Tsuba attribution. Bizen Shoami?

[Bugyotsuji]

The dealer suggested Mid Edo, Bizen Shoami... but not quite sure why, except that a) Bizen is local to here, and b) the 'butterflies' reinforce (to him) the impression of Bizen, with the Lord Ikeda family Bizen-cho Mon influence. 7.7 cm diameter.

 

The iron is deeply carved, and the butterflies (moths?) seem to have both top and bottom, reversed on the reverse. The leaves and the wings have faint designs on them.

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for looking. The silence tells me three things!

[Lorenzo]

If nobody says nothing, I throw in my comment so the other members can correct me :lol:

 

I see some Echizen resemblance.

[Bugyotsuji]

Echizen. Hmmm... Thank you Lorenzo. Where do you see this?

Every drop of knowledge is precious.

[Toryu2020]

Piers -

I would have said Choshu - not being a Kodogu guy - still I do know that Shoami groups existed just about everywhere. I say Choshu though from the Crysanthemum - that one little flower seems to appear in all kinds of Choshu works. The "Aoi" like leaves do look a bit like Echizen Kinai but given the primitive presentation of the butterfly I would look for Choshu pieces to compare with.

FWIW

-t

[Lorenzo]

Piers, I see the resemblance in the way the hitsu ana are lined, the seppadai, the mimi and the leaves.

 

See here

 

I'm not saying I am right, just pointing out a feeling.

 

Shoami is the safest hypothesis, when you don't know what it is it's Shoami

[Guido]

a) I never heard of "Bizen Shôami"

b) The unnatural, shiny surface makes me think of someone putting a brass or nylon brush to the surface to get rid of every spec of rust.

[Bugyotsuji]

Thomas, I will keep Choshu in mind. These people moved around, carrying their styles with them, which makes it very hard for us to see a distinct flavor/flavour of geography at all times.

 

Thank you. Guido, yes, it does have that appearance. You could say that it is in very good condition for its age. I will be rubbing it with a cotton cloth. I hadn't heard of Bizen Shoami until I looked it up and found it does indeed exist! :lol:

 

Lorenzo, the eighth tsuba in your Echizen Kinai link looks very similar in execution. The stolid, rather thick appearance of the two-paired theme, and the obvious concern for strength above artistry make my Celtic ancestry want to cry out that they are by the same Tsubako. My Anglo-Saxon side calls for calm. One distinctive feature is the two large oval windows either side

[Guido]

I hadn't heard of Bizen Shoami until I looked it up and found it does indeed exist!

Piers, I'm don't have my books with me right now (arrived in Tôkyô on the 25'th of April and will stay for three more weeks), but googled "Bizen Shôami" and found out that this group indeed existed. It just didn't ring a bell, and I still don't remember any Tsuba that caught my fancy with this attribution. "Lack of exposure" seems to be the key-word in my case .

 

Anyhow, I've seen this shiney grey surface on Tsuba that have been "polished" one way or the other. My guess is that you'll wear out about three pairs of jeans until a natural patina develops - 頑張って下さい!

[Bugyotsuji]

Guido...　frottage? 分かった！頑張るぞ～　

[Guido]

Well, my dictionary defines *frottage* as "consensual sexual rubbing between partners" - I never tried it with a Tsuba, but if it works for you ...

[Lorenzo]

Piers, back to the tsuba, (ero oyaji, you two)

 

"One distinctive feature is the two large oval windows either side"

 

what does this tells you? Where are you oriented after our suggestion? I can't see any resemblance with Bizen Shoami. If it was only because of the butterfly mon, I think you should widen your research; who suggested that school? The tsuba has papers?

[Bugyotsuji]

Two large oval windows, one on either side... hmmm... yes, Marie Antoinette's coach, I have been looking for this feature.

 

But that Echizen Kinai tsuba in your link above with the two cranes is by far the closest so far, Lorenzo.

[Soshin]

From the looks of the tsuba in the photos. It looks like the tsuba has been cleaned and repatinated. I cannot confirm this without having the tsuba in hand and examining it closely under good lighting conditions. The complete lack of rust any and the color is good evidence of the repatination. I have a old tsuba like this from the Momoyama Period that was repatinated at some point awhile ago possibly in the Late Edo period after it was hit with a musket ball on the ura side and a iron sekigane added to kozuka hitsu-ana. It has much less rust then would be expected of such a old tsuba and the color is typical for Edo Period tsuba. It was likely completely cleaned and altered before it was repatinated. Overall I still like my tsuba as the iron is still really nice.

I can confirm that there was a Bizen Shoami school active during the Edo Period.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David S.

[Bugyotsuji]

Good point, David. I get a fairly 'good' feeling from this tsuba. There is rust in the interstices, BTW.

 

A friend of mine is very well versed in patination/repatination. I was just discussing this tsuba with him this morning; I will definitely show it to him this weekend and see what he comes up with! :D

 

Filed away in my brain are 1. Bizen Shoami, 2. Choshu (Chrysanthemums) 3. Echizen, Kinai.

 

I just discovered that Amagi Castle in Okayama was home of the Amagi branch of the Ikedas, and one of their Mon was two opposing butterflies... something like this:

http://fairgroundattraction.cocolog-nif ... 0544_2.JPG

 

Anyway it's all grist to the mill. Many thanks for all the people who have taken the trouble to comment so far.

[Bugyotsuji]

Quick 'final' follow-up on this tsuba. I showed it to a respected Tsuba collector yesterday and when I mentioned the opinions on this site concerning Choshu/ Echizen Kinai his eyes lit up and he smiled. 'Yes', he said, 'particularly Echizen'... and then he added 'Mid Edo'.

 

PS. There is a wonderful display of Tsuba and Koshirae from private collections on the 3rd floor of Okayama Castle this month. On the second floor are perhaps 20 exceptional swords.

 

http://www.city.okayama.jp/kankou/img/s ... etuten.pdf