AN AKASAKA NOBUIE TSUBA

Details

AN AKASAKA NOBUIE TSUBA
EDO PERIOD (CIRCA 1750)

The round, thick iron plate is slightly dished to the center and has an openwork design of an adze, for cutting reeds, a plum bloom, and a melon. The surface is lightly carved with a pine needle design on both sides. The edge has large running iron bones. Both the hitsu-ana have shakudo inside liners (sekigane)--height 7.8cm., width 7.6cm., thickness at edge 8.5mm.

Wood box with inscription on the cover.

Provenance

Prince Ichijo collection
Joseph U. Seo, New York

Lot Essay

This style of Nobuie tsuba, thought to be the work of Akasaka Nobuie in the Edo period, is based on the style of tsuba produced by the Nobuie artists in the Momoyama period (1573-1600). The label on the box lid is by the same hand that wrote all the known box lid certificates for the collection of Prince Ichijo.

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