Age of a kagamishi tsuba

[Marius]

Dear All,

 

I have a little argument with a collector friend of mine. I have bought a tsuba recently here on the NMB, which I see as a Muromachi (or Momoyama at the latest) kagamishi tsuba. My friend think it is an Edo kagamishi. He bases his assumption on the design, which for me is naive but noble. The plate has great patina, the tsuba is large at 7cm, very thin - 1.5 mm at the seppa-dai, tapering to below 1 mm close to the mimi.

 

I have attached a picture of a somewhat similar tsuba form Sasano-sensei's booklet, together with a description, which I cannot translate (maybe someone would confirm that the age attributed by Sasano is indeed at least Momoyama. please?)

 

So, what do you think? I know some of the members here have some excellent kagamishi in their collections

 

Thanks for your time

[Guido]

I have attached a picture of a somewhat similar tsuba form Sasano-sensei's booklet, together with a description, which I cannot translate (maybe someone would confirm that the age attributed by Sasano is indeed at least Momoyama. please?)

Sasano even places it at *early* Momoyama.

So' date=' what do you think?[/quote']I think I don't care. It's a beautiful Tsuba I wouldn't be ashamed to own. Actually I'm a little tired of the recent trend to try putting the age as far back as possible - "only a pre-Edo Tsuba is a good Tsuba" - and amused by the often outlandish theories that are supposed to "validate" the early dating. If it's Momoyama, great, if it is late Edo, so what? I collect art, not carbon datings ...

[Marius]

I think I don't care. It's a beautiful Tsuba I wouldn't be ashamed to own. Actually I'm a little tired of the recent trend to try putting the age as far back as possible - "only a pre-Edo Tsuba is a good Tsuba" - and amused by the often outlandish theories that are supposed to "validate" the early dating. If it's Momoyama, great, if it is late Edo, so what? I collect art, not carbon datings ...

 

Guido,

 

quite a refreshing view :-) I am not obsessed with age, but, yes, I try to collect pre-Edo tsuba because of their simple aesthetics. Not that I would not find similar, excellent tsuba among late Edo products, but somehow I share Yanagi Soetsu's view who seeks real art in craft. A simplification (apologies): pre-Edo tsuba are often the work of a craftsman. Edo tsuba are often the work of an artist. I wait for he flak now :lol:

 

Oh, and many thanks for reading and communicating Sasano sensei's attribution

[Guido]

Sorry, my fingers were faster than my brain: the description says *early Muromachi*!

[Soshin]

Hi Everyone,

 

I aggree with Guido's point I think there were wonderful works of art in all time periods. I like this tsuba regardless of age. It reminds me of a friends kagamisni tsuba that I dated to the Momoyama Period. I'm not completely condvenced with Sasano's early dating.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David Stiles