Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dark brown circular object with a textured surface and a thin raised edge. The object has four cut-out shapes on its left half. The top-left cut-out shape is a rounded triangle with the point facing down. The middle cut-out shape on the left is an irregular rounded shape. The bottom-left cut-out shape resembles a rounded three-leaf clover with a small circular shape at the center. A long, narrow teardrop-shaped cut-out is centered on the right half. The background is white. The object is a Sword Guard (Tsuba) by an unknown artist.