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Netsuke of Kimi no Eguchi on a recumbent elephant. Signed: Toun. Circa 1850. 33.7 x 30.8 x 22.7 mm. The Courtesan Eguchi no kimi as Fugen, Bodhisattva of Universal Wisdom (Eguchi no kimi mitate Fugen Bosatsu). The imagery satirizes the Buddhist bodhisattva Fugen, whose iconographic mount is an elephant, by replacing the deity with a beautifully coiffed modern courtesan. Such a visual pun (mitate) was an artistic trope, popular in the Edo period. Provenance: Charles Ephrussi (1849-1905) acquired in the 1870s; a wedding gift in 1898 to his cousin Ritter Viktor von Ephrussi (1860-1945) and Baroness Emilie (Emmy) Schey von Koromla (1879-1938); retrieved post-war by their daughter Elizabeth de Waal (1899-1991); given by her to her brother Ignaz (Iggie) Ephrussi (1906-1994), Tokyo; bequeathed by him to his great-nephew Edmund de Waal (born 1964), London, author of "The Hare with Amber Eyes: a hidden inheritance". London / New York: Chatto & Windus / Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 978-0099539551. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ephrussi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephrussi_family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_de_Waal. -
Iron tsuba of round form pierced (sukashi) and inlaid in flat (hira-zōgan) and cast brass (suemon-zōgan), details carved in kebori, with design of two phoenixes, bamboo, and paulownia leaves and flowers (kiri-mon) on both sides. According to seller: Bizen-Yoshirō school (or Heianjō school). Unsigned.
Momoyama period. End of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. Dimensions: Diameter: 99.5 mm; Thickness: 2.1 mm at centre; 4.3 mm at the rim. According to Merrily Baird (Symbols of Japan), "bamboo teamed with paulownia blossoms or with paulownia and the phoenix, in reference to the Chinese legend that the phoenix perches only on the paulownia and eats only the bamboo". Citation from http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.2.1: "The immense heraldic birds on display [...] reflect the Momoyama era's spirit of newly gained self-confidence and an affinity for grand expressive statements in painting, architecture, the textile and ceramic arts, as well as garden design. While that period preceded the arrival of prosperity, it clearly marked an extraordinary moment in Japanese cultural history, one frequently compared with the twelfth century of the Heian period. [...] Rather than an emblem of immortality, as it is in Western lore, in Japan, the phoenix evolved out of its origins in Chinese mythology to become, by the sixteenth century, an auspicious symbol of political authority. Together with clusters of the distinctively shaped paulownia leaves, this long-tailed, mythical bird [...] proclaiming an air of graceful command". -
Iron tsuba of circular form with design of pine trees (matsu) and monkey toys (kukurizaru) in openwork (ko-sukashi). Ko-Katchushi school.
Raised rim (mimi) with iron bones (tekkotsu). Size: Diameter: 99.5 mm; Thickness: 2.1 mm at centre; 4.3 mm at the rim.Early Muromachi period: 15th century (Kakitsu - Bun'an era, 1441 - 1449).
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Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 231 x 300 mm. Title: A geisha eating edamame aboard the boat of the Atari-ya teahouse. Series: Three summer women [九夏三婦久] (Kyūka sanfuku). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artist: Utagawa Kunihisa II [歌川国久] a.k.a. Katsuda Hisatarō, Ichiunsai, Ritchōrō, Toyonobu, Yōryūsai, Yōsai] (Japanese, 1832 – 1981). Block cutter: Yokokawa Horitake [横川彫武] a.k.a. Yokokawa Takejiro [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1860s). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847) Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: 1860 (Ansei 7 / Man'en 1 from 18/III). Signed: Toyokuni ga in toshidama cartouche, and Kunihisa ga. Provenance: The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341; sol together with 5 other fan prints for $25,000. Before: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 9, 2003, no. 35. Ref: [LIB-1693.2018] The Collection of Paul Walter. — NY: Christie's, 2017, p. 363. Ref: Israel Goldman, Catalogue 2018, № 52: "Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) and Utagawa Kunihisa II (1832-1891) A Geisha Eating Edamame Aboard the Boat of the Atari-ya Teahouse. From the series Kyuka sanfuku (Three Summer Women). 1860. Fan print. 22.7 x 29.6 cm. Provenance: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 9, 2003, no. 35. The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christies, New York, 201, lot 341. Fine impression, colour and condition. The title is a pun on “kyuka sanpuku” meaning the hottest point of the summer. The background view is by Kunisada’s pupil Kunihisa." -
