190 - A fine tsuba signed Sōheishi Sōten

A fine tsuba signed Sōheishi Sōten dating: Edo Period (1603-1867) provenance: Japan, Made of iron, of tate-maru-gata form, carved in maru-bori and decorated in gold and silver iroe-taka-zōgan, with copper sekigane. Depicting a battle scene with ships. Kozuka and kōgai hitsu-ana. Kaku-mimi-koniku. Signed Sōheishi Sōten. Mid-Edo period, 18th century. The style of hikone-bori, which the Sōten family is famous for, was founded by Sōheishi Sōten. He had worked since the end of the 17th century. It is very difficult and sometimes nearly impossible to classify the objects with the Sōten signature, this style having been copied and “signed”, too often. The comparatively large and distinct realisation of the pictorial elements, is an untypical presentation for Sōtens. Due to this distinctive feature, the illustrated tsuba can possibly be dated back to the first masterclass of the Sōten. The tsuba is illustrated and described in Japanese, English and German in "Tsuba" by Günther Heckmann (H.U.B. Verlag, Nürtingen, 1995). No. T93.