An iron tsuba
Mito School, 19th century
Of oval form with slightly raised rim, carved in shishiaibori with a standing horse, its head raised, a stream and distant hills on the reverse, signed Hagiya Katsuhira with kao.
7cm (2¾in).
Sold for £2,640 (€3,123) inc. premium
Footnotes
鐔　馬　銘「萩谷勝平（花押）」　19世紀

Provenance: W.W. Winkworth collection, 1960.

Hagiya Katsuhira (1804-1886) was one of the finest of the late Edo/Meiji sword-fitting makers, having studied with Sekijoken Motozane, and was employed by the Matsudaira Daimyo as official artist for the Bakufu. His work was much copied during the Meiji period.