A collection of Japanese sword fittings and other metalwork


Edo period (1615-1868), 18th to 19th centuryThree tsuba, the first of iron, inlaid with peonies and scrolls in brass, unsigned, 8.2cm (3¼in); the second of brass, carved and pierced with a Chinese sage on a verandah, signed Nagahide, 7.3cm (2 7/8in); the third of copper, unsigned, 5cm (2in); 13 kozuka, comprising: shakudo with monkeys in gold relief; shakudo with fan-shaped panels; shakudo with shells in gold, copper and silver relief; shakudo with an inro, kinchaku (purse) and fan; shakudo with a heron on a post above waves; shibuichi with an open kakemono in coloured relief; shibuichi with a mounted warrior, signed Kenyusai Naotoshi with a kao; shibuichi with a thatched house and nesting birds, signed Masayuki, gyonen rokujuichi (Masayuki, aged 61); silver, engraved with a man taking water from a waterfall, signed Kikuchi Jokoku; silver, with swimming fish in relief; silver engraved with a tiger and bamboo, signed Omori Teruhide; shibuichi, engraved and inlaid with figures in a landscape, signed Hosono Sozaemon Masamori with a kao; and another in similar style; a miniature silver inro engraved with mon; a shakudo menuki of a fisherman in an open boat; and six late shakudo kagamibuta plates with birds and flowers in gilt relief. (24).