Sword Guard (Tsuba) with Hollyhock

Cleveland Museum of Art

The image shows a circular, dark brown metal object with a weathered appearance. The object has a thick outer rim and a thinner inner section with a distinctive design. The inner section features a central oval cutout with a curved bottom and two rounded rectangular cutouts on either side. The top portion of the inner section has a curved shape with a small circle. The entire object appears to be made of metal, likely iron, with visible scratches and marks on its surface. The background of the image transitions from black at the top to dark gray at the bottom. The object's design features a hollyhock motif. The object is a sword guard, also known as a tsuba. The artist of the piece is not visually identifiable in the image.