Lot 180
180
A TSUBA IN EDO KINKO STYLE

Details
A TSUBA IN EDO KINKO STYLE
EDO PERIOD (CIRCA 1800)

The round iron plate tapers slightly towards the edge and is decorated in a carved vine tendril pattern upon which soft metal panels in shakudo and gold have been inlaid. These panels, three on the face and two on the reverse, are carved in relief with a design of a dragon in clouds against a shakudo nanako ground--height 7.3cm., width 7.0cm., thickness at center 5.0mm., at edge 4.0mm.
Provenance
Glendining & Co., London, July 1965, lot 428.

Lot Essay

This guard can be attributed to the work of the Goto Seijo school of Edo. There were several generations of this family and although they mostly worked on iron plate, they were also trained in Goto school soft metal techniques. In this guard these techniques are noticeable in the depiction of the dragon and the nanako ground, which is very well rendered.