Iron tsuba of 14-petal chrysanthemoid form (kikka-gata) with alternating solid and openwork petals, the latter outlined with brass wire (sen-zōgan) and the former decorated with brass dots (ten-zōgan), on both sides. Seppa-dai is outlined with brass wire. Small hitsu-ana probably cut later. Late Muromachi period (Ca. 1514-1573). Ōnin school. Unsigned. Dimensions: 87.0 x 87.8 x 3.2 mm. Similar tsuba in this collection: TSU-0420.2022 Other similar specimens can be found at: Henri L. Joly and Kumasaku Tomita, Japanese art and handicraft, "Swords and sword fittings" section, sub-section “Inlays of Ōnin, Kyoto, Fushimi-Yoshiro, and Kaga Province”, Plate CX, #128: Iron, chrysanthemoid, thin guard with alternate petals covered with brass spots. Ōnin style. 16th century. Compton Collection, Part I, #7: The iron plate is of flowerhead shape with each of the fourteen petals alternating between solid and openwork. The apertures are outlined in inlaid brass as is the seppa-dai and hitsu-ana. The remainder of the plate is similarly inlaid with plum flowers, birds, dots of dew, Genji mon and sambiki mon. 87 mm x 85 mm x 3.5 mm. And at Jim Gilbert website: Onin ten zogan tsuba, mid Muromachi. Size: 7.7 cm T x 7.6 cm W x 0.3 cm. Iron plate with brass inlay. Kiku gata. The Ōnin ten zogan style is characterized by the decoration of small brass “nail heads” and wires on a thin iron plate.  The iron often has a soft, granular texture and seems to be prone to rust.  Unfortunately, this rust will undermine the brass inlay and result in the loss of some of the inlay.  This example is in reasonably good but far from perfect condition.  As is often the case, the backside is better preserved, with the wire around the seppa-dai and kozuka-ana, and all petals still intact.

Iron tsuba of round form with design of water plantain (omodaka) and wild goose in openwork (sukashi). Slightly rounded, square rim. Copper sekigane. Kyo school. Late Muromachi period: Early 16th century (Tenbun era) [Sasano's attribution]. Height: 76.2 mm. Width: 75.8 mm. Rim thickness: 5.3 mm. Center thickness: 4.5 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 68: "The water plantain (omodaka) first appeared as a design for sword fittings in the Heian period. From such early beginnings, this decorative plant has shared a long history with the samurai. Also known as shogun's grass (shogununso), it was held in high esteem as a symbol of victory". The same tsuba was found at Japanese Swords and Tsuba from the Professor A. Z. Freeman and the Phyllis Sharpe Memorial collections. Sotheby's, London, Thursday 10 April 1997, page 22, item 60, saying that this is a "Kyo-sukashi tsuba, early to middle Edo period (late 17th/18th century) [Sotheby's attribution], and that it represents "a small bird among omodaka and aoi plants".  

Iron tsuba of round form pierced (sukashi) and carved (marubori) with a 'noshi' decoration design. Noshi - decoration made of dried abalone (awabi) and bearing an auspicious connotation of good fortune, prosperity, etc. Design was used as a family crest (mon).

Size: 76.3 x 75.9 x 5.5 mm.

Signed: Echizen jū Kinai Saku. Kinai school existed from mid 17th to mid 19th century; it is hard to tell which master (generation from 1 to 6) made this particular piece.

SOLD

Fuchi-kashira made of shakudō carved and inlaid with gold and red copper with the design of a bat and a fruit (persimmon?). Nanako surface.

Fuchi: 37 x 19 x 7 mm. Kashira: 34 x 16 x 5 mm. Main material: shakudō. Other metals: gold and copper. Surface treatment: nanako-ji.

Iron tsuba of mokko form with rough surface decorated in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori) and openwork (sukashi) with a flying bat, a crescent moon, and a cloud over the moon. Bat's eyes inlaid with gold. Crescent moon and cloud on the reverse. Copper sekigane. Kogai hitsu-ana plugged with shakudō.

Unsigned.

Edo period.

Size: Height: 83.7 mm; Width: 80.3 mm; Thickness: 2.9 mm; Weight: 141 g.

Iron tsuba of a round form (maru-gata) pierced (sukashi) with two six-petal flowers at 6 and 12 o’clock and modified lozenges at 3 and 9 o’clock, and inlaid in brass (suemon-zōgan) with tendrils and flowers (chrysanthemum, cherry blossom, Chinese bellflower, paulownia); openings outlined with scalloped brass wire. The plate is slightly concave with traces of lacquer on the surface. Nakago-ana plugged with copper sekigane. Some elements of inlay missing. The rim with conspicuous tekkotsu, quite worn. Measurements:  Height 92.0 mm; Width 86.3 mm; thickness at seppa-dai 3.2 mm, at rim 4.2 mm. Time: Late Muromachi (1514 – 1573) or earlier.