Japanese

A Big, Beautiful, and Impressive Katana Bearing A Very Desirable Name & Signature of the ‘Gassan School’

Very long blade measuring a huge 31 inches from Tsuba to Tip. Signed Osaka-ju Gassan Unryûshi Minamoto Sadakazu. With wave design fuchi kashira highlighted with gilt, gilded menuki of gourds. Original Edo lacquer saya. A very nice Koto sukashi tsuba, probably a Choshu school tsuba, of butterflies and leaves, with a russetted surface.
It is a very beautiful sword, that is bearing the name of one of the great 19th century sword smith school's of ‘Gassan’, yet we price it for it's own merits and beauty alone, as if it was not actually signed personally, but, it has most intriguing possibilities. A few swords, also bearing his signature name, have appeared in the past fifteen years and sold in the best London auction rooms, but similarly without any guarantee at all as to the authenticity of the smith's personal signature, yet they have still sold for very respectable five figure sums. Thus this is a superbly executed sword, and therefore very possibly a Gassan school homage to a piece bearing his personal name.
It has a stunning hamon that looks tremendously vibrant and impressive, with yakideshi. It has a few small pitting marks at the upper end of the blade, but nothing at all to effect it's use in any way.
This beautiful katana has lain externally untouched as a sleeper for nigh on 100 years or more.
Gassan Sadakazu was born in 1836 in Sugoshi Village in Omi Province. He was the son of Tsukamoto Shichirobei. When he was a young boy, he was adopted into the family of the famous sword maker Gassan Sadayoshi who's only living heir died prematurely.
Gassan Sadayoshi was the founder of the Osaka ‘Gassan school’ of sword making. He studied under Suishinshi Masahide until Masahide's death in 1825. At that time he moved to Osaka and started the revived ‘Gassan school’ of sword making which had died out in the early Edo period.

Sadakazu started studying the art of sword making at about age 11. He made his first sword at age 14 and by age 20 was recognized as a top quality swordsmith and horimono carver.
In the early 1860's when his teacher passed the age of 60, he assumed the role of Daisaku and made swords in his father's name. About this time he produced a number of swords in the Bizen or Yamato style in addition to the main Ayasugi tradition. His blade structure featured a modest curvature and a pronounced large boshi with only a slightly rounded edge (fukura-kareru), which were also characteristic of Sadayoshi's work.
Work stopped for Sadakazu from 1876 when the wearing of swords was abolished until around 1887 when Japan went to war with China and the demand for swords resumed.
He died in 1918 after a long and very distinguished career as one of the premier sword makers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

With reference to part of an article {above} by Fred Weissberg on the ‘Gassan School’.  read more

Code: 23309

A Good, Antique, Edo Period Iron Plate 17th Century Saotome Tembo Katana Tsuba, From The Tembo School of Tsubako.

A well hammered rough surface forged iron plate Saotome Tembo tsuba.

The first master of the Saotome school was Nobuyasu of Shimotsuke. Nobuyasu moved to Odawara in Sagami were the Saotome school itself was founded. Some of the early Saotome makers were Nobuyasu, Iyenori, Iyetsugu, Iyetada and Iyesada although there is some disagreement on the lineage of the school. There were many other generations working well into the late Edo period. The Saotome School gave rise to the Tembo School of tsubako.

Tempo {Tembo} school and the yakite finish (heat treatment) is typical, as is the excellent iron. Typical wildness of the hot-stamping, and it is very finely constructed. The patina is amazingly soft and velvety, kozuka and kogai ana, on each side, numerous deep stamps, kozuka and kogai hitsu ana (suhama) copper ume infills. 74 mm  read more

Code: 22454

A Very Good & Beautiful Shinto Long Katana Signed Chikanobu. Very Good, Unique Matsushiro Sinano Sinchu & Silver Line Koshirae. Gold and Shakudo Dragon Clutching The Pearl Of Wisdom Menuki. Circa 1680.

All original Edo period mounts and lacquer saya. Fine iron tsuba. With a very beautiful choji hamon to the blade is an absolute beauty, and fully polished.
Long kissaki. Dark blue silk tsukaito over traditional giant rayskin with gold and bronze menuki of dragons. Fully matching suite of sinchu and contrasting silver line mounts to the tsuka and saya, of the Matsushiro Sinano school. A well hammered rough surface...smooth rim though, Saotome Tembo tsuba with kakine kokuin stamps, udenuki-ana, lead ume, uchikaeshi mimi rim, boars eye piercing.
The first master of the Saotome school was Nobuyasu of Shimotsuke. Nobuyasu moved to Odawara in Sagami were the Saotome school itself was founded. Some of the early Saotome makers were Nobuyasu, Iyenori, Iyetsugu, Iyetada and Iyesada although there is some disagreement on the lineage of the school. There were many other generations working well into the late Edo period. The Saotome School gave rise to the Tembo School of tsubako.

