Tsuba
ca. 1700-1750 (made)
| Place of origin |
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.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | copper inlaid with copper-gold alloy (<i>shakudo</i>), holes with gilded linings |
| Brief description | Hand-guard (tsuba) for a sword, copper inlaid with copper-gold alloy (shakudo) depicting flowering plum branch and nightingale in flight, holes with gilded linings, signed Shoami Toji Nobushige, Aizu Shoami school, ca. 1700-1750. |
| Physical description | Hand-guard (tsuba) for a sword, copper inlaid with copper-gold alloy (shakudo) depicting flowering plum branch and nightingale in flight, holes with gilded linings, signed Shoami Toji Nobushige. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Signed Shoami Toji Nobushige |
| 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) |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | 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. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.236-1923 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | February 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
