A KAMAKURABORI SUKASHI TSUBA

Details

A KAMAKURABORI SUKASHI TSUBA
MUROMACHI PERIOD (CIRCA 1500)

The circular iron plate is pierced with a design of a stone lantern, a fern frond bud, hanabishi flower and Genji chapter crests (mon) and is carved in relief with a design of chrysanthemums, waves, fern scroll, pagoda, flowers, leaves and small and large dots of dew--height and width 8cm., thickness 2.5mm.

In wood box inscribed by Torigoye Kazutaro, dated Showa 38 (1963).

Literature

For a very similar example, see Joly (1912), no. 9, pl. XI, p. 10.
For the same design in brass inlay, see Shibata M., Aigen-meisakushu (1961), no. 1, p. 1.
One Hundred Masterpieces (1992), no. 43.

Lot Essay

The pierced design of the Genji chapter mon at the top of the plate refers to the Agemaki chapter (on the face) and the Wakana no jo chapter (on the reverse) of Murasaki Shikibu's famous novel The Tale of Genji. Both chapters are associated with elements in the design: the block or lantern on the face, and the young herb or bracken shoot on the reverse.

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