62 
H 0 us e ' & Garden 
ill 
Alnwick Bedspreads 
Beautiful creamy white bedspi'eads with elaborate 
designs worked entirely by hand, and finished 
with hand tied fringe 
We make the spreads to order without extra charge and 
also make pillow covers and valances. The spreads may 
be used on any style of bed. If preferred, they can be 
had without fringe, or with fringe on the sides only, for 
beds with footboards. The prices are from $16 to $30. 
We will gladly send a number of designs on approval if 
references are given 
THE HANDWORK SHOP 
57 Market St. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
Alnwick Bedspreads are an investment, for they last alifetime. 
FLINT a? HORNER’S SUMMER 
FURNITURE 
For Country Homes, possesses that inimitable 
refinement and elegance of detail synonymous 
with “Flint Quality " and “Horner Service, and 
is designed for the homes of all, however simple 
or luxurious the appointments. 
Particularly beautiful among the many exclusive 
designs in Enameled and Light Woods which we 
have on view, are exquisite pieces, hand-painted 
in reproduction of Adam and Sheraton designs, 
also Chinese and Japanese Lacquer. 
ORIENTAL AND DOMESTIC RUGS AND 
DRAPERIES 
FLINT & HORNER CO., inc. 
20-26 WEST 36tK STREET 
NEW YORK 
A sword - guard in 
the manner of Mio- 
chin Nohuiye, a 16th 
Century m et al- 
worker of renoion 
Sword-Guards of Feudal Japan 
{Continued from page 25) 
damascening in gold and silver on 
iron. The second Kaneiye encrusted 
his sword-guards with copper orna¬ 
ment and Hirata Donin introduced 
the use of translucent enamels. The 
pierced work of Kinai of Echizen 
is supreme in its elegance of form. 
New Schools of Tsuba 
The close of the 17th Century gave 
rise to three schools of tsuba deco¬ 
ration—the Nara School, revolting 
against the academic style of the 
Goto, the Yokoya School and the 
Omori School. In the work of the 
masters of all three of these schools, 
the Goto influence may still be traced, 
even though such metal-workers as 
the Nara tried to get away from it. 
The School of Ishiguro (Yedo) of 
the early part of the 19th Century 
came to be famous for its flat in¬ 
cised work, introducing colored sur¬ 
faces. Kano Natsuo may be men¬ 
tioned as the last tsuba maker of dis¬ 
tinction. The tsuba of the period be¬ 
tween 1840 and 1870 were very elabo¬ 
rately decorated, and obviously could 
never have been used for their pro¬ 
fessed purpose. However, the col¬ 
lector will wish to acquire specimens 
of them, if only as examples of the 
marvelous handicraft of the Japanese 
metal-workers. 
Collectors’ Hints 
Nearly all of the imitations of 
genuine old tsuba can be detected by 
liolding tbe guard on one’s finger-tip 
and striking it sharply with another 
piece of metal. The genuine tsuba 
will emit a bell-like sound, the cast 
imitation a dull one. 
A perfect patina is always to be 
sought for in a tsuba. The following 
particulars are quoted by Huish from 
Professor Roberts-Austen: “Analy¬ 
ses show that the former (shakudo, 
one of the principal alloys) usually 
consists of 95%' copper, 114%—4% 
gold, 1%— 2 ]/ 2 % silver, and traces of 
lead, iron and arsenic. The latter 
{shibuichi, another important alloy) 
contains from 50% to 67%' of cop¬ 
per, from 30% to 50% of silver, with 
traces of gold and iron. The deriva¬ 
tion of the name shibuichi is ‘one- 
fourth,’ which is clearly incorrect. 
The precious metals are sacrificed in 
order to produce certain results: in 
the case of shakudo, the gold enab¬ 
ling the metal to receive a rich pur¬ 
ple coat, or patina, as it is called, 
when subjected to certain pickling 
solutions: in that of shibuichi, the 
alloy forcing the metal to assume a 
beautiful silver-gray tint under tbe 
same process. It is one or other of 
these influences which gives the 
patina to all Japanese metals, and it 
is understood by tbeir craftsmen in 
a way which no other has yet arrived 
at. A worn-out patina will often re¬ 
assert itself by the aid of much 
handling, the moisture of the skin 
being all that is required. This shows 
the acuteness of the producer in 
forming his alloy so that the forma¬ 
tion of the patina should be assisted 
by a treatment which an article in 
everj'day use is sure to obtain.” 
{Continued on page 64) 
A. characteristic 
tsuha of ISth Cen¬ 
tury design 
A mth Cent u r y 
damascened tsuha of 
wild pinks on black 
A silver tsuba by 
Tomoyoski. Early 
19t7i Century 
