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2 Tsuba, and a tsuka with menuki, fuchi and kashira

gtstcactus

By gtstcactus
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gtstcactus Rising Star

gtstcactus

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Hey all,

 

I went to a militaria auction yesterday...... Not much in the way of nihonto, but I met a couple of collectors in the area and swapped contact details, which was good. I picked up a couple of items, not national treasures but I like them. The blades all sold to postal bidders unsighted for 3-4 times what I thought they were worth!!!

 

Pic of my finds....

 

I can't seem to photo the tsuba side on, they are not casts!

 

I got the orangutan tsuba (one face, the silver one has worn off) for a wakizashi I have with no tsuba or tsuka. I got to go out now but will edit post later.

 

Comments / info welcome!

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gtstcactus Rising Star

gtstcactus

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John,

 

You are quite likely right... Being more knowledgeable than I on the subject. It was labeled as orangutan so I went with that but some sort of ape it is for sure!. It fits my tsuba-less wakizashi like a glove! Now I just need a tsuka for it,

 

The photos of the 2nd tsuba didn't come out so good, I'll redo later. I can't quite tell what the menuki are one the handle.... It came with a home made wooden blade. At some stage I'd be keen on getting a blade for the set. Not a madly expensive blade, but something decent, and really just about anything would beat the wooden blade!

 

All in all it was a good outting, I met a nice chap who can do tsuka-maki, and build handles from scratch which is of help to me!

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Guido Grand Master

Guido

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Gibbons are indigenous to China (however, nowadays there are only to be found in South China) and were a subject of Japanese art since the Kamakura period, when Chinese monochrome paintings of the Song (960 ~ 1279) and Yuan (1279 ~ 1368) dynasties dealing with this theme became popular.

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Mark Green Experienced

Mark Green

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I suppose the tsuba artist could have been thinking of a Japanese Snow monkey, or Macaque?

It is very likely that he never saw a real monkey, and was going from some other tsuba, or old art.

 

Most tsuba artists of the day, never saw any of the creatures they were depicting in their art.

Tigers, are not from Japan, but you see many of them in tsuba theme. Most have a common flaw in the placement of their teeth. This is likely because most of the artists were going from old art, or another tsuba, made by someone else whom had never seen a tiger. So, in time, that tooth placement became the norm.

And many are very cartoon like.

 

It is the same with monkeys. I have seen at least a dozen of these long arm monkey tsuba. Some with 2 monkeys, others with one. Very few look like real monkeys???

Cheers, Mark G

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Brian

Brian

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Another Monty Python thread. Are we discussing tsuba or monkeys here? :)

I note that all the discussion is about the theme, and nothing about the tsuba. This to me (throwing aside diplomacy yet again) indicates the tsuba is low end and nothing to be said about it. I wouldn't have bought it. This is typical of the sub-$100 tsuba that are flooding the market and should be avoided.

Am I wrong?

 

Brian

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Guido Grand Master

Guido

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Had a bad day, Brian? ;-)

 

Yes, I agree that both the Tsuba that started this thread, and the one in the eBay link, are not exactly top of the line (see, even I can be civil when I try really hard). However, the discussion about the portrayal of monkeys in Japanese art that ensued certainly is worthwhile, isn't it?

 

And to make it all better for you, here's a Tsuba I posted in another thread some time ago: Tokuho, Momoyama Ko-Kinko.

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  • 4 weeks later...
gtstcactus Rising Star

gtstcactus

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Another Monty Python thread. Are we discussing tsuba or monkeys here? :)

I note that all the discussion is about the theme, and nothing about the tsuba. This to me (throwing aside diplomacy yet again) indicates the tsuba is low end and nothing to be said about it. I wouldn't have bought it. This is typical of the sub-$100 tsuba that are flooding the market and should be avoided.

Am I wrong?

 

Brian

Thanks Brian,

I can always rely on you to make me feel good! :thanks:

 

I didn't get them for other people to like them I got them because I like them!!!!!

 

Don't suppose anyone could hazard a guess at possible area / school of manufactuer?

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