Two very similar tsuba.

[JPenn]

One in my possession, the other offered by Aoi Art. Both are humble pieces of low value, Aoi's at $224, mine acquired at a small fraction of that.

 

While I buy nothing for investment value, this tsuba appealed to me as a chance to handle a handworked, non-cast fitting at low cost. I figured it as a Meiji piece worth no more than the $40 I paid for it.

 

Needless to say I was surprised to see a very, very similar hamidashi tsuba for sale among Aoi's superb offerings. Would their assessment and valuation of this as 'Late-Edo' be accurate?

 

Aoi's piece: http://www.aoi-art.com/fittings/tsuba/F08679-3.html

 

My piece is shown as an attachment.

 

This tsuba also makes me wonder about how tosogu were sold in the period. I've assumed anything of real value was made-to-order, but did shops mass-produce fittings in popular styles? I know of 'shiiremono' made in the Meiji era to just be sold as trinkets, and I actually find that to be a fascinating subject that deserves an article to be written on it at least someday.

 

Thoughts?

 

J. Penn

 

(PS: my apologies if discussion of low-value items is considered offensive.)

[John A Stuart]

I am not sure 'mass produced' is the right word. Except for very original pieces, I think most successful designs would be available in multiple editions and various school adaptations. John

[Bugyotsuji]

I have heard a Kinko/Shokunin looking at a tsuba for the first time and then saying after some moments, "Neratteru tokoro wa wakaru na..." or "I can see what the maker was aiming for".

 

In other words there must have been thousands of attempts to emulate/recreate famous tsuba, in sincerest honor/honour, many of which attempts will be extant, all slightly different, and each of varying quality.

[Lorenzo]

I have heard a Kinko/Shokunin looking at a tsuba for the first time and then saying after some moments, "Neratteru tokoro wa wakaru na..." or "I can see what the maker was aiming for".

 

[Soshin]

This tsuba also makes me wonder about how tosogu were sold in the period. I've assumed anything of real value was made-to-order, but did shops mass-produce fittings in popular styles? I know of 'shiiremono' made in the Meiji era to just be sold as trinkets, and I actually find that to be a fascinating subject that deserves an article to be written on it at least someday.

 

Thoughts?

 

J. Penn

 

(PS: my apologies if discussion of low-value items is considered offensive.)

As John S. has already stated I don't think any mass production of these type of things was accruing any time during the Edo Period. The technology just was in place in Japan until after the beginning of the Meiji Period to support mass production of metal fittings or handicrafts. Popular styles and themes were established in the Momoyama Period or earlier and then were copied and interpreted in different ways all throughout the Edo Period with different degrees of success sometimes even across different schools. You can start to see this if you study enough pieces and I find this fact about Japanese art very interesting.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David S.

[Henry Wilson]

The technology just was in place in Japan until after the beginning of the Meiji Period to support mass production of metal fittings or handicrafts.

 

The technology, like metal cutting machines might not have been available until Meiji, but I don't think this would have stop mass production. There were plenty of capable and willing metal workers who could have quite easily mass produced something if they were told to do so.

 

I think that popular styles and themes were created during the first few generations of a new school and then imitated by others, be it outside schools or workers of that school. The initial originality was diluted by these other artists which saw the demise of the school as the orginality became lost. Goto (after the 4th generation I think?) and Yamakichibei (after the second I think?) immediately come to mind. I think the Akasaka group was one of the only schools to regenerate itself after the fourth master I think.

[John A Stuart]

Most schools had their golden period. Shirobei Goto work had stagnated at times and revived, as well the branches had their high periods as well. Sword smiths as well as fittings artists schools all had periods of better than average work produced, coincidently usually the early generations. John

[JPenn]

Thank you for all of your input.