Utagawa Toyokuni I (歌川豐國); 1769 – 24 February 1825. Kabuki actor Onoe Matsusuke I (other stage names: Onoe Shôroku I and Onoe Tokuzô) lived from 1744 (born in Edo, present Tokyo) until the 16th day of the 10th lunar month of 1815 (died in Edo). Here he plays the honourable villain, the powerful minister of state Kudō Saemon Suketsune. Kabuki actor Bandô Hikosaburô III (other stage names: Ichimura Kichigorô I, other names: Hansôan Rakuzen, Bandô Shinsui III, and Rakuzenbô) lived from 1754 (born in Edo, present Tokyo) until 18th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1828. "1813 ~ 1828: Hikosaburô retires and takes the tonsure in a Temple located in Kurodani (Kyôto). He goes back to Edo and lives a hermit life in a small hut called Hansôan and located in Mukôjima." Here he plays Soga no Gorō Tokimune, the younger of two Soga brothers. It was an Edo period custom to produce every New Year's a play in which the Soga brothers figured. The Sogas were actual historical figures who, in 1193, avenged their father's murder by staging a daring night raid on their enemy during a grand hunt. The villain, a powerful minister of state named Kudō Saemon Suketsune, had orchestrated the murder of their father seventeen years earlier. The exact play, theater, and year featured on the print are not currently known. Publisher: AM-23-016 |391q: Nishimuraya Yohachi: Eiju han 1780s-1809 [AM: Andreas Marks. Publishers of Japanese woodblock prints: A compendium. Hotei Publishing, Leiden-Boston, 2011]. References:- Kabuki Plays on Stage: Brilliance and Bravado, 1697-1766 (Kabuki Plays on Stage, Volume 1). Brandon, James R., Leiter, Samuel L. University of Hawai'I Press, Honolulu, 2002.
- Kabuki Encyclopedia. An English-Langauge Adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. Samuel L. Leiter. Greenwood Press, 1979.
- https://www.kabuki21.com/
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Шамиссо, Адальбертъ фонъ. Петеръ Шлемиль. Чудесная исторiя. Пер. П.Потемкина. Рис., виньетки и перепет Эмиля Преторiуса по 1-му нѣм. изд. 1814 г. — СПб.: Книгоиздательство "Пантеонъ", 1910. — 107 стр. Отпечатано в типографии акц. о-ва типографск. дела в СПБ (Герольд), 7 рота, 26.
Cardboard binding, 8vo, 20 x 15 cm. Russian translation of Adelbert von Chamisso book Peter Schlemihl, from the German by Peter Potemkine. With illustrations from 1814 original German first edition by Emil Preetorius. [SV: the latest statement seems strange as Emil Preetorius lived from 1883 to 1973]. -
Title: PETER SCHLEMIHL: | FROM THE GERMAN | OF LAMOTTE FOUQUÉ | WITH PLATES BY GEORGE CRUICKSHANK. | "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, | "Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." | SHAKESPEARE. | — | LONDON: | G. AND W. B. WHITTAKER, | AVE MARIA LANE. | 1824.|| Pagination: xii, 165 p. : ill. No Adelbert von Chamisso (German, 1781 – 1838) name on the title page. George Cruikshank's name printed with a typo 'Cruickshank'. The attribution on the title-page to Friedrich de La Motte-Fouqué (German, 1777 – 1843) is erroneous. The original German was edited by La Motte Fouqué. The translation was performed by Sir John Bowring (British, 1792 – 1872) First edition in English, third issue with no hyphen between "Ave" and 'Maria" in publisher's imprint.In a cover box of red cloth over cardboard. Box: 21 x 13 x 2.3 cm; book: 19.3 x 11.8 x 1.7 cm; Crown 8vo. Red cardboard binding. Printed spine labels mounted on spine of the box and the book. Untrimmed edges.
Reference: Cohn 475. -
Engraved title page: ILLUSTRATION | OF | TIME. | GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. | "THERE IS A TIME FOR ALL THINGS". | TEMPUS EDAX RERUM. | LONDON | Published May 1st 1827 by the Artist - 22 Myddelton Terrace Pentonville. - Sold by Js. Robins & Co. Ivy Lane Paternoster Row.
Oblong folio, 33.5 x 44 cm. Engraved vignette title page and six not-coloured engraved plates with multiple images showing thirty-five humorous scenes.
