Sword-guard, iron, Mito School, 1866
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1866
WATAI TANETORA: A SUPERB MITO SCHOOL IRON TSUBA DEPICTING SO FUKO AND DRAGON, DATED 1866 By Watai Tanetora, signed Mito Watai Tanetora saku Japan, dated 1866, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Günther Heckmann, Tsuba, H.U.B Verlag, Nürtingen, 1995, T 115.
Of nagamarugata form, with one kogai hitsu ana, the nakago with a copper sekigane, masterfully worked in takabori and shishiaibori, with details in gold and iro-e takazogan, featuring So Fuko (Cao Buxing) painting a dragon which is so realistic it emerges from the silk. One side inscribed, Keio nen hineo no tora aki kishin [on a lucky day in autumn in the second year of the Kineo reign (1866), year of the fire tiger], the reverse signed Mihan WATAI TANETORA saku [made by Watai Tanetora of Mito]. HEIGHT 8.2 cm, LENGTH 7.9 cm WEIGHT 191.2 g Provenance: Ex-collecton H. Saenger, Hamburg. Cao Buxing (So Fuko) was a court painter to Sun Quan, the ruler of the state of Wu.
He was famous for painting dragons, animals, and figures. According to legend, one of his painted dragons came alive, rising from the silk and soaring into a lake. Tanetora is listed in Robert E. Haynes, The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists on p.1882 (H 09458.0). Haynes notes that there are supposedly two generations of Tanetora. Museum comparison: Compare a related Mito School iron tsuba with a dragon, signed and dated by Watai Tanetora, 1865, 6.9 cm tall, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 11.11925.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material (listing wording)
- iron
- Dimensions or weight (listing wording)
- HEIGHT 8.2 cm; LENGTH 7.9 cm; WEIGHT 191.2 g; 6.9 cm
Identification
- Source note
- Auction-house description published on Invaluable; the text keeps only the listing's object facts (condition, price and sale wording removed). Attribution and measurements describe the photographed example; independent type authentication remains research required.
- Candidate id
- inv-200793156
- Auction house
- Galerie Zacke
- Listing object ID
- 200793156
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.