Sword Guard

Cleveland Museum of Art

The image shows a circular sword guard titled "Sword Guard" by an unknown artist. The guard is made of dark brown metal with a patina, with a central hole that is elongated and tapered, and another oval-shaped hole to the left. The guard features intricate designs, including a dragon or phoenix on the right side and floral patterns throughout. The background of the image is a gradient of dark gray to black. The guard has a decorative edge with swirling patterns and appears to be made of metal, possibly iron or steel. There are some Japanese characters engraved vertically on the left side of the center hole. The overall design suggests a traditional Japanese sword guard, known as a "tsuka-ito" or "kojiri".