Info on my Tsuba

[mspialek]

Hi in just looking for some info on my Tsuba. I got it from a family member who served in the pacific during World War Two. Thanks 

[ROKUJURO]

Hi Mark!

Welcome to the NMB forum!

Your TSUBA is interesting and looks quite unusual to me. Is it magnetic?

[Kurikata]

Mark, welcome to NMB.

Your tsuba design is a kamon (Family crest) -  agehacho kamon [Taira Clan]

Edited Tuesday at 09:16 PM by Kurikata

[Bugyotsuji]

Yes, as Jean and Bruno say, an unusual but strangely attractive version of agehacho swallowtail. Alignment of eyes, dot numbers, number of legs…

The wave treatment of the rim is striking too. It could be a ‘torn-fan’ butterfly. Will check some books.

 

Among others, the Ikeda Daimyo family of Himeji and Tottori used the standing, wings-up butterfly.

[Bugyotsuji]

Here are two collections of butterfly kamon. You can see how much variety there was, allegedly up to 150 families using versions of butterfly Kamon.

 

A

 

B

[Spartancrest]

Hi Mark, a very nice guard!  The overall design is not uncommon but so far as I know all other examples are in iron so yours is even more unusual. 

 

 

https://varshavskycollection.com/collection/bizen-shoami-sukashi-tsuba-with-a-butterfly-design-early-edo-period/

 

    https://www.flyingtigerantiques.com/ca-1600-large-Japanese-katana-tsuba-of-the-ikeda-clan-mon-form.html

 

     https://www.liveauctioneers.com/price-result/bizen-shoami-sukashi-tsuba-with-butterfly-design-a-cut-off/?srsltid=AfmBOoqXf04EdDxx-K4vRdHHHFGXVgEhwJa_3yaSjEVbIdiUzrIZBmu4

Very likely these examples have had the rim removed.      MFA Boston

 

 

 

         https://www.espace4.com/en/collections/marugata-iron-tsuba-butterfly/

 

 

    https://world-seiyudo.com/product/tu-030522/

 

 

Welcome to NMB  

[mspialek]

Thanks for the info it’s all very interesting. I have not tried to see if a magnet we stick to it but I will and see if it does. 

[mspialek]

I did stick a magnet on it and it didn’t stick. It doesn’t show up in the pictures but it is pretty shiny. I did clean it up with some silver cleaner. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Generally it's a big no-no to clean these unprofessionally as the patina will often contain vital clues as to age.

[Spartancrest]

2 hours ago, mspialek said:

I did clean it up with some silver cleaner.

 

1 hour ago, Bugyotsuji said:

a big no-no to clean these unprofessionally

Yes the dirt and muck ADDS to the value - hard to believe but true! [but I did get rid of the chewing gum on one of mine! ]

[mspialek]

I’m not too worried about the value because I don’t have plans on selling it but would be more interested in its age. So hopefully I didn’t make it harder to determine. 

[Geraint]

Dear Mark.

 

One of the things that cleaning it up will do is remove the patina from an alloy known as shakudo.  This is a distinctive Japanese alloy of copper with a small percentage of gold which, when treated correctly, acquires a deep lustrous black colour which is still evident on the eyes and the inlayed sections at the back of the wing.  Some of these retain their colour while some are now looking like copper where the patina has been removed.  All being well, and further cleaning eschewed, these inlays will recover their patina over a considerable time.

 

I appreciate that you are not interested in the monetary value but the best way of approaching this item is as a work of art and yourself as its temporary custodian.  That art will communicate down the years if cared for.

 

Enjoy this and keep up the research.  In terms of age I note that no one has hazarded an assessment yet, it is an unusual tsuba.  My guess would be late 18th to 19th century, just to get the ball rolling, but I look forward to others informed opinions.

 

All the best.

[Spartancrest]

https://www.tsukamaki.net/PDF/gary_montgomery01.pdf   An amusing story of early tsuba collecting - and why cleaning is not something to undertake without research. 

 

[Robert S]

And maybe just a little more on the cleaning issue.  Part of making a tsuba for the artist is how they patinate it - it's a bit of an art in its own right - and the patina is part of the total piece.  Yet at the same time tsuba can deteriorate over time from corrosion, crud, etc.  If a tsuba has serious issues, it takes a real expert to remove (or at least reduce) the problems while preserving/matching the original patina as much as possible.  Do you have any pictures of the tsuba before polishing?  That might help to understand the era and school of the maker, as well as help guide what restoration might look like.  As Geraint says, over time a patina will come back.

[mspialek]

I received this when I was a kid and over 30 years after it was acquired. It was never kept by anyone in my family as a collector piece or a piece of history I’m sure that cleaning it was not the worst thing that could have happened to it. I’m sure that it was probably cleaned at some other point because I did not clean off heavy crud or patina. So I get it now it will never be cleaned again.