact, any careful examination of older shakudo, under good magnification, will inevitably reveal tiny traces of this green oxide but for any sort of significant breakdown of the surface layer to occur would require a fairly hostile atmosphere, or environment. The effect of such corrosion would also not be particularly even.

 

Hope this adds something to the pot

 

regards,

 

Ford

[docliss]

In reply to Rich’s query, no, the centre of the flower is not iroe, and the effect in my photograph is simply the effect of light reflection. Am I wrong in seeking gold decoration, albeit minimal, as a constant feature in Gotō work? And is not the depth of the carving on my kozoka too deep for it to be considered as Kō-Kinko work?

 

Regards, John L.

[Ford Hallam]

John,

 

looking through some of the most recent catalogues of Goto work it is evident that there are quite a few early examples that are in fact merely plain shakudo.

[Rich T]

John,

 

looking through some of the most recent catalogues of Goto work it is evident that there are quite a few early examples that are in fact merely plain shakudo.

 

Agreed, and it was very common in Ko Goto work.

 

In regards to the depth, that is also common in Goto and Ko Kinko, though not so much as Mino, but it is the mass of design this piece lacks John. The whole face of the kozuka would be covered with detail almost, not just a small center section. This is one of the most common traits in Ko Mino work.

 

Now Joshin was also fond of filling his work area with design, and you will also see it in Waki Goto and Kaga Goto work, but I have not seen Ko Mino with a minimalist design as I noted in the earlier thread.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[nagamaki - Franco]

Good Afternoon Gents,

 

Franco's idea that the wear may be accounted for by an ongoing corrosion process is also intriguing ......

 

For clarification; what I was referring to is that as the plate surface wears down due to mechanical/outside forces,"fingers and thumbs", and new surface layers become exposed, self healing (active oxidation) takes place. What I'm speculating about is that as this self healing process takes place (active), there is a point of saturation where the shakudo has reached a maximum point of "patination", it is at that point where I don't think that the oxidation process actually turns completely off, but simply reaches a 'steady state', that is until the next heavy finger and thumb comes along rubbing the surface repetitively to expose a new layer of metal. In doing so this ongoing alternating micro process of self healing and wear eventually wears away the nanako, but with hardly any notice that the patina has been replaced over and over, as well. It is only when a major wear event occurs exposing the 'copper color' that we realize something is taking place.

Hmm, talk about a long term time lapse photography project?

[Ford Hallam]

Sorry Franco, I misunderstood what you were getting at. The process as you've described it is precisely what seems to have happened to these older, pre-Edo shakudo pieces.

 

I'd also suggest that this worn effect was highly prized as being a true expression of wabi/sabi....with a dash of shibui, to taste :D

[nagamaki - Franco]

Sorry Franco, I misunderstood what you were getting at.

 

Hi Ford, no need for apologies, with English being my second language, my thoughts don't always translate into written words as intended the first time through.

[bridgeofdreams]

A very tasteful and interesting kozuka, John.

 

I appreciate the informed discussion of this and other work but don't have anything to add to it. I do find the comments and observations about wear patterns on nanako to be most interesting. I don't know that I have any particularly insightful comments except that I have only seen this sort of wear on pre-Edo work. This kozuka seems to have had a more well-defined nanako to begin with than another that I know quite well, a "Five Bulls" kozuka I have owned for some time which Boris currently has listed for me on his website, http://www.yamabushiantiques.com, on the consignment page. The direct link is http://www.yamabushiantiques.com/CH%20Kozuka%202.htm

 

It seems to me that this example shows a cruder nanako technique than John's. I'm not sure if that means anything, but my tendency is to think of it as being somewhat older work. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

Craig

 

Craig Harris

http://www.bridgeofdreams.com