Japan, Edo period, pair of Menuki (katana, wakizashi or tantô handle ornaments) stylizing lobsters (kuruma ebi) in gilded copper alloy, each lobster signed, one "Nomura" the other "Masatada". Dim.: 5 cm (in a small wooden case) Menuki attributed to Nomura (surname) Masatada, active in the last third of the 18th century, also known by the nickname Shôyemon, son of Masamichi. Reference: "Shinkichi Hara, "Die Meister der Japanischen Schwertzierathen", 1902, page 73, third signature right-hand column.

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