This is an outstanding Ko-Kinkô tsuba depicting an arrangement of arc clams and other marine life, primarily octopuses. Dating to the late Muromachi period, this large shakudō tsuba features a nanako ground with elaborate takabori relief and a raised dote-mimi rim. It is accompanied by NBTHK Jûyô certification.
古金工とは、古い時代からの流れで、桃山期頃まで活躍した金工の総称である。 この鐔は、赤銅魚子地に緻密な高彫にて海中に潜む蛸と藻貝を情景豊かに彫り上げ、耳は土手耳として打ち込み鏨を施すなど、変化を持たせ ている。色絵を一切用いず、赤銅地の磨れた表面の味わいが深い雅味溢れる優鐔である。
Certificate reading — 無銘（古金工）
NihontoWatchBETAmumei · Ko-Kinkō · Koto
Ko-kinko School
Kotō
Unsigned
Jūyō #68 (NBTHK)
Kinko
The term Ko-kinkō (古金工) denotes a collective category of metalworkers whose lineages extend from archaic times and continue through the Momoyama period, representing traditions that predate the formalized schools of the Edo period. Rather than constituting a single unified workshop, this attribution encompasses multiple regional traditions that shared certain technical and aesthetic principles while maintaining distinct local characteristics. Learn more →
Exceptional craft of very high artistic value, judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin).
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 siteThree-day inspection period and seven-day return period; buyer notifies by email within three days of receipt, no reason needed; full refund once item returned undamaged and unaltered.
This is an outstanding Ko-Kinkô tsuba depicting an arrangement of arc clams and other marine life, primarily octopuses. Dating to the late Muromachi period, this large shakudō tsuba features a nanako ground with elaborate takabori relief and a raised dote-mimi rim. It is accompanied by NBTHK Jûyô certification.
古金工とは、古い時代からの流れで、桃山期頃まで活躍した金工の総称である。 この鐔は、赤銅魚子地に緻密な高彫にて海中に潜む蛸と藻貝を情景豊かに彫り上げ、耳は土手耳として打ち込み鏨を施すなど、変化を持たせ ている。色絵を一切用いず、赤銅地の磨れた表面の味わいが深い雅味溢れる優鐔である。
Certificate reading — 無銘（古金工）
NihontoWatchBETAmumei · Ko-Kinkō · Koto
Ko-kinko School
Kotō
Unsigned
Jūyō #68 (NBTHK)
Kinko
The term Ko-kinkō (古金工) denotes a collective category of metalworkers whose lineages extend from archaic times and continue through the Momoyama period, representing traditions that predate the formalized schools of the Edo period. Rather than constituting a single unified workshop, this attribution encompasses multiple regional traditions that shared certain technical and aesthetic principles while maintaining distinct local characteristics. Learn more →
Exceptional craft of very high artistic value, judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin).
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 siteThree-day inspection period and seven-day return period; buyer notifies by email within three days of receipt, no reason needed; full refund once item returned undamaged and unaltered.