The Tembo School (also spelled Tempo, Tenpo or Tenbo) also worked well into the Edo Period. They are most noted for the use of kokuin (hot stamps) on their plates,

This unique original mounting is called “Matsushiro” koshirae which was specially made in Matsuro-han in Shinano (Nagano) province in the edo period.

The samurai were roughly the equivalent of feudal knights. Employed by the shogun or daimyo, they were members of hereditary warrior class that followed a strict "code" that defined their clothes, armour and behavior on the battlefield. But unlike most medieval knights, samurai warriors could read and they were well versed in Japanese art, literature and poetry.
Samurai endured for almost 700 years, from 1185 to 1867. Samurai families were considered the elite. They made up only about six percent of the population and included daimyo and the loyal soldiers who fought under them. Samurai means ?one who serves."

Samurai were expected to be both fierce warriors and lovers of art, a dichotomy summed up by the Japanese concepts of to stop the spear exanding into bushido (the way of life of the warrior) and bun (the artistic, intellectual and spiritual side of the samurai}. Originally conceived as away of dignifying raw military power, the two concepts were synthesized in feudal Japan and later became a key feature of Japanese culture and morality.The quintessential samurai was Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary early Edo-period swordsman who reportedly killed 60 men before his 30th birthday and was also a painting master. Members of a hierarchal class or caste, samurai were the sons of samurai and they were taught from an early age to unquestionably obey their mother, father and daimyo. When they grew older they were trained by Zen Buddhist masters in meditation and the Zen concepts of impermanence and harmony with nature. The were also taught about painting, calligraphy, nature poetry, mythological literature, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony.

As part of their military training, samurai were taught to sleep with their right arm underneath them so if they were attacked in the middle of the night and their the left arm was cut off the could still fight with their right arm. Samurai that tossed and turned at night were cured of the habit by having two knives placed on either side of their pillow.

Samurai have been describes as "the most strictly trained human instruments of war to have existed." They were expected to be proficient in the martial arts of aikido and kendo as well as swordsmanship and archery---the traditional methods of samurai warfare---which were viewed not so much as skills but as art forms that flowed from natural forces that harmonized with nature.
An individual didn't become a full-fledged samurai until he wandered around the countryside as begging pilgrim for a couple of years to learn humility. When this was completed they achieved samurai status and receives a salary from his daimyo paid from taxes (usually rice) raised from the local populace. Swords in Japan have long been symbols of power and honour and seen as works of art. Often times swordsmiths were more famous than the people who used them.
likely details on the Chikanori nobu. Slight name change here, he was then actually signing Chikanobu as he did on this blade, appears in kanji reference notes as nori, nobu is next to nori, and thus often confused . He also used to be known as Shigechika

Chikanobu, previously known as Shigechika, studied under 1st generation Aizu Kanetomo, circa 1660.

Chikanobu received the name nobu from Kanetomo as an honour to therefore thus change his name.

Kanetomo also used to be known as another name once, Kanenobu and thus passed the nobu name to Shigechika as an honour, who thus changed his name to Chikanobu  read more

Code: 23063

A Superb Samurai, Shinto Period, 350 Year Old, Ryo-Shinogi Yari Polearm Spear, Signed Bushu ju Shimosaka Fujiwara Kazunori, In Incredible Polish, Showing Fine Grain in the Hada and Wide Fine Suguha Hamon, With 12 'Notch' Tang

An Edo Period Samurai Horseman Ryo-Shinogi Yari Polearm on original haft, circa 1680. Fantastic polish showing amazing grain and deep hamon.

The blade is signed Bushu ju Shimosaka Fujiwara Kazunori, and bears 12 hand cut notches to the tang, which often represented the number of vanquished samurai by the yari weilding samurai, likely in a single battle

With original pole and iron foot mount ishizuki. Four sided double edged head. The mochi-yari, or "held spear", is a rather generic term for the shorter Japanese spear. It was especially useful to mounted Samurai. In mounted use, the spear was generally held with the right hand and the spear was pointed across the saddle to the soldiers left front corner.

