Gin Byakudan Ginko Mon Kin Nunome Handachi Koshirae
A very nice, very rare completely matching and high quality koshirae with all
original, matching iron with gold nunome fittings. The gold nunome pattern
represents cherry blossom petals. The saya is unusual in that it is “Gin
Byakudan” – namely silver leaf with “shu ai” urushi coating it. This technique
was generally only used with gold, silver, and sometimes tin on armors and
koshirae of the highest esteem. Though there is currently no kozuka ana, there
is a horn fitting which represents the position of where one would have been.
This is seen sometimes on fittings from the early 17th century that have been
converted from uchigatana with kozuka or kogai pockets to fittings without them.
Sometimes it is just a design element as a hold over from those fittings. The
saya is decorated with family mons of the three ginko leaf cluster and is in
excellent preserve, especially for byakudan. The shape of the saya has a very
nice original, thin profile that we believe to be unmolested. The tsuka has had
a re-wrap sometime in the 20th century. The menuki are ko kinko menuki of
flowers which are high quality and date from late 1500s-early 1600s.
The tsuba is a nice iron piece with a gold dragon nunome design that is in very
nice preserve. The outline is an unusual rounded diamond shape. The iron is very
nice and reminiscent of katchu shi iron. Many layers of iron are visible by
looking at the side profile or through the kozuka ana. The kogai ana has been
plugged with shakudo. This koshirae comes with an old, yet properly made tsunagi.
Total Size: 97cm
Saya: 72cm
Tsuka: 24cm
Tsuba: 7.7cm x 7.0cm x 6mm thick x 5.5mm at mimi.
Era: Late Momoyama-Early Edo (17th century)
400,000¥