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Really nice Tsuba on ebay..


J Reid

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Hey guys! So I was just checking out this Tsuba the other day. 19th C. Looks good to me, I think. What are you opinions on this piece? Original? A cast replica? I'm noooo good with identifying tsuba of this style.. I checked out the details.. Aside from the carvings being slightly crude, the "inlays" look decent, and overall piece looks of decent quality. OPINIONS PLEASE!! :?

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/300736232294?ru= ... 3D1&_rdc=1

 

Best,

Josh R.

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Josh,

 

The clue to how good this tsuba is...is in the auction description:

 

Cast with dragons among clouds and two ferocious looking tigers.

 

Looks to be pretty mediocre in quality.

 

You said:

...the carvings being slightly crude

Indeed.

What are you hoping to learn about this piece?

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Actually...contrary to the way things normally work here, in this case I suspect this one isn't cast, and is in fact genuine.

Nothing very high class, but typical of the type. But a reasonable tsuba at a fair price.

Am I wrong?

 

Brian

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I think you're right Brian. :lipssealed:

 

Edit - on reexamination this doesn't appear cast, so the seller could be wrong about this. Looks to be mediocre in quality, but still 'authentic Japanese'.

 

...the carvings being slightly crude
The sale price was not too high, so...
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It looks very sloppy to me. The nanako is done poorly, the inlay looks more like paint than some well positioned inlay. The gold "bleeds" along the edges and the more I look at it, the more it bothers me. I don't know what to think of this but I have seen a lot of "dock" pieces that are at least executed with more precision. Look at how the seppa dai is executed at the bottom. Totally uneven. Seems to me there are plenty of better pieces to be had for the same price. I am finding it hard to justify the multitude of imperfections and poor execution that I would expect from a real piece. Makes it more suspect to me. These imperfections are not wabisabi, its wabiugly in my opinion.

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Thanks for the opinions. As for the sellers use of the word "cast". I do believe he intended it be used as another term for "forged" or even "decorated" with dragons and tigers. Etc.

 

Best regards!

Josh R

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This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one, unless your post is really relevant and adds to the topic..

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