The warrior's saddle was often specially designed with a hinged spear rest (yari-hasami) to help steady and control the spear's motion. The mochi-yari could also easily be used on foot and is known to have been used in castle defense. The martial art of wielding the yari is called sojutsu. A yari on it's pole can range in length from one metre to upwards of six metres (3.3 to 20 feet). The longer hafted versions were called omi no yari while shorter ones were known as mochi yari or tae yari. The longest hafted versions were carried by foot troops (ashigaru), while samurai usually carried a shorter hafted yari. Yari are believed to have been derived from Chinese spears, and while they were present in early Japan's history they did not become popular until the thirteenth century.The original warfare of the bushi was not a thing for "commoners"; it was a ritualized combat usually between two warriors who may challenge each other via horseback archery and sword duels. However, the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 changed Japanese weaponry and warfare. The Mongol-employed Chinese and Korean footmen wielded long pikes, fought in tight formation, and moved in large units to stave off cavalry. Polearms (including naginata and yari) were of much greater military use than swords, due to their much greater range, their lesser weight per unit length (though overall a polearm would be fairly hefty), and their great piercing ability.
Swords in a full battle situation were therefore relegated to emergency sidearm status from the Heian through the Muromachi periods.

70.5 inches long overall,5.5 inches long blade, blade with tang overall 15 inches long  read more

Code: 25131

An Edo Period, 1603 -1867 Tanto Tsuba, Tetsu With Silver Inlaid Rim

A charming tsuba with traces of silver inlays around the entire rim. Probably made around 1680.
Tsuba were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen whose only craft was making tsuba. They were usually lavishly decorated. In addition to being collectors items, they were often used as heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with samurai roots sometimes have their family crest (mon) crafted onto a tsuba. Tsuba can be found in a variety of metals and alloys, including iron, steel, brass, copper and shakudo. In a duel, two participants may lock their katana together at the point of the tsuba and push, trying to gain a better position from which to strike the other down. This is known as tsubazeriai pushing tsuba against each other.

A tanto would most often be worn by Samurai, and it was very uncommon to come across a non samurai with a tanto. It was not only men who carried these daggers, women would on occasions carry a small tanto called a kaiken in their obi which would be used for self-defence. In feudal Japan a tanto would occasionally be worn by Samurai in place of the wakizashi in a combination called the daisho, which roughly translates as big-little, in reference to the big Samurai Sword (Katana) and the small dagger (tanto). Before the rise of the katana it was more common for a Samurai to carry a tachi and tanto combination as opposed to a katana and wakizashi.
46mm

 read more

Code: 24234

A Fine Edo Period {1600-1868} Samurai Pole Arm Yari, A Hira Sankaku Yari, The Samurai's Combat Lance With Full Tang and its Original Long Haft With Abilone Shell Decor

A super antique samurai's combat pole arm with a three sided blade in the form of an Isosceles triangle with a very sharp point and two sharp edges on a sockle, in beautiful polish, with narrow suguha hamon, and a full length tang. Mounted in its original haft of traditional form, with copper banding and the top section decorated with crushed abilone shell under urushi lacquer. Interestingly, the nakago {tang} has two clear and obvious filed edge notches {see photo}. In the world of arms such concealed notches go back centuries, and often could be symbolic of victories in combat. This might be for single hand to hand combat, or, for a combined victory in a battle. This aspect would only be known by the combatant that created them, but they are immensely intriguing as to the specific combat events that they represent.

Ideal for use by samurai both on foot and horseback and especially effective as an armour piercing blade.

Yari is the Japanese term for a spear, but technically it is actually a lance, or more specifically, the straight-headed lance.

