A KYO-SHOAMI SCHOOL TSUBA

Details

A KYO-SHOAMI SCHOOL TSUBA
MOMOYAMA PERIOD (1573-1600)

The round iron plate is pierced with a design of a water plantain (omodaka) on one side and a stalk, bloom, and small leaf on the other. The rounded edge has slight iron bones. There is slight rust on the lower portion--height 8cm., width 7.8cm., thickness 4.75mm.

Literature

For another example, see Sasano (1972), no. 52, p. 88.

Lot Essay

This classic early Kyo-Shoami tsuba was made for a family which used omodaka as its crest. The most prominent of these were the Matsudaira, Mizuno, Arima, Sakai and Mori families. The quantity of open space in this design is unusual in Kyo-Shoami work of this period; it imparts a light and delicate quality to the guard.