An iron tsuba

Description:

Japan, Kaga school, late Edo period, late 19th c.
7,7 x 7,7 x 0,6 cm
Maru-gata. Iron, sen-zôgan in gold, fukurin in gold, sekigane in copper. Geometric design. Kaku-mimi.
From an old German private collection, published in: Günther Heckmann, ‘Tsuba’. H.U.B Verlag, Nürtingen, 1995, T 58
This late example of the Kaga school has clearly been orientated towards Western taste, and has certainly been produces for this market. The motifs, the ornate layout and the gauge of the piece have little in common with the simple and often unpretentious workmanshio to be found in the early examples pof this school