First edition, first issue. Uncoloured. Pristine condition.
Half-leather bound in marbled cardboard and red morocco and gild lettering and arabesque. Frontispiece and 6 plates with protective tissues.
Content:1. Time-Called & Time-Come (five sketches)
2. Behind Time (seven sketches)
3. Time Thrown Away (six sketches)
4. Hard Times [&] Term Time (five sketches)
5. Time Badly Employed (five sketches)
6. Christmas Time (seven sketches)
British Museum № 1978,U.3026.1. BM description: "Frontispiece, the title on a background of symmetrical but dilapidated and grass-grown masonry. On the summit stands a little laughing gnome, with a wide hat and a body formed of an hour-glass; Inset is an oval bordered by a serpent with its tail in its mouth (emblem of eternity), in which is an aged and all-devouring Time (bald except for a forelock), seated behind a table whose surface is the base of the design. He puts to his mouth a fork on which is speared an elephant with a castle on its back containing tiny figures with spears. In his r. hand is a spoon containing a country church. His table is covered with dishes, and at his r. hand is a sickle. The central and biggest dish is heaped with a jumble of tiny objects: crown, table, chair, wheelbarrow, picture; round the room sit little figures: a soldier, parson, lady and child, &c. The ten other dishes contain: an antique glass coach with horses and footmen; an overladen camel beside a palm-tree; ruins of a castle; a farmhouse; a shepherd and sheep; a dismantled cannon and balls, cattle, a man-of-war in full sail; a ruinous Gothic cathedral; a clump of trees (the last two are dominated by a large decanter). Below Time are two (Egyptian) pyramids. Above: 'There Is A Time For All Things'; below: 'Tempus Edax Rerum'. 1 May 1827. Etching."Bibliography:- Reid, G W, A descriptive catalogue of the works of George Cruikshank, London, 1871.
- Stephens, Frederic George; George, Mary Dorothy, Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, 11 vols, London, BMP, 1870.
- Cohn, A M, George Cruikshank, catalogue raisonné, London, 1924.
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С. Маршак. Почта военная. Детиздат : Ленинград, 1947.Hard-bound Quatro (304 x 246 mm) printed in lithography with hand-colored details on cover.
The name of artist hardly legible on a stamp on frontispiece: скворцов.
The text repeats itself on multiple pages. Most probably the book is a pilot run, never went to mass printing and distribution. -
Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Nazca, ca.200 - 500 CE. Polychrome double-spout, or stir-up vessel (jar, or bottle), decorated on both sides with designs of anthropomorphic Mythical Spotted Cat (or the Cat Deity) with hand holding the club, a trophy head and spears.
Colors: Black, Cream, Gray, Orange, White, Dark Red (7 colors).
Size: Diameter 15.2 cm. References:- A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography: Reading a Culture through Its Art. Donald A. Proulx. University of Iowa Press, 2006; pp. 88-91. [LIB-1556].
- The Archaeology and Pottery of Nazca, Peru: Alfred Kroeber’s 1926 Expedition. Alfred L. Kroeber and Donald Collier, edited by Patrick H. Carmichael with an afterword by Katharina J. Schreiber. AltaMira Press in coop. with Field Museum, Chicago, Il., 1998; p.121. [LIB-1557].
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Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Nazca, ca. 400 - 600 CE. Polychrome double-spout, or stir-up vessel (jar, or bottle), decorated on both sides with designs of masked Mythical Spotted Cat (or the Cat Deity) with a trophy head. Colors: Black, Cream, Gray, Orange, White, Dark Red, Light Red (8 colors).
Size: 17.2 x 14 cm.
References:- A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography: Reading a Culture through Its Art. Donald A. Proulx. University of Iowa Press, 2006; pp. 88-91. [LIB-1556].
- The Archaeology and Pottery of Nazca, Peru: Alfred Kroeber’s 1926 Expedition. Alfred L. Kroeber and Donald Collier, edited by Patrick H. Carmichael with an afterword by Katharina J. Schreiber. AltaMira Press in coop. with Field Museum, Chicago, Il., 1998; p.121. [LIB-1557].
Ex Arte Xibalba, Florida; Ex Robert Dowling Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
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Unbound Quatro (246 x 321 mm) album in softcover with inscription:
В память Парижской коммуны. 18 мар. 1871 - 18 мар. 1921. L. Типы комунаров по наброскам современника. Под ред. Л. Никулина. "Памятник нерукотворный мы можем поставить героям-коммунарам, освободив весь мир от ига капитала." Г. Зиновьев.
