Two iron tsuba


The first attributed to Korin of Higo, Edo period (1615-1868), 17th and 18th centuryThe first of rounded mokko form, carved and inlaid with a flaming bonji character and clouds above turbulent water, unsigned, 7.9cm (3 1/8in); the second of rounded rectangular form, the thick plate inlaid in brass and copper with a dragon amid clouds, unsigned, 8.5cm (3 3/8in); each with a wooden storage box. (4).
|Little appears to be known of Korin, who is listed with similar examples in Ito Mitsuru, Hayashi and Kamiyoshi (Works of Hayashi and Kamiyoshi), Tokyo, 2008, pp.454-459 and in Sato Kanzan, Honma Kunzan and Kashima Susumu, Higo Kinko Taikan (A Comprehensive View of Higo Metal Tsuba), Tokyo, 1984, pp.372-3.