Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dark brown sword guard with irregular rounded shape. Wavy edge. Cutouts in various shapes including oval and circular. Some cutouts filled with dark blue or silver metal. Gold accents and inlays. Some gold details are textured or patterned. Cutout shapes resembling a tree branch and a building.

Artwork Details

Date
18th century
Medium
Iron, gold, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper
Culture
Japanese
Dimensions
600 × 600 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette