This is a mumei tsuba featuring dragons on a shakudo-nanako ground, attributed to Kyo Kinko by NBTHK Hozon certification. The two dragons magnificently form the rim of the tsuba. It is made of shakudo and gold and dates to the Edo period.
Certificate reading — 無銘（京金具師）
NihontoWatchmumei · Kyo Kinko · Edo
Kyo-kinko School
Edo
Yamashiro
Unsigned
Hozon (NBTHK)
Kinko · Yamashiro
Certifies a genuine fitting worth preserving: a correct signature, or, if unsigned, an identifiable era and school, with recognized artistic and craft value.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteThis is a mumei tsuba featuring dragons on a shakudo-nanako ground, attributed to Kyo Kinko by NBTHK Hozon certification. The two dragons magnificently form the rim of the tsuba. It is made of shakudo and gold and dates to the Edo period.
Certificate reading — 無銘（京金具師）
NihontoWatchmumei · Kyo Kinko · Edo
Kyo-kinko School
Edo
Yamashiro
Unsigned
Hozon (NBTHK)
Kinko · Yamashiro
Certifies a genuine fitting worth preserving: a correct signature, or, if unsigned, an identifiable era and school, with recognized artistic and craft value.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official site
