John C Posted January 27 Report Posted January 27 Still trying to learn. While looking at a seller who sells tsuba for 100 bucks, this surprised me. What would indicate this as a tsuba that valuable? The seller also listed the metal analysis as 75% copper and 25% silver. Thank you, John C. 1 Quote
ROKUJURO Posted January 27 Report Posted January 27 John, perhaps the famous MEI? But worthless without ORIGAMI. 1 Quote
PietroParis Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 I doubt that the seller analyzed the metal composition. Probably they just mean that the tsuba is made of shibuichi, a silver-copper alloy where traditionally the silver is 25%. However, the actual silver content can vary a lot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibuichi Quote
John C Posted January 28 Author Report Posted January 28 2 hours ago, PietroParis said: I doubt that the seller analyzed the metal composition. You could be right. Most folks don't have one. This is a quote from the auction site: "A metal analyzer suggests that this is about 3/4 copper and 1/4 silver." John C. Quote
Brian Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 Combination of good work, and what seems to be a museum acquisition number, which would indicate it was good enough to be in a museum at some point. Valid or not...that would be the thinking by buyers. Certainly looks to be a competent piece, even before you look at the mei. 4 1 Quote
cluckdaddy76 Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 I was curious on this one too, I often use Ebay as one of my study tools. I believe this came from an antique dealer in the US and not someone who only deals in swords and sword fittings. There were a few decent pieces that this seller had that went for what I felt were decent prices by the end, this one was a couple levels ahead in terms of quality. This is why I keep studying, someone with knowledge knew exactly what this was and was not afraid to pay money for it. Quote
vajo Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 Good Tsuba. Price reflect the quality. You don't need any paper to see if it is good or not. Maybe its the mother of this? Quote
cluckdaddy76 Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 I am going to post a few more from this same auction that were no where near the quality of the one first posted, but still seemed to be decent tsuba. Believe this was a Choshu that ended up at $270 Quote
cluckdaddy76 Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 This one went for $290, guessing Bushu or Choshu Quote
cluckdaddy76 Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 I thought this one was a steal at $122, this was unsigned , if anyone has a thought on school I am curious. There were a couple others too that went for $150 or so that also looked of decent quality. Quote
Bazza Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 2 hours ago, cluckdaddy76 said: I am going to post a few more from this same auction that were no where near the quality of the one first posted, but still seemed to be decent tsuba. Believe this was a Choshu that ended up at $270 This one looks like it was made for the Aztec export market!!! BaZZa. 3 Quote
Lewis B Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 I'm guessing we're discussing Hirata Harunari in the 1st post. Big name but that style appears atypical for the Hirata School. The work of his school seems far more ornate and refined. The Mei raises questions too. Many red flags. 2 Quote
John C Posted January 28 Author Report Posted January 28 2 hours ago, cluckdaddy76 said: There were a couple On this one, as well as several others he had, l thought the random placement of "residual gold foil" looked a little too non-random to me. Spots of gold evenly spaced, not scuffed but gleaming, gold left on high spots but not on low spots - the "wear and tear" just didn't seem natural to me. John C. Quote
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