Надписано от руки: Экз. тов. Крупской.
17 отпечатков с измененных литографий Берталя (без ссылки). Издание Политотдела Балтийского Флота и Петроградского губ. Отд. народн. Образования. Петроград.
Translation from Russian: In memory of the Paris Commune. March 18, 1871 - March 18, 1921. (L*). Types of the communards from the sketches of contemporaries. Edited by L. Nikulin. "Not-made-by-hand monument we will erect to the heroic Communards by freeing the world from the yoke of capital". G. Zinoviev. Handwritten inscription in black ink: Copy of (or for) comrade Krupskaya. The album consists of 17 unnumbered prints with captions in Russian. The prints are altered images made by Bertall, with no reference to the artist. The album is published by Political division of Baltic Navy and Petrograd district of public education. Printed in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg). *Roman letter L - Fifty (Fifty year anniversary) -
Folio (246 x 321 mm), hardbound in red-brown cloth with gilt lettering and decoration. Content, Introduction by J. E., September, 1873, Artist preface by Bertall, Paris, 1871-1873. Album with 40 hand-colored lithographs by Bertall, numbered 1 through 40, accompanied with extensive descriptions. Ex Libris: Baker. Carpe Diem. Markings: Janny M. Baker with J.L.B. Love, 19 March, 1878 in black ink. -
Folio (240 x 320 mm), hardbound in blue-aubergine cloth with gilt lettering and decoration. Album with Avant-Propos and 34 hand-colored lithographs by Bertall, numbered 1 through 34. Details in Russian: "Памяти парижской коммуны". -
Iron tsuba of round form with brown patina decorated with the design of a Buddhist temple bell (tsurigane) in openwork (sukashi), with details outlined in brass wire (sen-zōgan), the outer ring decorated with two rows of brass dots (ten-zōgan), and the bell details carved in sukidashi-bori as on kamakura-bori pieces.
Ōnin school. Unsigned. Late Muromachi period, 16th century. Dimensions: 88.8 x 88.3 x 3.0 mm. As per Merrily Baird, two legends are usually associated with the image of tsurigane, a large, suspended Buddhist bell: one is that of Dojo Temple (Dojo-ji), and the other is of Benkei stealing the tsurigane of Miidera Temple. Interestingly, this type of bell (tsurigane) is not described as a family crest (mon), while suzu and hansho bells are. -
Voyage ou Il vous plaira by Alfred de Musset and P.-J. Stahl (Hetzel); Tony Johannot (illustrations). [Les chefs d'oeuvres de la litterature et de l'illustration] // Marescq et Cie, éditeurs, - Paris, 1856.
Contes de Charles Nodier by Jean Charles Emmanuel Nodier (1780 – 1844) illustrated by H. Émy.
Owner's binding in red half Morocco, A4 (297 x 219 mm). "Voyage ou Il vous plaira" (60 pages) and fairy tales by Charles Nodier with illustrations by H. Émy (Armand-Louis-Henri Telory, born in Strasbourg in 1820 and died in 1874): "La Fée aux miettes" ; "Le songe d'or (fable levantine)"; "La légende de la Soeur Béatrix"; "Trilby"; Inès de las Sierras"; "Baptiste Montauban"; "Smarra ou les démons de la nuit"; "La neuvaine de la Chandeleur"; "La combe de l’homme mort". Extensive foxing, owner's pencil drawings on some pages, otherwise good condition.
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Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), three wood engravings by Gustave Doré, 1864: "En passant dans un bois elle rencontra compère le Loup"; "Le Chaperon rouge fut bien étonné de voir comment sa grand'mère était faite en son déshabillé"; "Cela n'empêche pas qu'avec ses gran dents il avait mangé une bonne grand'mère". Engraved by Adolphe Pannemaker. Le Petit Poucet (Little Thumb), one wood engraving by Gustave Doré, 1864: "Une bonne femme vint leur ouvrir". Engraved by Héliodore-Joseph Pisan. La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), one wood engraving by Gustave Doré, 1864: "Il marcha vers le château qu'il voyait au bout d'une grande avenue où il entra". Engraved by Héliodore-Joseph Pisan. Medium: Paper; Wood engraving. Illustrations for P.-J. Hetzel's edition of Perrault's Fairy Tales (Les Contes de Perrault) by Gustave Doré published in 1864. Size: frame: 428 x 302 mm; sheet: 280 x 231 mm; image: 194 x 244 mm. -
A two-volume set, published in Paris by P.-J. Hetzel in 1845 and 1846.
