Iron, marugata, with small sukashi openings, as well as some gold nunome-zogan inlay, and a design of what looks to be a Hō-ō phoenix at the top, and another mythical beast at the bottom, with background of waves. The design of the seppa-dai and shallow relief carving of the work gives the impression of a Namban work, or possibly Hizen Hōrinshi. The image at the top of the tsuba looks somewhat like a crane, but the long tail feathers are more in the style of a Hō-ō (phoenix). The image at the bottom is unclear, and has yet to be identified. Two hitsu ana. Mid-to-late Edo.
Note: An unusual tsuba and I can quite figure out the image at the bottom. Doesn’t look like a dragon, or shi-shi dog. At first I didn’t think this tsuba looked like a typical Namban tsuba, but the seppa dai is very much in the Namban style. There was also an artist based in Hizen who signed with “Hizen Nagasaki Hourinshi”, and he made Namban style tsuba like this one. So maybe this one may be an interesting item for some Namban collectors.
Mei/signature:
Mumei
(possibly Hizen Hōrinshi)
School/province:
Nizen Nagasaki / Nanban
Period/age:
Edo
Measures:
7.10 cm x 6.60 cm x 0.50 cm
Certificate:
No
Included:
NO kiri box included
