hilt;
menuki
- Museum number
- 1958,0730.104.c
- Description
-
Hilt; menuki. Part of mounting for tanto. Hilt: made of wood, skin (ray), braided baleen; also enamel on metal. Menuki: rat on rice bale and mallet. Signed.
- Production date
- 1868-1912 (assembled)
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- Harris 2005
This blade is 'hira zukuri'. The unmodified tang has one hole and the file marks are 'kiri'. The tang tip is rather severe 'kurijiri'. The prominent grain is 'itame' mixed with 'mokume'. The 'hamon' is 'gunome' with a tight 'nioiguchi' and clusters of 'nie' in the valleys of the undulations. The 'boshi' is 'komaru' with 'hakikake'. The blade is typical of late Bizen-school work, although the quality is not the highest.
The scabbard of the mounting is wrapped with wrinkled leather. The metal fittings all have motifs of auspicious treasures in coloured enamels set in iron. The 'menuki' are of a rat on a rice bale and a mallet, both attributes of Daikoku-Ten, the popular deity of plenty, whose mallet showers the 'Seven Treasures'. The 'tsuba' is signed 'Juko' (or 'Toshiyoshi') and elsewhere the mounting is signed 'Matsushiro Juko'. The mounting was assembled in the Meiji era.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1958
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1958,0730.104.c