Vol. 1:
Title: LE | DIABLE A PARIS | — PARIS ET LES PARISIENS — | MŒURS ET COUTUMES, CARACTERES ET PORTRAITS DES HABITANTS DE PARIS, | TABLEAU COMPLET DE LEUR VIE PRIVEE, PUBLIQUE, POLITIQUE, | ARTISTIQUE, LITTERAIRE, INDUSTRIELLE, ETC., ETC. | TEXTE PAR MM. | GEORGE SAND — P.-J. STAHL — LEON GOZLAN — P. PASCAL — FREDERIC SOULIE — CHARLES NODIER | EUGENE BRIFFAULT — S. LAVALETTE — DE BALZAC — TAXILE DELORD — ALPHONSE KARR | MÉRY — A. JUNCETIS — GERARD DE NERVAL — ARSÈNE HOUSSAYE — ALBERT AUBERT — THÉOPHILE GAUTIER | OCTAVE FEUILLET — ALFRED DE MUSSET — FRÉDÉRIC BÉRAT | précédé d’une | HISTOIRE DE PARIS PAR THEOPHILE LAVALLÉE | ILLUSTRATIONS | LES GENS DE PARIS — SERIES DE GRAVURES AVEC LEGENDES | PAR GAVARNI | PARIS COMIQUE — VIGNETTES DE BERTALL | VUES, MONUMENTS, EDIFICES PARTICULIERS, LIEUX CÉLÈBRES ET PRINCIPAUX ASPECTS DE PARIS | PAR CHAMPIN, BERTRAND, D’AUBIGNY, FRANÇAIS. | [DEVICE] | PARIS | PUBLIÉ PAR J. HETZEL, | RUE RICHELIEU, 76 – RUE DE MÉNARS, 10. | 1845 ||
Pagination: ffl, [2 – h.t. / Paris: Typographie Lacrampe et Comp., Rue Damiette, 2 ; Papeir de la fabrique de sainte-marie] [2 – blank / frontis. ‘Diable’ with lantern standing on map of Paris] [2 – t.p. /blank] [I] II-XXXII, [1] 2-380, bfl. Sheet size: 27.5 x 17.5 cm.
Collation: 4to; A(4) – D(4), [1(4)] 2(4) – 47(4), 48(2); illustrations: frontispiece, vignette title-page, numerous text engravings and 99 plates.
Vol. 2: Title: LE | DIABLE A PARIS | — PARIS ET LES PARISIENS — | MŒURS ET COUTUMES, CARACTERES ET PORTRAITS DES HABITANTS DE PARIS, | TABLEAU COMPLET DE LEUR VIE PRIVEE, PUBLIQUE, POLITIQUE, | ARTISTIQUE, LITTERAIRE, INDUSTRIELLE, ETC., ETC. | TEXTE PAR MM. | DE BALZAC — EUGÈNE SUE — GEORGE SAND — P.-J. STAHL — ALPHONSE KARR | HENRY MONNIER — OCTAVE FEUILLET — DE STENDAHL — LEON GOZLAN — S. LAVALETTE — ARMAND MARRAST | LAURENT-JAN —ÉDOUARD OURLIAC — CHARLES DE BOIGNE — ALTAROCHE — EUG. GUINOT | JULES JANIN — EUGENE BRIFFAULT — AUGUSTE BARBIER — MERQUIS DE VARENNES — ALFRED DE MUSSET | CHARLES NODIER — FRÉDÉRIC BÉRAT — A. LEGOYT| précédé d’une | GÉOGRAPHIE DE PARIS PAR THEOPHILE LAVALLÉE | ILLUSTRATIONS | LES GENS DE PARIS — SERIES DE GRAVURES AVEC LEGENDES | PAR GAVARNI | PARIS COMIQUE — PANTHÉON DU DIABLE A PARIS PAR BERTALL | VUES, MONUMENTS, EDIFICES PARTICULIERS, LIEUX CÉLÈBRES ET PRINCIPAUX ASPECTS DE PARIS | PAR CHAMPIN, BERTRAND, D’AUBIGNY, FRANÇAIS. | [DEVICE] | PARIS | PUBLIÉ PAR J. HETZEL, | RUE RICHELIEU, 76 – RUE DE MÉNARS, 10. | 1846 || Pp. : ffl, [2 – h.t. / Paris: Typographie Lacrampe et Comp., Rue Damiette, 2 ; Papeir de la fabrique de sainte-marie] [2 – t.p. /blank] [I] II-LXXX, [1] 2-364, bfl. Sheet size: 27.5 x 17.5 cm. Collation: 4to; A(4) – I(4) – J(4), 1(4), 2(4) – 45(4), 46(2); illustrations: vignette title-page, numerous text engravings and 112 plates.Binding: [allegedly Roger de Coverly (British, 1831 — 1914)], 28.2 x 19 cm, ¾ brown calf ruled in gilt, brown marbled boards, nonpareil marbled endpapers, raised and ruled in gilt bands, floral devices and title lettering to spine. AEG. Foxing to flyleaves, tips of corners just a very little rubbed as are the glazed marbled paper boards; endpapers foxed; very occasional light scattered foxing of text.
