The online collection and picture sale

Few tsuba have human figures as the basis of their decoration. This is one that does. It is almost circular done in copper and gold, with engraved figures of zen monks Kanzan and his companion Shin-te. A landscape is merely insinuated, with branches of trees in the upper part. The artist¿s signature and seal are difficult to read. From Matsumoto, Joi lived from 1701 to 1761 and worked in the Matsudaira clan. A disciple of Nara Toshinaga, Joi invented new metal alloying methods and techniques for metalwork. From the 18th or 19th century, this tsuba is admirable for the expression on the monk Kanzan¿s face, something really difficult to do well in metal. The emptiness of the landscape is a direct influence from zen art. (Fernando García Gutiérrez, 2008)

Selected bibliography

• Arte japonés y japonismo [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 163, 557, 507-509, 511, 513, 515, 520, n° cat. 27.
• Caeiro Izquierdo, Luis. La Cultura Samurai : armas japonesas en las colecciones españolas [tesis inédita]. Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1991.
• García Gutiérrez, Fernando. "Tsuba : Japoniako zaldunen ezaugarri bat. Tsuba bilduma Bilboko Arte Eder Museoan = Un signo distintivo de los caballeros de Japón. Colección de tsuba en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao = The Mark of the Kinghts of Japan. The Tsuba Collection at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum", B'07 : Buletina = Boletín = Bulletin, n° 3. 2008. pp. 101-159.
• Sala Ivars, Marcos Andrés. "Estudio y catalogación de las colecciones públicas de sables japoneses en el País Vasco", Ars Bilduma, n. 11. 2021. p. 75.