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    Brass hira-zōgan iron tsuba with design of vines and thunder. Muromachi or Momoyama period, 16th century.

    Iron tsuba of round form with dam-shaped rim (dote-mimi) pierced with hitsu-ana and two udenuki-ana (probably cut later on) decorated in flat inlay (hira-zōgan) with vines and symbols of thunder or lightning (possibly - family crest, mon). Hitsu-ana and nakago-ana with copper sekigane.

    Ōnin or Heianjō school, or, possibly Kaga or Umetada school. Momoyama period or earlier (Muromachi), 16th century. Unsigned.

    Size:  64.5 x 63.8 x 2.2 (center), 4.2 (rim) mm.

    Provenance: Lundgren Collection: [Japanese sword-fittings and metalwork in the Lundgren Collection. Published by Otsuka Kogeisha Co., Ltd., Tokyo 1992], №31; The Lundgren Collection of Japanese Swords, Sword Fittings and A Group of Miochin School Metalwork. Christie's Auction: Tuesday, 18 November 1997, London. Sales "GOTO-5881". Christie's, 1997, №2. Lundgren's description at Christie's: Heianjo tsuba. Unsigned. The circular plate decorated in brass hirazogan with flowers, plants and symbols of thunder, dote mimi and udenuki ana, late Muromachi period (16th century). Tokyo 1992 description: Sword guard with design of flowering plants and frets in inlay. Unsigned. Heianjo inlay school. 6.35 x 6.3 cm, thickness of rim 0.40 cm. Iron. Flat brass inlay. Muromachi-Momoyama Period, 16th century. Provenance: The Second John Harding. A somewhat look-a-like pieces can be found in various catalogues. The one in Naunton Collection, №172, is signed: Umetada of Yamashiro: "Iron, small, almost circular, with raised oval rim, inlaid all over with leaves and scrolls in brass hirazōgan."

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  • Ben B. Fischer. Okhrana: The Paris operations of the Russian imperial police. — CIA: Center for the study of intelligence, 1997 (2010 reprint).

    Paperback reprint on demand, 28 x 22 cm, in green malachite wrappers with yellow lettering to both covers; pp. [i-ii] iii-v[vi] 1-122 [4]. Title-page: Okhrana | The Paris Operations of | the Russian Imperial Police | Ben B. Fischer | History Staff | Center for the Study | of Intelligence | Central Intelligence Agency | 1997 || ISBN-10: 1907521992 Benjamin B. Fischer Contents. Foreword. Preface. Okhrana: The Paris Operations of the Russian Imperial Police. From Paris to Palo Alto. CIA Interest in the Okhrana Files. Origins of the Okhrana and Its Paris Office. Foreign Operations. Change and Continuity Dramatis Personae Conclusions Rita T. Kronenbitter Paris Okhrana 1885-1905. The Illustrious Career of Arkadiy Harting. The Sherlock Holmes of the Revolution. Okhrana Agent Dolin. The Okhrana's Female Agents: Part I: Russian Women. The Okhrana's Female Agents: Part II: Indigenous Recruits. Review of Edward Ellis Smith, The Young Stalin, by Harry Gelman. Commentary by Rita T. Kronenbitter.
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  • Akasaka tsuba with bamboo and sparrow motif by Tadamasa II. Early Edo period, 17th century.

    Iron tsuba with design of bamboo and sparrow (take-ni-suzume) in openwork (sukashi). Rounded rim. Copper sekigane. Akasaka school. Unsigned. Attributed to second generation Tadamasa Shōzaemon (died in in the fifth year of Enppo, 1677). Early Edo period: 17th century (Kan-ei / Kanbun era). Height: 79.0 mm. Width: 77.5 mm. Rim thickness: 5.5 mm. Center thickness: 6.6 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 222: "It is believed that sparrows nest in a bamboo grove". According to Merrily Baird [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001], "a bamboo grove is said to be emblematic of security as the bamboo is resilient even in the face of high winds and heavy rains. [...]  The association of the sparrow (suzume) with bamboo is an old one found in Japanese poetry, paining, and design. The bird is said to be obsessed with its honor, especially the repaying of debts".  
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