Namban tsuba and in appreciation of John P. Lissenden

[Dan tsuba]

In appreciation of John P. Lissenden.

Dr. Lissenden (who received his PhD before submitting his master’s thesis on another subject and area of study) was a member of this great forum.

Unfortunately for the tsuba world, he passed on several years ago.

Dr. Lissenden wrote a master’s thesis on namban type tsuba.

In some of my posts on other threads, I have referred members of this forum to his excellent paper.

If anyone wishes to gain further knowledge on namban type tsuba, I highly recommend his thesis.

It was written in 2002 and (in my opinion) is a masterpiece!

Dr. Lissenden’s paper can be found on this website-

https://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4129/1/4129_1648.pdf

Just something I wanted to pass on to newer members of this forum.

 

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

Thanks Dan. I have checked some of Lissenden's images and managed to track some down - unfortunately either the Museums he used as references have changed their item identification numbers or Mr Lissenden transcribed them incorrectly. 

most of the images from the V&A have the wrong code - there is a full stop mark needed after the M which Lissenden has missed in most cases.

 

Plate 6.  page 159 says M194-1931 but should in fact be M.194-1916

 

The example  plate 7 page 160, I could not access in the museum mentioned but an almost identical one can be seen in the V&A  M.1147-1926

 

Plate 8 page 161 also has the wrong accession number 684.'30  [It can be found in Greville Cooke's book page 68] 1930M684

 

Plate 16 page 169 has the wrong accession number [TWCMS J10370] it should be TWCMS J10320

 

For anyone interested, I have most of the images used in the treatise [enhanced] including the ura views [or the side not illustrated therein]

 

https://collectionssearch.northeastmuseums.org.uk/#view=list&id=7d1f&modules=ecatalogue&keywords=tsuba&ColObjectStatus=Current   has access to the tsuba illustrated from the Laing Art Gallery. Unfortunately a great many tsuba in this collection have no images.

[Brian]

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/files/file/29-the-namban-group-of-japanese-sword-guards-a-reappraisal/

But a good reminder for collectors

[Gakusee]

He was a lovely gentleman, who, unfortunately, I never had a chance to meet in person. However, he used to write these polite and erudite letters to me in terms of his membership of the Token Society and how he enjoyed our newsletters and reports. Sometimes one can glean an impression, or perspective, of someone just on the basis of a few sentences.
While I have fully embraced modern technology and its advantages, occasionally I miss the old times when people used to come to meetings eager to learn (as opposed to forming views on the basis of Internet browsing or some opinions exchanged in a chat) or send each other hand-written letters. Call it nostalgia or what not, but the interpersonal relationships and discussions were different. 

[Robert S]

Section 9.3 of Dr Lissenden's paper, on the use of casting in Namban tsuba, matches my recent observations of some Namban work.  Many of the tsuba are pretty obviously sand cast, with varying degrees of post casting chasing and detail refinement undertaken.  Thus it appears that Namban is not only a style but a technological package.

[Dan tsuba]

I have always thought that Dr. Lissenden’s thesis on namban tsuba was ahead of its time.

As most new subjects written by forward thinking academia individuals usually are.

It is a great read, and I refer to it often in my own research.

[Spartancrest]

Just throwing this Namban tsuba in this thread - Namban not Hizen, you can plainly see the hitsu have been cut in after the guard was made. 

 

     Someone has not looked after the poor thing!

Lissenden would not be pleased. Interesting to see the indented/recessed "seppa-dai" on the ura.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/v1212875887