UNNO MORITOSHI: A SUPERB TSUBA OF EMMA-O, THE KING AND JUDGE OF HELL

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Lot details

By Unno Moritoshi (1834-1896), signed Ryounsai Moritoshi kore o tsukuru
Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Of hira-kakugata shape with kozuka hitsu-ana, the suaka (refined copper) tsuba worked in masterful gold, silver and shakudo takazogan with superb gold and shakudo hirazogan as well as kebori and katakiribori engravings. The judge of hell sitting at his bench with a shishi stamp seal on his table, holding his mace of office, the register of the dead before him. Wearing a judge’s cap, his face bares a fierce expression, his mouth wide in a wrathful cry, his eyes bulging outward. The reverse carved with the misty mountain scape of hell, and signed Ryounsai Moritoshi kore o tsukuru [made by Ryounsai Moritoshi (Unno Moritoshi)].

HEIGHT 9.4 cm, LENGTH 8.5 cm
WEIGHT 216 g

Condition: Excellent condition with only minor wear.
Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York, acquired from the above. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple were married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York.

With a wood storage box.

The artist is listed in the Haynes Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists on p. 1153 (H 05772.0). Haynes identifies him as the student and nephew of Unno Yoshimori with his first attest piece dated 1860. Ryounsai was one of the eight art names (go) Unno Moritoshi used during his career. As a pupil of Unno Yoshimori I (1785-1862), Moritoshi accomplished to be a metal sword fittings expert under the Mito School, modern-day Ibaraki prefecture where he studied metalwork before moving to Edo after the Meiji restoration. Moritoshi’s son Unno Yoshimori II (1864-1919) was also a successful metalwork artist who taught at Tokyo School of Fine Art and was appointed Teishitsu Gigei-In (Imperial Household Artist) in 1892.

Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related tsuba decorated with Emma-o judging sinners, signed carved to order by Unno Moritoshi, dated late 19th century, in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, accession number 11.5420.