Sword Guard (Tsuba)

Cleveland Museum of Art

The sword guard, or tsuba, by an unknown artist is a circular piece made of dark-colored metal. The tsuba has a dark brown to black color with visible signs of aging and wear, giving it a textured appearance. The left side of the tsuba features closely spaced horizontal lines. A four-petaled flower design is cut out from the lower left side. The center of the tsuba has a large oval cutout with a teardrop-shaped hole at its center. Surrounding the central cutouts is a design of rounded, petal-like shapes radiating outward, resembling a sunflower or similar flower. The background of the image is a gradient that transitions from dark at the top to light at the bottom.