Japanese tsuba

[CNK1]

Good afternoon gentlemen,

I request you help for the identification this lot of tsuba. There are gift of my brother but in my state of knowledge, I am really unable to date them or even identifying them.

Could you please help me ?

Thank you by advance for your precious help !

Best regards,

Clement

[David R]

They look to be genuine and have some age, but really you need to post them on a specialist site.
I would suggest http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/ but they can be unsympathetic to the uninitiated. On the plus side, they do know their stuff.

[Battara]

Could theses be koto?

[David R]

Could theses be koto?

They "could be" but it's unlikely. Anything with the holes for Kogai or Kodzuka is likely to be later, though you do get some which have had the Ana pierced later in an earlier tsuba. Early Tsuba tend to be simpler than later ones.

The larger in my post is an example of an old iron tsuba with later alterations...

....and the smaller is copper with the early style of Kodzuka-Ana of a type known as "old copper".... These are probably late Koto early Shinto according to the Northern To-Ken..

But a proper appraisal in the hand is really the only way to go!

[Rich]

I would suggest http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/ but they can be unsympathetic to the uninitiated. On the plus side, they do know their stuff.

Actually, I've found them to be quite nice and helpful, not to mention very knowledgeable.
Of course the teenie boppers who want to know about the Ninja sword they bought at the mall
aren't taken well.
Rich