Life In 19x19

I'm hoping someone might have an idea of the history of this goban. Or at least an opinion on who I could ask. I know it is very old. The birds appear to be out of silver and gold lacquer.



It is a masame cut, and actually the grain runs perfectly straight on both top and bottom.

Probably best to ask the seller or previous owner of the goban

Definitely already tried that route. They are trying to track down any information about it, but it's not very likely that they will find anything.

Of course, I have no idea. But are there any markings on the bottom, etc?

None, the only markings are the numbers on the friction joints for the legs.

Most of the times, goban makers like to show the grain to show the quality of their work. And it looks somewhat smallish. Is it a full size board? How tall?

My first reaction was, "Why are the sides painted?" The sides appear to be lacquered, yes? Second, "What's with the fish?" You say they are birds? Ah, now I see them. Silver and gold lacquer birds? I'd be more intrigued by silver wire inlay but that would be an affectation on a board showing prize grain. If this lovely board appeals to you, what matters the history? It is unusual but might be neither an antique nor unique. You probably should ask for photos of the top to look for indentations if it is truly an antique.

Thanks for the photo.

It's very similar in style to this:

http://www.easyauctionjapan.com/product ... s264419361


Note there are a few of these for sale in Japan on that site. With marble stones (
Ithink) it looks like they retail for 5000 yen.. about £50.

Google’s “search by image” found the same picture on this web site, there’s also some text.

Hi,

I saw this goban on sale here - http://www.kikuimports.com/goban-board-r5s705/, the price was $800.

apeine wrote:Most of the times, goban makers like to show the grain to show the quality of their work. And it looks somewhat smallish. Is it a full size board? How tall?

While true, it wasn't uncommon for goban used at court to be very ornate. It is a full size board standing about 13.5 inches tall. The top slab is 9 inches thick.

bogiesan wrote:My first reaction was, "Why are the sides painted?" The sides appear to be lacquered, yes? Second, "What's with the fish?" You say they are birds? Ah, now I see them. Silver and gold lacquer birds? I'd be more intrigued by silver wire inlay but that would be an affectation on a board showing prize grain. If this lovely board appeals to you, what matters the history? It is unusual but might be neither an antique nor unique. You probably should ask for photos of the top to look for indentations if it is truly an antique.

Thanks for the photo.

Near as I can tell they are sparrows. The board is beautiful in person and overall the history of it is of no concern outside of a general curiosity. The playing surface is in beautiful condition and has obviously had many games played on it. There are indentations from the placement of stones but none are very prominent.

Bonobo wrote:Google’s “search by image” found the same picture on this web site, there’s also some text.

Hahaha, yes. That is my website complete with everything that I can confirm about the board already. Like I said, I'm really just curious about the history of it if that makes sense. I want to know the story. So far the only thing I've been able to find out was from Mr. Kuroki and all he said was that it is "quite valuable" which is cool, but isn't really what I wanted to know since I have no intention of selling it.