Two iron sukashi tsuba

Steve Waszak · August 29

Here are two iron sukashi tsuba from my friend's collection, one an early-Edo Owari piece featuring a motif of varying tomoe and crossbars. While there are a few subtle tekkotsu in the rim, the tsuba overall presents as migaki-ji, rather than tsuchime-ji, leading me to date the tsuba to the early-Edo Period, rather than to Momoyama times. However, the large size of the guard has me thinking this could be late-Momoyama. The more conservative call, though, would be early-Edo. Dimensions are 8.4 cm x 8.4 cm x 6 mm, so, a very large ji-sukashi piece. These dimensions, in conjunction with the lively motif of the tomoe set against the solidity of the heavy crossbars, make for a bold presentation. The hitsuana are classic Owari in shape and size for the period. $285.00 plus shipping (PayPal Friends and Family).

The second tsuba is likely a Shoami work (or would be likely to be categorized this way). It features a matsukawabishi motif element set against a botanical element (I cannot make out what kind of leaves these are), both set within the "namako" shaped large sukashi openings on the right and the left. With the slightly rounded rim and the particular kind of sukashi openings (namako), I would not tag this as Owari. A notable feature of the tsuba is the large nakago-ana, measuring 2.8 cm from the top to the bottom of the ana. The tsuba overall measures 7.8 cm x 7.7cm x 4 mm. $185.00 plus shipping.