The martial art of wielding the yari is called sojutsu. A yari can range in length from one metre to upwards of six metres (3.3 to 20 feet). The longer versions were called omi no yari while shorter ones were known as mochi yari or tae yari. The longest versions were carried by foot troops (ashigaru), while samurai usually carried a shorter yari , up to around 8 feet long, such as this example. Yari are believed to have been derived from Chinese spears, and while they were present in early Japan's history they did not become popular until the thirteenth century.
The original warfare of the bushi was not a thing for "commoners"; it was a ritualized combat usually between two warriors who may challenge each other via horseback archery and sword duels. However, the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 changed Japanese weaponry and warfare.
The Mongol-employed Chinese and Korean footmen wielded long pikes, fought in tight formation, and moved in large units to stave off cavalry. Polearms (including naginata and yari) were of much greater military use than swords, due to their much greater range, their lesser weight per unit length (though overall a polearm would be fairly hefty), and their great piercing ability. Swords in a full battle situation were therefore relegated to emergency sidearm status from the Heian through the Muromachi periods. Around later half of sixteenth century, ashigaru holding pikes (naga yari) with length of 4.5 to 6.5 m (15 to 22 feet) or sometimes 10 m became main forces in armies. They formed lines, combined with harquebusiers and short spearmen. Pikemen formed two or three row of line, and were forced to move up and down their pikes in unison under the command.Yari overtook the popularity of the daikyu for the samurai, and foot troops (ashigaru) used them extensively as well
Various types of yari points or blades existed. The most common blade was a straight, flat, design that resembles a straight-bladed double edged dagger. This type of blade could cut as well as stab and was sharpened like a razor edge. Though yari is a catchall for spear, it is usually distinguished between kama yari, which have additional horizontal blades, and simple su yari (choku-so) or straight spears. Yari can also be distinguished by the types of blade cross section: The triangular sections were called sankaku yari and hira sankuku, the latter for Isosceles of two equal sides as opposed to three.
This hira sankaku yari has clearly seen combat service as the blade has an impact curvature.

92 inches long overall mounted upon its original Edo pole {haft}, the steel blade is 6 inches long, plus the nakago which is 9.25 inches. Total 15.25 inches long.

In its full length, upon its haft, regular export delivery is not available. UK mainland delivery is available though for its full and complete length. In museum collections only the blade is displayed, with the haft, if kept at all, stored separately.  read more

Code: 25665

A Delightful Edo Period 1600 Japanese Noh Mask, Possibly Amazakuro Akujo

From the ancient Japanese tradition of mask drama that can trace its origins to the Bugaku Imperial Court dancing of the 9th century. Noh is the classical theatre of Japan which was codified in the 14th century under the father and son actors Kan'ami and Zeami under the patronage of the Shogun (supreme military leader) Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The performances utilise masks and elaborate costume. This is a substantial though small size mask, robustly carved from a thick piece of hinoki, with the carving confidently executed. The original colour of the mask appears to be of a predominantly a pinkish skin colour over a very thin layer of gofun, with details of the lips painted in red. The whites of the deep-set eyes are with details. The high domed forehead and the raised eyebrows together with the delicately carved wrinkles add to the overall image of a benevolent deity. It is significant that the mask is called Omote, which means the front surface facing the audience. But there is a reverse side, too, called Ura, behind which the actor conceals himself. Unlike the smooth finished outer surface of a Noh mask, the Ura is a roughly finished indented shell with just two tiny holes, more rudimentary than what we might call eyes. By including himself in this primitive space, the Noh actor transforms himself into a person of another world and attempts to draw the audience after him, by radiating a sense of the existence and non existence of an inhabitant of that other world. This mask is of symbolic size, not a wearing type.

The Ayakashi mask expresses god or ghost possessed of mysterious powers. It is also used for a vindictive warrior. Okina (Old man masks) This type of mask originated from sarugaku, the predecessor of noh, in the latter part of the Heian period. This is the oldest type of noh mask.

The surface still has a large proportion of fleshy skin tones remaining, with areas of loses overall. This intriguing piece would make a superb display piece of famous Japanese traditional art.

6 inches x 4.25 inches.  read more

Code: 20901

A Japanese Edo Period Processional or Ceremonial Pole Arm Yari

Set on a very good mother o'pearl decorated haft. With a over lacquered blade cover. A yari on it's pole can range in length from one metre to upwards of six metres (almost 20 feet). The longer hafted versions were called omi no yari while shorter ones were known as mochi yari or tae yari. The longest hafted versions were carried by foot troops (ashigaru), while samurai usually carried a shorter hafted yari. Yari are believed to have been derived from Chinese spears, and while they were present in early Japan's history they did not become popular until the thirteenth century. The original warfare of the bushi was not a thing for "commoners"; it was a ritualized combat usually between two warriors who may challenge each other via horseback archery and sword duels. However, the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 changed Japanese weaponry and warfare. The Mongol-employed Chinese and Korean footmen wielded long pikes, fought in tight formation, and moved in large units to stave off cavalry. Polearms (including naginata and yari) were of much greater military use than swords, due to their much greater range, their lesser weight per unit length (though overall a polearm would be fairly hefty), and their great piercing ability. Swords in a full battle situation were therefore relegated to emergency sidearm status from the Heian through the Muromachi periods. Ceremonial yari were used for parades of Daimyo travelling through regions or traditional public ceremonies in the Edo era. MOP losses to haft.  read more

