Important Japanese Swords and Armour from the Paul L. Davidson Collection
Important Japanese Swords and Armour from the Paul L. Davidson Collection
Lot closes
09:50:32
•
March 25, 03:10 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
Starting Bid
30,000 USD
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
A katana
Attributed to the Sue Sa School
Nambokucho period, 14th century
Sugata [configuration]: shinogi-zukuri, iori mune, wide mihaba, fairly deep curvature, o-kissaki
Kitae [forging pattern]: itame mixed with some nagare in places, with ji-nie
Hamon [tempering pattern]: ko-notare mixed in with gunome, ko-ashi, with plenty ko-nie, sunagashi and kinsuji
Boshi [tip]: midare-komi, with ko-maru in the hakikake style
Horimono [carvings]: the omote with suken, the ura with bonji and gomabashi
Nakago [tang]: o-suriage, saki-asai kurijiri, yasurime kiri, shallow curvature (0.2 cm.), three mekugi-ana (one plugged), unsigned
Habaki [collar]: double clad, gold on copper, chased and engraved
In shirasaya [plain wood scabbard] with sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro
Nagasa [length from kissaki to machi]: 72.2 cm., 28½ in.
Sori [curvature]: 1.8 cm., ⅝ in.
Saki-haba [width at the yokote]: 2.1 cm., ¾ in.
Moto-haba [width at the machi]: 3.1 cm., 1¼ in.
Kissaki length: 5.8 cm., 2¼ in.
Nakago length: 18.2 cm., 7⅛ in.
Accompanied by a certificate of registration as Juyo Token [Important Sword], no. 5094 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Art Sword], dated Showa 50 (1975).
Art of the Samurai: The Paul L. Davidson Collection (New York, 2023), p. 29.
The sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro has been translated as:
Designated Juyo [Important Sword] for the Twenty-third Juyo Examination
Sue-Sa of Chikuzen Province
The blade is o-suriage, unsigned. Sue-sa is another way to refer to the students of O-Sa. This blade has a wide mihaba and an o-kissaki and thus shows a Nambokucho period Enbun-Joji sugata and with the itame that tends to nagare and that shows ji-nie, with the ko-nie based ko-notare style hardening in midare that is mixed with gunome, sunagashi and kinsuji, and with bold and tapering boshi, we have here a masterwork that truly shows the characteristic features of the Samonji School; within that school, the interpretation might point towards Sa Hiroyasu.
Blade length: two shaku, three sun and 8 bu.
Examined and written by Tanzan Hendo in January 2016, the Year of the Fire Monkey according to the 33rd term of the sexagenary cycle and kao [cursive monogram].
