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Antique Japanese Katana with Horimono, Signed Blade

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:3,000.00 USD
Antique Japanese Katana with Horimono, Signed Blade
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Antique Japanese Katana with Horimono, Signed Blade. Beautiful Koto period antique Japanese signed katana, ca. late 15th to late 16th Century. from the Mino School of sword making. The signature reads "Seki ju Kanekage", which could be one of several smiths by the same name, working during the late 1400's to late 1500's. The blade measures 70.5 cm or 27-7/5" in length, with a dark smooth tang, having one oblong mekugi-ana, and light four character signature. Nakago may be slightly machi-okuri. Beautiful coarse itame hada grain to the metal, and a wonderful, flamboyant, nioi based, irregular gunome hamon. Chu-kissaki with rounded boshi and medium turnback. Horimono carvings consisting of two small bohi, about 14cm long on one side, and a high relief carving of Fudo-Myoo inset in a panel on the other side. Fudo-Myoo is a Buddhist deity, god of fire and anger, and it is a frequent depiction on Japanese sword carvings. The habaki is silver foil over copper with panels decorated with cat scratch designs. The sword comes with a NBTHK Hozon paper dated Heisei 19 (2007) verifying the signature as genuine, and an old Torokusho, Japanese police registration card. The sword is mounted in a wooden shirasaya resting scabbard. Condition is excellent, the blade in a very good state of polish with visible grain, a strong and beautiful hamon, and well-defined boshi. There are areas of loose forging lines in the ji and mainly in the shinogi area, typical and normal for some Koto period swords. There is one very small fukure in the non-critical lower shinogi area. There is some minor flattening to the high edge features of the horimono carving of Fudo-Myoo from older polishing work, showing the carving has been there for some time and is not a more recent addition. Overall a very beautiful sword. Est.: $6,000-$8,000.