Code: 19524

A Fine Edo Period 17th Cent. Samurai Armour Gosuko, Dangae dou Part Suit of Armour. Shown With A Kabuto For Display Only, {Kabuto Now Sold}

17th century body armour {kabuto helmet sold seperately} comprising full a cuirass {do}, of front and back plates, constructed of iron plates over lacquered and fully laced, and linked with chain mail.
Dangae dou (dō) meaning "step-changing" is a Japanese (samurai) chest armor that is a combination of two or more other styles. The main part of the dou (dō) may be an okegawa dou (dō), but the bottom two lames are laced (kebiki or sugake) instead of riveted or vice versa, or an armour is laced in sugake but the tateage and bottom lames are in kebiki.

Plus, steel chain mail and armour plate arm defences, inner lined with blue green material. The kabuto we show in photos 4 and 5, would compliment it beautifully, and for sale separately {code number 24030}.

During the Heian period (794-1185), the Japanese cuirass evolved into the more familiar style of armour worn by the samurai known as the dou or do. Japanese armour makers started to use leather (nerigawa) and lacquer was used to weather proof the armor parts. By the end of the Heian period the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as being distinctly samurai. Leather and or iron scales were used to construct samurai armours, with leather and eventually silk lace used to connect the individual scales (kozane) which these cuirasses were now being made from.

In the 16th century Japan began trading with Europe during what would become known as the Nanban trade. Samurai acquired European armour including the cuirass and comb morion which they modified and combined with domestic armour as it provided better protection from the newly introduced matchlock muskets known as Tanegashima. The introduction of the tanegashima by the Portuguese in 1543 changed the nature of warfare in Japan causing the Japanese armour makers to change the design of their armours from the centuries-old lamellar armours to plate armour constructed from iron and steel plates which was called tosei gusoku (new armours). Bullet resistant armours were developed called tameshi gusoku or (bullet tested) allowing samurai to continue wearing their armour despite the use of firearms. Please note the helmet is not with the armour. The silk lacing on the breast and back plate is 400 years old and very frayed throughout.

In Japan the term samurai evolved over several centuries

In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi (武士,) or buke (武家). According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning 'to wait upon', 'accompany persons' in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean 'those who serve in close attendance to the nobility', the Japanese term saburai being the nominal form of the verb." According to Wilson, an early reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū (905–914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century.

Originally, the word samurai referred to anyone who served the emperor, the imperial family, or the imperial court nobility, even in a non-military capacity.It was not until the 17th century that the term gradually became a title for military servants of warrior families, so that, according to Michael Wert, "a warrior of elite stature in pre-seventeenth-century Japan would have been insulted to be called a 'samurai'".

In modern usage, bushi is often used as a synonym for samurai  read more

Code: 20178

Very Rare Circa 1700’s Japanese Nagasaki Emigre Sword Maker. A ‘Sawasa’ Naval Hanger A Japanese Hangar in The European Style, For a Senior Officer of the Dutch East India Company ( the VOC). A VOC Naval Captain of A So Called ‘Black Ship’

Made by Japanese emigre samurai sword koshirae makers and artisans, after 1639, by exiled Japanese sword fitting craftsmen working in Batavia, for a VOA Naval Admiral or Captain, likely a permitted trading black ship voyaging to the trading post at the Nagasaki island Dejima.

The Black Ships (in Japanese: 黒船, romanized: kurofune, Edo period term) were the names given to Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships,

In 1543, Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a trade route linking Goa to Nagasaki. The large carracks engaged in this trade had the hull painted black with pitch, and the term came to represent all Western vessels. In 1639, after suppressing a rebellion blamed on the influence of Christian thought, the ruling Tokugawa shogunate retreated into an isolationist policy, the Sakoku. During this "locked state", contact with Japan by Westerners was restricted to Dutch traders on Dejima island at Nagasaki.

European hanger swords were the weapon of choice for senior maritime officers employed by the Dutch East India Company VOC , in fact by all senior naval officers at the time, including notorious pirates such as Edward Teach, aka ‘Blackbeard’. The hilt and fittings of this sword were probably added to the European blade by Japanese émigrés in the Dutch colony of Batavia (Jakarta).

