| This is a rare pair of eggplant-design menuki made of brass, with the gracefully aged surface of the metal complemented by colorful shippo enamel in purple, blue-green, white, and red. The original box bears a hakogaki by Noboru Kawaguchi (1893–1964), a distinguished modern scholar of Japanese swords and sword fittings. It reads: “Brass ground, Eggplant Design in Shippo Enamel. Mumei. Work of Echizen Shippo. Period: around the Tensho era. Written by Noboru Kawaguchi on the full moon of the eleventh month, Showa 32 (1957).” [seal] Kawaguchi’s attribution is particularly noteworthy. In the field of Japanese sword fittings, shippo enamel is best known through the Hirata school, which served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period; the first master, Hirata Donin, is traditionally said to have been born in Tensho 19 (1591). Kawaguchi, however, regarded this work as an earlier example of Echizen shippo from the Momoyama period, distinct from the later Hirata tradition. It should be noted that “Echizen Shippo” is Kawaguchi’s personal attribution recorded in the hakogaki, rather than an attribution made by the NBTHK. For this reason, the historical hakogaki itself should be regarded as an important part of the provenance and character of the piece. A rare pair of shippo menuki worthy of appreciation together with Kawaguchi’s scholarly attribution. |
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