Shakudo, silver and gold. Japan, 19th century
Very fine nanakoji featuring kebori gravure as well as iroe takazogan, which presents a riverbank crossing the composition, where a peasant with a straw hat and sandals is standing. He is watching a flying bird in gilded gold inlay. On the outer right is a tree trunk. Elevated border.
The KOZUKA is the so-called "little hilt", as well as the hilt of a small utility knife resp. the entire utility knife accompanying a classic Japanese Samurai sword.
LENGTH 9,6 CM
From the collection of Dr. Karl Florenz (1865-1939)
Dr. Karl Florenz was a renowned scholar, university professor and regarded as a pioneer of German Japanese studies. He resided in Japan from 1888 until the beginning of the First World War, then continued his lectures at the Hamburg Colonial Institute, never to return to Japan again. Famous for having translated several important Japanese books including the Nihongi, Japan’s oldest official history text, he was awarded the Japanese doctor title in literature. His extensive collection was largely destroyed by air strikes in the Second World War (which he himself did not live to witness), however, most tsuba etc. survived in relatively good condition. Dr. Florenz primarily collected tsubas, most of which are from the 18th cent. and quite evidently made an effort to explore a wide range of motifs.