They were made using the sawasa technique of gilded copper alloy with black shakudo detailing. Japanese samegawa grip {giant rayskin}, with a vertical panel, engraved with an exotic bird in front of two Indonesian mosque temple domes.
The level of workmanship suggests that the sword belonged to a high-ranking company official.
A fine and jolly rare Japanese export Sawasa hunting hanger. It features a straight blade with a double-edged tip and wide fuller, flanked by a narrow groove near the spine. In the base of the fuller on either side are a running stag and a boar, both prized hunting animals, and French motto of honour.
Sometimes referred to as 'Tonkinese chiseled work', these 18th century export wares became highly sought after, such as this 18th century Sawasa sword

The desiring incorporates a single shell-guard, chased and gilded in high relief against a blackened fish-roe shakudo ground, chisseled with reclining Eros with his bow and quiver. the hilt quilon block is chisseled on one sade by a collared hunting hound and tiger to the other side. The knuckle bow is chisseled with the figure of a turbanned Jakartan figure. the pommel is chisseled with a stag, and the quillon end is a stag hoof, and a covering in panels of Japanese samegawa {giant rayskin}. Overall the hilt is decorated with a combination of artistic styles of the Dutch East Indies, and Europe, made by Japanese emigre artistry with japanese samegawa binding, finished in a mixture of shakudo and gilt.
This sword is a beauty in a superb state of preservation.
Sawasa is the Japanese name given to objects made by Asian artisans, adopting European models combined with Japanese and Chinese materials and decorative motifs. This decoration consists of refined gilt relief and engraving on a lustrous lacquered surface. Sawasa wares are the result of cultural interaction between Asia and Europe. As a consequence of global trade in the 17th century, mutual interest arose in the peculiarities of each other’s culture. The Dutch and other Europeans brought rare objects back from their travels which whetted the appetite for exotic rarities. The earliest Sawasa objects are sword and hanger hilts and tobacco boxes ordered in Japan from Batavia, now Jakarta. Sawasa demonstrates not only the intercontinental commercial connections created by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) but also mutual cultural influences between Europe and Asia.

The decoration of the fittings are of the Japanese export style, in the European manner, but with fine and typical Japanese influences for a black ship naval captain of the VOC, in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth centuries, a style of metalwork known as sawasa that was produced for the Dutch East India Company in and around Nagasaki. Following Japan’s closed country (sakoku) edicts, from around 1639, exiled Japanese sword fitting craftsmen began working in Batavia, where the market for sawasa was a profitable one. The idea of sawasa was that objects made from a copper alloy were given gilt relief decoration with black lacquered highlights to achieve the appearance of shakudō. The extensive metalwork here resembles shakudō, but is likely to be sawasa with highlights in gold. The ground is covered with fine punch marks in a pattern resembling fish roe (nanako), although the punch marks are not completely uniform. The wooden hilt is covered on each side with panels of brass alloy, over Japanese samegawa giant ray skin and once overlaid with gold leaf;
Blade is engraved, on both sides, Ne me Tirez pas sans Raisons.. Ne me Remette point sans Honneur
Do not shoot me without reason do not hand me over without honour.

The hilt and blade is exceptionally sound and great condition, but with all the due appropriate age and surface wear from the past three hundred years

Picture in the gallery, a Japanese woodblock print, of a 17th century Dutch East India Co. vessel trading in Japan, a so-called Black Ship.

Another example of a Sawasa sword sold last May 24 for £14,080. It was a small sword, with an engraved blade. the engraving on that sword looks incredibly like it was created by the same hand as ours. Although the gilt on that small sword was mostly near perfect, where ours is not perfect.

For reference;

Sawasa – Japanese Export Art in Black and Gold 1650-1800 Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Every item is accompanied with our unique, Certificate of Authenticity. Of course any certificate of authenticity, given by even the best specialist dealers, in any field, all around the world, is simply a piece of paper,…however, ours is backed up with the fact we are the largest dealers of our kind in the world, with over 100 years and four generation’s of professional trading experience behind us.

See Bas Kist et al, Sawasa Japanese export art in black and gold 1650-1800, exhibition catalogue, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 28 November 1998 - 28 February 1999, pp. 53-54, A.13.1 - A.14.1 (illustrated)

For a related example formerly in the collection of the late A.R. Dufty F.S.A., past Master of the Armouries, H.M. Tower of London, see Christie's South Kensington, Antique Arms and Armour, 15 July 1998, lot 28  read more

Code: 25524