A JAPANESE DAGGER (TANTŌ OR KŌ-WAKIZASHI)

A JAPANESE DAGGER (TANTŌ OR KŌ-WAKIZASHI)

Shintō blade 13.5 in., hira-zukuri, hi to each side extending to the nakago, suguha hamon, itame hada, funa-gata nakago with two mekugi-ana, mumei but attributed to Yamamura, gilt-copper habaki, in shirasaya; maru-gata tsuba of shakudō set with a kamon of bamboo leaves in a roundel (possibly associated with the Fukuoka domain), Momoyama period fuchi and kashira, menuki in the form of geese, lacquered saya with willow design in same and with moths, kogatana with Goto school kozuka embellished with a botanical arrangement in iroe taka-zogan to a nanako ground; offered with NBTHK Hozon Token certificate, Edo period.

Provenance: from an English private collection, Devon. Purchased from Bonhams London, 13th May 2008, lot 37.