Tsuba
1866 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Sword guard (tsuba) decorated with a gourd and kitchen knife. Signed ‘Minamoto Sadakazu of Naniwa' [Osaka] ’and ‘Keiō 2, tiger year, early spring [1866]’.
The tsuba is a practical device placed between the hilt and the blade giving protection to the hand as well as providing a medium for the Japanese metalworker to demonstrate his skills. Early tsuba were simple iron disks but these were sometimes pierced or hammered with low relief decoration. Various copper alloys were later used and these could be patinated to a wide range of colours and finishes and then inlaid with other coloured metal alloys. Tsuba became miniature art forms in their own right and many schools developed their own unique styles.
The tsuba is a practical device placed between the hilt and the blade giving protection to the hand as well as providing a medium for the Japanese metalworker to demonstrate his skills. Early tsuba were simple iron disks but these were sometimes pierced or hammered with low relief decoration. Various copper alloys were later used and these could be patinated to a wide range of colours and finishes and then inlaid with other coloured metal alloys. Tsuba became miniature art forms in their own right and many schools developed their own unique styles.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Folded iron ground (<i>mokume-gane</i>) with applied and inlaid decoration in wood-grain (<i>mokume</i>) effect mixture of copper and shakudō alloy |
| Brief description | Sword guard (tsuba) decorated with a gourd and kitchen knife. Signed ‘Minamoto Sadakazu of Naniwa' [Osaka] ’and ‘Keiō 2, tiger year, early spring [1866]’. |
| Physical description | Sword guard (tsuba) decorated with a gourd and kitchen knife. Signed ‘Minamoto Sadakazu of Naniwa' [Osaka] ’and ‘Keiō 2, tiger year, early spring [1866]’. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | The tsuba is a protective guard fitted between the hilt and the blade of a sword. Originally they were simple iron disks, sometimes decorated by piercing or hammering in low relief. Later sword guards were more often made of copper alloys, patinated to a wide range of colours and inlaid with other coloured metals. Sword guards became miniature art forms, and different schools of makers developed their own unique styles.(04/11/2015) |
| Object history | Purchased from Yamanaka & Co. (127 New Bond Street, W.), accessioned in 1911. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Sword guard (tsuba) decorated with a gourd and kitchen knife. Signed ‘Minamoto Sadakazu of Naniwa' [Osaka] ’and ‘Keiō 2, tiger year, early spring [1866]’. The tsuba is a practical device placed between the hilt and the blade giving protection to the hand as well as providing a medium for the Japanese metalworker to demonstrate his skills. Early tsuba were simple iron disks but these were sometimes pierced or hammered with low relief decoration. Various copper alloys were later used and these could be patinated to a wide range of colours and finishes and then inlaid with other coloured metal alloys. Tsuba became miniature art forms in their own right and many schools developed their own unique styles. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.339-1911 |
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| Record created | September 24, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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