SHIBATA ZESHIN 柴田是真 (1807–1891) SAYA (SCABBARD) WITH DESIGN OF GINGKO NUTS 銀杏図蒔絵脇差拵Meiji era (1868–1912), circa 1870–1890The scabbard of mottled chadō-nuri, decorated toward the end with two gingko nuts and stalks, one in gold, the other in seidō-nuri, both textured with charcoal dust, a gingko leaf carved into the lacquer ground; the scabbard-mounts all of buffalo horn with the exception of the ebony kurigata (fitting for the tying cord); the kozuka (small knife carried in the scabbard) of shakudō nanako (blue-black patinated copper-gold alloy with a granulated surface) with shibuichi and gold, depicting a swallow and lilies; the back of the kozuka gilt with nekogaki ('cat scratches'); the steel blade engraved with a depiction of part of a tsuitate (small non-folding screen); the hilt covered in rayskin bound with twisted leather strips; the tsuba (hand guard) of black lacquer; the seppa (washers) gilt; the fuchi (collar) of shakudō nanako and gilt, depicting a deer beneath a lantern hanging from the eaves of the Kasuga Shrine in Nara; the kashira (pommel) of buffalo horn; the tying cord of braided silk; wood tsukuri (place-holder sword blade); signed on the reverse toward the end of the scabbard, in delicately scratched characters, Zeshin 是真47.5cm (18¾in) longWith fitted wood storage box (2)Provenance:Sold in these Rooms, 5 November 2014, lot 4Exhibited and Published:Nezu Bijutsukan (Nezu Museum) 2012, cat. no. 41注脚There are probably fewer than a dozen published examples of swords lacquered by Zeshin, with the decoration often confined to a single motif toward one end of the scabbard, as here (Gōke 1981b, pl. 95–100; Nezu Bijutsukan 2012, cat. nos. 40–41). The scabbard is finished in chadō-nuri ('tea bronze' lacquering), a brown-toned variant from Zeshin's favourite seidō-nuri (see Glossary). Careful inspection of the surface reveals that Zeshin avoided the even, highly polished finish seen in conventional sword mountings, deliberately texturing the lacquer to produce a mottled, antique look that typifies his trademark iki (chic) aesthetic. Zeshin expressed the different states of ripeness of the two fruits by lacquering one in gold and the other in seidō-nuri, and carved the leaf in the lacquer after it had dried, in imitation of metalworking techniques. The fittings on the hilt are by other, anonymous, artists.