Kozuka, why not expensive?

Today I stumbled over a Kozuka and after some struggle discovered the signature in the gold section reads Nagatsune, plus Kao. According to the Kokin Kinko Zenshu, and my trusty little Token Katchu Techo (with all you need to know about swords and armour at your fingertips), this would appear to be "Ichinomiya Nagatsune" of Kyoto who worked around 明和　天明, 1770-1788.

It shows a well carved Chinese sage with a naginata on one side, with gold, silver and shakudo zogan, and some other hairy Yamabushi type fella on the reverse. That's all I know, plus one other thing... it was relatively cheap. The dealer gave me a reason, which apart from some minor damage, sorta, kinda makes sense.

Any guesses as to why?

Three wider shots.

A timid neophyte guess... The gold section was added later?

Or the entire reverse carving is atobori?

Brian

Dealer / seller says it is gimei?

I have no problem owning a gimei now and then. I've bought a few at fair price, for the quality of the work when a signature was added. There have been one or two times where I thought the added signature actually correctly identified (or closely) the work it claims to be. But commercially: gimei takes a big chunk of value off it. Yahoo!Japan seems to be a favorite place for Japanese dealers to unload gimei. 4 out of every 5 signed unpapered pieces on Yahoo!Japan seem to be gimei. Often bid names, and the sellers behind them turn out to be some of the Japanese dealers we all know.

I can say that within the last week, I tried to buy a tsuba the seller thought was gimei. Doesn't match up better than 90% with the book signatures, but I know the artists work very well and he had quite a long life with variations of his signature documented. Also, the design on the tsuba- I've studied an almost identical one with Tokubetsu Hozon papers.

I felt it had a good chance of being real. I offered to buy it. Seller was slow in getting back to me, and said it was 'no longer for sale'. Did it sell? No.... now being 'further researched'.

Make up your own mind. One of my favorite tsuba everyone thought gimei. Thus no one papered it. Turns out it was the son partially forging the father's signature. (Signature was half done by dad's hand and the other half a laydown composite of the son's handiwork). Tokubetsu Hozon now.

But of course many gimei are just gimei.

Based on the quality of the work, figure out your own risk to reward. If you like it, buy it at a fair price.

Here is my take, please forgive me my bluntness...

1. It is sooo ugly

2. The carving is very bad

3. It has no patina

Just my guess, I am being honest, I don't want to offend....

In your opinion!

For a kiseru on the other hand, it was a little expensive for me.

Reduce, re-use, re-cycle. Ha, fooled us. Never expected that. John

Dear Piers,

I was going to venture that the signature is gimei. Personally, ... I rather like the carving on the Kiseru and/or the Kozuka. To some unless the silver is patinated ( black ) and the gold ( green ???? ), ... never personally ever seen patinated gold ... it would be ugly. But then who am I to judge what others find poor and ugly or what silver and gold should look like ? Thank you for posting Piers, and I thoroughly enjoyed the answer as to why it was so cheap on one hand and expensive on the other .

... Ron Watson

John.

Many thanks to all who took part!

Ron, this is how it came to me, and I admit that I did indeed rub it a little with a very soft cloth. Pity about that patina though...

Dear Piers,

Just make sure you keep on rubbing ... the silver and gold with that soft cloth, ( not the shakudo however ) ... The true patina on silver should be a slightly bluish tinge ( very subtle ). You must have seen Georgian Sterling Silver to appreciate.

... Ron Watson

Good morning Ron,

You said:

"The true patina on silver should be a slightly bluish tinge ( very subtle ). You must have seen Georgian Sterling Silver to appreciate."

One of my many hats involves the sale of Georgian Silver.....If your Georgian Silver is in this condition, your Butler needs a damn good thrashing.....

Here is a meagre example of some lesser Georgian tat by a maker of dubious quality:

http://www.pashantiques.com/pd866/paul_ ... mports.asp

Cheers

Dear Malcolm,

If you consider Paul Storr to be a maker of dubious quality :D : " Here is a meagre example of some lesser Georgian tat by a maker of dubious quality: "

http://www.pashantiques.com/pd866/paul_ ... mports.asp

I take it you are being deliberately facetious ( all in good humour I pray ). I have been searching my research library on Antique Silver for a definitive description of the bluish tinge ( subtle ), .... as trying to illustrate via photographs is nigh on impossible. In : The Book OF OLD SILVER, author, Seymour B. Wyler. On page 12, ... I quote: " To an expert, the easiest method of judging the age of a piece is by its color, and although this rule is not infallible, it generally proves true. Silver over a period of years becomes oxidized many times, and this continued action of the elements on the metal gives it a certain softness of texture and color that is known as patina. Frequent cleaning and use in service mellow the piece, and it assumes a certain smoothness that time alone can produce. One often revels in the beauty of old silver, because of its soft BLUISH color. This is an integral part of the make-up of the patina. " ... end of quote.

Perhaps it is you Sir rather than my butler who needs a damn good thrashing for over cleaning The defense rests it's case.

... Ron Watson

Good morning Ron,

Thank you for the excerpt, Wyler is a very interesting book for its period.

If you are into Silver, let me share a really useful site re Silver Makers Marks

http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/index.htm

I use it every day, it's more comprehensive and way faster than the standard tome "Jacksons ".

It's really easy to use, go for the Assay Hall first, then the maker's initials.

If the maker does not show for a Provincial Assay Hall refer to London and more than likely it will be there.

Cheers

P.S My factotum Cringeling is responsible for the polishing of all the Silver, so I will take a stick to him and give him a damn good thrashing....

(Cheaper than paying him I guess)

Dear Malcolm,

When I was in business ( Watson's Fine Art & Antiques ), ... I had a sub-section on the Internet Store devoted to Antique Silver, ... mostly but not limited to Georgian, ... some really rare Canadian Silver and American as well. I appreciate the " link ", ... as I spent many hours searching books for hallmarks. Since you are still in business, ... should you have cause for suspecting a piece to be either Canadian or American, get in touch with me and perhaps I can provide printed help from my reference library.

Kind regards, ... Ron