A BIZEN TANTŌ IN SUPERB MOUNTS WITH ICHIJŌ-SCHOOL FITTINGS Muromachi period (1333-1573), dated 1558 Of hirazukuri, iorimune configuration forged in itame hada and a suguha tempered edge, the omote side chiseled with a Buddhist ken, and the ura side with gomabashi, the ō-suriage tang with two holes, with truncated inscription Bizen kuni and dated Kōji yonnen (1558), with a one-piece gold-foil habaki; the finely decorated 19th-century aikuchi goshira-e comprising a gold-lacquer saya decorated with autumn grasses in gold hirakami-e on a black and gold hirame ground with inlaid-silver dew drops, mounted with en suite silver ishime fittings including a kojiri, kurikata, uragawara, fuchi-gashira, and an elaborate plate supporting the tsuno-gaeshi formed as a dragonfly alighting on water being watched by a frog, all decorated with a variety of insects including beetles, crickets, butterflies wasps, and spiders in high-relief iro-e takazōgan, the tsuka wrapped in brown silk and mounted with gold menuki formed as geese in flight, the silver ishime kozuka decorated with crickets and a ladybird, inscribed Toki no te nanajūgo Hakuō saku (Made by Hakuō [Gotō Ichijō] at the age of 75); with fitted wood storage box covered in silk brocade Nagasa (length from tip of blade to beginning of the tang) 24.6cm (9 5/8in) long. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing