| Fine Ko Kinko sukashi tsuba with a rich brown chocolate patina. It is unclear at
this stage if it the body of the guard is bronze, with the reddish tinge on the mimi, and clearly visible yellow coloured material
visible in the nakago ana, I am leading towards lacquered bronze. This tsuba probably dates to the early to mid Muromachi period.
It is Maru gata and is a Kiku theme with 28 petals. The square and tapered hitsu ana is generally seen on the older pieces throughout the
Muromachi period. The hitsu ana are original and because of the kogai hitsu ana, this may be the guard of a higher ranked samurai. The scalloped seppa dai is something also seen on older ko kinko guards. It is believed that there may have been only one or even no seppa used on the koshirae, and the scalloped section would be to accommodate either the tsuka or the saya. The tsuba measures 7cm by 7cm x 0.3cm. It is a lovely tsuba in very good condition. |