Provenance: (1) Armorial bookplate (Ex Libris Sir John Whittaker Ellis, 1st Baronet (1829 – 1912), Lord Mayor of London 1881; (2) Bookplate Ex Libris Robert Frederick Green) dated 1909.
Reference: L. Carteret (1927) pp. 203-207: the first edition, lacking the publisher's white pictorial wrappers. -
Iron tsuba of mokkō form decorated with inome (wild boar's eye) in openwork (sukashi) outlined with brass wire. The plate decorated with 3 concentric circular rows of brass dots in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire (sen-zōgan). Some dots and the outline of inome on the face are missing.
Ōnin school. Unsigned. Mid Muromachi period, middle of the 15th century. Dimensions: 72.1 x 71.3 x 2.3 mm. -
Thin iron plate of round form and black color carved in sukidashi-bori with design of rocks, waves, clouds, temple gates (torii), mountain pavilion and 5-storey pagoda on both sides, alluding to Todai-ji temple in Nara. Hitsu-ana pierced later. Very narrow very slightly raised rim. Copper sekigane.
Late Muromachi period, 16th century. Dimensions: 88.7 x 88.0 x 2.4 mm (seppa-dai), 1.8 mm (base plate).Reference: “Art of the Samurai” on page 232, №140: ”Kamakura tsuba with Sangatsu-do tower and bridge. Muromachi period, 16th century. 83 mm x 80 mm. Unsigned. Tokyo National Museum. The mountain pavilion and bridge carved in sunken relief on the iron tsuba – both part of Tōdai-ji, a temple in Nara – are detailed in fine kebori (line) engraving. As a result of the chiseling used to create the relief, the ground of the piece is relatively thin".
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Thin six-lobed iron plate of brownish color is carved on each side with a groove that follows the rim and a concentric grooves around the center of the plate, also carved with six thin scroll lines (mokkō or handles, kan) that follow the shape of the rim. Mokume surface treatment. Hitsu-ana possibly added at a later date, and kogai-hitsu-ana plugged with gold. Silver sekigane.
Signed: Kunihide [國秀]. Higo school, 1st generation swordsmith.
Mid Edo period, ca. 1800.
Would be possibly attributed to Kamakura-bori school revival of the 19th century.
References: Nihon Tō Kōza, Volume VI / Japanese Sword / Kodōgu Part 1, page 231: Enju Kunihide, a tōshō from Higo: "...forging of the jigane is excellent, and there are also pieces with mokume hada."
Haynes Index Vol. 1, p. 741, H 03569.0: "Enju Kunihide in Higo province, died 1830, student of Suishinshi Masahide. Retainer of the Hosokawa Daimyō, etc."
Additional Information from Markus Sesko: This tsuba indeed is made by Enju Kunihide, who in his later years signed the HIDE [秀] character as HI [日] and DE [出], as here:
Size: 77.4 x 74.9 x 2.7 mm
Similar pieces are:
1. In this collection № TSU-0341: Kamakura-bori tsuba with mokkō motif. Muromachi period, 15th - 16th century.
2. Dr. Walter A. Compton Collection, 1992, Christie’s auction, Part II, pp. 14-15, №16: “A kamakurabori type tsuba, Muromachi period, circa 1400. The thin, six-lobed iron plate is carved on each side with a wide groove that follows the shape of the rim, and with six scroll lines and a single thin circular groove. […] The hitsu-ana was added at a later date, circa 1500-1550. Height 8.3 cm, width 8.6 cm, thickness 2.5 mm. The tsuba was initially intended to be mounted on a tachi of the battle type in use from Nambokucho to early Muromachi period (1333-1400)”. Sold at $935.
