Category: Tsuba

Tsuba: Nanban (Daisho)

Signature/mei: mumei

Material: iron, silver, traces of gold

Era/jidai: Edo

Form: slightly mokko

Dimensions dai: 8.2 cm x 7,6 cm x 0.55 cm (rim)

Dimensions sho: 7.6 cm x 7.1 cm x 0.47 cm (rim)

Price: 900 Euro

Nanban tsuba as daisho:

The sho still has some visible traces of gold, while the dai seems to have been covered with a silvery metal or lacquer in the past.

The silver fukurin was added later, but it matches the daisho very well and is carefully crafted. All four hitsu ana are also set in silver.

We sold this item before but we were able to buy it back from an auction house as it’s a nice example of nanban tsuba and also a daisho which makes it more infrequent.

Tsuba: by Tsuneshige

Signature/mei: Tsuneshige

Material: brass

Dimension:

Price: 600 Euro

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A wonderful tsuba made by Tsuneshige.

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Tsuba: Poet Li

Signature/mei: […]

Material: copper with kiriba and katakiriba

Dimension:

Price: 600 Euro

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A wonderful tsuba, with very fine and detailed carvings in kiriba and katakiriba on a copper plate. Gold inlays, one hitsuana.

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Tsuba: Seven sages of the bamboo grove

Signature/mei: […]

Material: shibuichi with kiriba and katakiriba

Dimension:

Price: 450 Euro

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Of the seven sages only four are shown on this tsuba in a very fine and detailed katakiriba.

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Tsuba: Autum geese and grass

Signature/mei: unsigend

Material: brass

Era/jidai: late Edo

Dimension:

No papers (guarantee hozon)

Price: 980 Euro

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Nice tsuba with a very nice surface. […]

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Tsuba: Awabi and sazae

Signature/mei: Echizen ju Kinai saku

Material: iron/ji-sukashi

Era/jidai: late Edo (18./19. century)

Dimensions: 8.1 cm x 0.44 cm

No papers (guarantee hozon)

Price: 800 Euro

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On this round iron ji sukashi tsuba with two hitsuana we see in radial order a mix of turban snails (sazae), hora and awabi. Everything we can see on the omote side is exactly matched on the ura side. This is a very naturalistic depiction as it is not a simple copy of the omote. The surface has a beautiful patina as it is very soft and dark.
The tsuba bears the signature “Echizen ju Kinai saku” as it was made by the famous Echizen Kinai school of tsuba artists. This wonderful carved tsuba is a very nice example of this school and I’m pretty sure it will get a hozon paper easily.

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Tsuba: Chrysanthemum

Signature/mei: Echizen ju Kinai saku

Material: iron/ji-sukashi, gold iore

Era/jidai: late Edo (18./19. century)

Dimensions: 8.1 cm x 0.51 cm

No papers (guarantee hozon)

Price: 900 Euro

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On this round iron ji sukashi tsuba with two hitsuana we see chrysanthemum flowers and leaves. Some leaves are decorated with gold iore. Everything we can see on the omote side is exactly matched on the ura side. This is a very naturalistic depiction as it is not a simple copy of the omote.
The tsuba bears the signature “Echizen ju Kinai saku” as it was made by the famous Echizen Kinai school of tsuba artists. This wonderful carved tsuba is a very nice example of this school and I’m pretty sure it will get a hozon paper easily.

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Tsuba: Aoi leaves

Signature/mei: Kinai

Material: iron/ji-sukashi

Era/jidai: late Edo (18./19. century)

Dimensions: 8.1 cm x 0.51 cm

No papers (guarantee hozon)

Price: 750 Euro

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On this round iron ji sukashi tsuba we see four opened and two rolled up aoi leaves. The open leaves have some holes as sukashi openings and some leaf veins decorated in kiriba. Two hitsuana. The tsuba is signed “Kinai” and is made by the famous Echizen Kinai school of tsuba artists.

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Tsuba: Gama Sennin (dai) / Fukurokuju (sho)

Signature/mei: mumei

Material: iron with high relief, inlays in copper and gold

Era/jidai: late Edo

Dimensions (dai): 11.1 cm x 11.8 cm x 0.58 cm

Dimensions (sho): 9.9 cm x 10.6 cm x 0.45 cm

Form: mokko

Price: 980 Euro

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Both tsuba have a very well and strongly forged iron. Gama Sennin is pictured on the dai together with his frog, of course. His face, hands and feet are inlaid with copper while his clothes are accentuated in copper and gold. A nice waterfall on the ura side completes the scene.

On the sho Fukurokuju is carved out of the iron plate. His teeth are inlayed in gold. His famous scroll is held by another person matching the omote side of the dai.

Tsuba: Rabbit jumping waves

Signature/mei: mumei

Material: shibuichi, relief with gold inlays

Era/jidai: late Edo

Dimension: 5.00 cm x 5.9 cm x 0.46 cm

Shape: Tate Mokko

No papers (guarantee Hozon)

Price: 650 Euro

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A tsuba with the famous design of a rabbit jumping through waves. The spray of the sea and the eye of the rabbit is inlaid and accentuated with gold. The rabbit and the waves look very lively, as the rabbit twists his body to evade a large breaking wave. A wonderful small tate mokko shaped shibuichi tsuba for a tanto with one hitsuana.

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Tsuba: Hotei and bag

Signature/mei: unsigned

Material: iron, gold iroe, copper iroe

Era/jidai: late Edo

Dimension: 8.5 cm x 7.8 cm x 0.54 cm

Price: 190 Euro

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Tsuba: Hotei with bag

Signature/mei: unsigned

Material: iron, gold iroe

Era/jidai: late Edo

Dimension: 8.3 cm x 7.8 cm x 0.49 cm

Price: 150 Euro

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Tsuba: Kagezakuramon – Modern

Signature/mei: unsigned/mumei (Lorenzo Amati)

Material: Iron, ji-sukashi, mokko gata

Era/jidai: Modern ca. 2014

Dimension: 7.7 cm x 7.76 cm x 0.52

Custom kiri box with artist seal,

inner fabrik in blue-green “rokusho” (緑青)

Price: 1200 Euro

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Lorenzo Amati, a pupil of Ford Hallam, made this modern interpretation of a mokko shaped ji–sukashi tsuba with sakura design. Two hitsu ana, copper sekigane in a custom handmade box with very nice fabric..

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Here are some impressions of the tsuba:
(Copyright by Lorenzo Amati)

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