Yamagane Aoi Tsuba

A very rare and unusual early yamagane tsuba, which was likely originally intended for use on a tachi.   Eight Tomoe mon are stamped into the plate, in an alternating sequence with sukashi inome and rape flowers.  The single hitsuana is a later addition as it clearly cuts out a portion of a sukashi flower.  Considerable amounts of black lacquer remain on the plate and mimi.  The mimi appears to be a complex uchikaeshi type or a fukurin, soldered at the junction points in front of every inome sukashi - hard to say definitively.  A 3-lobed entrant is incorporated into the mimi design.    The entrant on the mimi is an enigma, and one that I have been unable to trace.  The closest I have come is a reference to this type of tsuba being associated with Shinano and/or Musashi provinces.   In any case, this odd design feature is ancient - likely dating back to at least Kamakura period (13th c.).  It is difficult to express how rare this type of tsuba is, but thinking back I can only think of 5 or 6 I have seen in over 20 years.

7.1 x 6.85 cm x 0.25 cm at seppadai, 0.85 cm at the mimi.   Early to Mid Muromachi Period ( late 14th - 15th c.)

Similar Item:  The Picture Book of Old Tsuba, Robert Burawoy, 1983. no. 2 and 3

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