3. And another one in Robert E. Haynes Catalog #9 on page 24-25 under №23: “Typical later Kamakura-bori style work. This type of plate and carving show the uniform work produced by several schools in the Muromachi </em period. Some had brass inlay and others were just carved as this one is. The hitsu are later. Ca. 1550. Ht. 8.8 cm, Th. 3.25 mm”. Sold for $175.
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Iron tsuba of mokkō form (mokkōgata) pierced (sukashi) and inlaid with precast dark brass inlay (taka-zōgan) with somewhat abstract/geometrical design that can be liberally described as pines, mist, and snow.
Momoyama or early Edo period. End of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. Heianjō school. Unsigned. Dimensions: 86.8 x 82.9 x 4.5 mm. -
Iron tsuba of square with cut-off edges form (sumi-iri-kakugata) with lattice design in openwork (sukashi) and pierced center.
Unsigned. Late Muromachi period, ca. 16th century.
Size: 73.2 x 72.4 x 3.6 mm References: 1) Tsuba Kanshoki. Kazutaro Torogoye, 1975, p. 95, lower image. It's also called Kyō shōami. 2) KTK-11: Koshi motif, Late Muromachi (16th c.) -
Iron tsuba of square with cut-off edges form (sumi-iri-kakugata) with lattice design in openwork (sukashi) and solid center. Hitsu-ana plugged with lead.
Unsigned. Late Muromachi period, ca. 16th century.
Size: 81.3 x 80.0 x 3.6 mm References: 1) Tsuba Kanshoki. Kazutaro Torogoye, 1975, p. 95, lower image. It's also called Kyō shōami. 2) KTK-11: Koshi motif, Late Muromachi (16th c.) -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with eight roundels – circular emblems of flowers and/or family crests (mon) made of cast brass, pierced and chiselled in kebori, and with flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) of vines or leaves all over the plate. Both hitsu-ana trimmed with brass. Nakago-ana of trapezoidal form. A distinctive character of this tsuba is a mon at 6 hours depicting tomoe (comma). Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). Attributed to Koike Yoshirō Naomasa himself. Unsigned. The Momoyama or early Edo period, end of the 16th to the first half of the 17th century (1574-1650). Size: Diameter 82.0 mm, thickness 3.8 mm at seppa-dai, 3.4 mm at rim. -
Seller provided description:"Finely painted via the red-figure technique, an elegant pelike vessel of a classic globular form with a cylindrical neck rising to a flared rim, and twin fluted handles, all upon a raised, concave, disc foot.Side A depicts a winged Eros who stands in contrapposto facing toward the left, in the nude save sandals, bracelets, a beaded sash, and a stephane (wreath) holding a situla (pail) in his left hand and gesturing toward the seated maenad before him. Though with her breasts exposed, the maenad does wear a lower garment, and is bedecked with a stephane, multiple bracelets, and strands of pearls around her neck - all delineated in fugitive white and yellow pigment. She holds a mirror in her left upraised hand and leans upon a tambourine with her right elbow. Above and to the right is a maker's mark of a circular format with a central X that is further adorned by nested wedges and dot motifs. Side B presents two opposing standing draped male figures, the gent on the left leaning upon a walking stick. Complementing the figural program, is a lovely decorative program adorning both sides of the vessel, with bands of laurel leaves above and a repeating Greek key/meander below. An outstanding example, masterfully wheel thrown, so that we see absolutely no signs of any jogs in the transitions between the different elements of the vase. Moreover, it presents ideal proportions perfect for presenting the superb painted iconographic/decorative program. The painting was executed with the utmost skill and artistry - the red-figure technique enabling the artist to delineate the figures' musculature, facial details, as well as the cascading drapery folds with extensive fugitive paint embellishments.Expected surface wear with some scuffs and pigment losses commensurate with age, but the painted program is generally very well preserved. Area of repair/restoration to cloak of male on right (Side B). Minute nick to left of male on left (Side B). Nice root marks throughout and areas of encrustation. Thermoluminescence (TL) report: the piece has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. Equivalent age: 2400 +/- 300 years. Certificate of Authenticity from Artemis Gallery. Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection. Greece, Southern Italy, Apulia, ca. 330 BCE.Size: 6.75" in diameter x 9.875" H (17.1 cm x 25.1 cm)Polina de Mauny, being both attentive and knowledgeable, was the first who noticed a possible mistake in the description above. It is highly probable that the woman on side A is not a maenad but Aphrodite herself, holding a mirror and leaning on a shield. Maenads were "often portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication". The situla, held by Eros, unequivocally alludes to Dionysian ritual, which has to do as much with maenads as with Aphrodite. The nature of two men on side B remain unclear. -
