Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sword Guard (Tsuba) by artist. Black metal object with a hole cut in the middle and shaped like a wavy-edged oval. The top portion depicts a man's face with a large head, brown skin, and a frowning expression. The man has a bald head with curved lines on top and a large ear with an earring. He wears a black pipe with gold accents across his forehead. The lower portion shows the man wearing a dark blue robe with a brown bag on his back featuring black writing. The background of the image is plain white.

Artwork Details

Date
19th century
Medium
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper, gold
Culture
Japanese
Dimensions
600 × 600 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette