Kamakura Tsuba (鎌倉鐔)

 

Japanese Title: 二丸線図鐔 (ni maru sen zu tsuba)   

Material:  Iron (tetsu 鉄) 

Age: Early Muromachi Period (室町時代初期) 

Size:  8.3 cm X 8.3 cm, 2.0 mm at rim, 3.0 mm at center

Signature:  Mumei (無銘)      

Shape:  Maru-gata (丸形) 

Surface Finish:  Migaki-ji (磨地) 

Attachment:  Wooden storage box with an inscription (hakogaki 箱書き).

 

This is a handguard (tsuba 鐔) made of forged iron (tetsu 鉄). It could have been mounted on a long sword (katana 刀) worn edge up at the waist or mounted on an earlier style of long sword (tachi 太刀) worn edge down at the waist while riding on horseback.
The simple but very bold design of two sets of concentric circles. The circles are cut using a dug away carving style (sukidashibori 鋤出彫). The carving style is reminiscent of a lacquer ware carving style imported into Japan from China during the Kamakura Period (Kamakura-bori 鎌倉彫) and was incorporated artistically on other objects by the Muromachi Period. The design is replicated on the reverse side as well. I am unsure of the meaning of this design, but quality of thin forged iron plate is remarkable. The tsuba has a slightly raised and worked off rim (sukinokoshi-mimi 鋤残耳).  
Tsuba like this are likely work of an early armorsmith (Ko-Katchūshi 古甲冑師) and can be subclassified as being a work of the Kamakura (鎌倉) group based on style of carving used to render the design. The tsuba dates from the early Muromachi Period circa 1336-1400 CE. A previous owner of the tsuba in an anonymous inscription on the lid of the wooden storage box (hakogaki 箱書き) attributed this tsuba to being the work of an early swordsmith (Ko-Tōshō 古刀匠) and refers to the design on the tsuba as two circle lines (ni-maru senzu 二丸線圖).   

 

Provenance: Kunio Izuka Collection via Bonham's Auction