Mikhail Belomlinsky. Born 1934, Russia. Vadim Krolin, hypnosis session. Watercolor painting on paper from Chukotka expedition, ca. 1970s. Size: 36 x 48 cm. -
Mikhail Belomlinsky. Born 1934, Russia. Village, dogs. Watercolor painting on paper from Chukotka expedition, 1975. Size: 36 x 48 cm. -
Mikhail Belomlinsky. Born 1934, Russia. Helicopter. Watercolor painting on paper from Chukotka expedition, 1975. Size: 36 x 48 cm. -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with eight roundels – circular emblems of flowers and/or family crests (mon) made of cast brass, pierced and chiseled in kebori, and with flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) of vines or leaves all over the plate. Both hitsu-ana could have been trimmed with brass now lacking. Nakago-ana of triangular form, possibly enlarged, with copper sekigane. All typical emblems with bellflower, two variations on suhama theme, and 3, 4, 5, and 6-poinitng mon variations. A distinctive character of this tsuba is a mon at 12 hours depicting water plantain (omodaka).
“Omodaka was also called shōgunsō (victorious army grass); because of this martial connotation, it was a design favored for the crests of samurai families” [Family crests of Japan, Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, California]. Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). The Momoyama or early Edo period, beginning of 17th century. Size: Height: 81.4 mm; width: 81.2; thickness 3.8 mm at seppa-dai. -
Ulster Official Scout pocket knife with brown jigged bone plastic handles.
Size: 93 mm (closed); 160 mm (opened); 70 mm blade.
Tang is etched with: Ulster -
Classical picklock Italian stiletto switchblade knife with bolster release, fixed guard, Brazilian horn handle.
Size: 112 mm (closed); 240 mm (opened); 90 mm blade.
Tang is etched with: Latama, Italy. SOLD -
Pro-tech Walter Brend custom switchblade knife with solid 416 stainless steel frame, amber jigged bone inlays, mirror polished 154-CM blade.
Size: 94 mm (closed); 168 mm (opned); 74 mm blade)
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Classical picklock bayonet switchblade knife with bolster release, fixed guard, cream handles (ivory?).
Size: 123 mm x 20 mm (closed); 220 mm (opened); 130 mm blade.
Tang is etched with: Havlin. -
Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Nazca, ca. 22- BCE - 125 CE.Polychrome vessel of organic, phytomorphic form and thin walls finely painted with six slithering serpents and protruding floral motifs in hues of red, orange, cream, black, grey, and white.
Chips of base and rim. Pressure fissures on and a bit above the base. Surface wear commensurate with age.
Size: Diameter: 19 cm; Height: 16 cm; Mouth diameter: 8.5 cm.
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Iron tsuba of round form decorated with dragonfly (tombo) and comma (comma-like swirl, tomoe) in openwork (sukashi) outlined with brass wire. The plate decorated with 5 concentric circular rows of brass dots in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire (sen-zōgan). Ōnin school. Unsigned. Mid Muromachi period, middle of the 15th century. Dimensions: Diameter: 89.5 mm, thickness: 3.1 mm. Notes regarding design: "According to various sources, the dragonfly (tombo) is emblematic of martial success, as various names for the insect are homophones for words meaning "victory". The dragonfly is also auspicious because references in the Kojiki and Nihongi link it in both name and shape to the old kingdom of Yamato." [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, p. 108]. "The dragonfly (tonbo), was also called kachimushi in earlier times, and due to the auspicious literal meaning "victory bug" of the characters of this word it became a popular theme on sword fittings." [Iron tsuba. The works of the exhibition "Kurogane no hana", The Japanese Sword Museum, 2014, p. 13]. Helen C. Gunsaulus' description of the dragonfly emblem is as follows: "This motive, the dragon-fly (akitsu), is generally accepted as a symbol of the kingdom of Japan, and the origin of the idea is traced to the legend recounted in the Kojiki and Nihongo of the Emperor Jimmu's view of the island from mountain top. He is said to have thought the kingdom looked like a dragon-fly touching its tail with its mouth. From this it received its name Akitsu-shima... etc."
