Nara school tsuba by Sugiura Jōi with Tekkai Sennin motif. Edo period.

Copper tsuba of oval form carved in kebori and katakiribori with Tekkai Sennin sitting under bamboo on the face and with a pine tree on the back. Ishime-ji treated surface.

Signed on the reverse: Jōi (乗 意).

Edo period (First half of 18th century).

Dimensions: 69.6 x 66.5 x 4.5 mm

Sugiura Jōi (杉 浦 乗 意) was a master of Nara School in Edo; he was a student of Toshinaga [M. Sesko, 'Genealogies', p. 32]. "Sugiura Jōi (1701-1761) made many fuchigashira and kozuka, tsuba are rather rare." [M. Sesko, The Japanese toso-kinko Schools].