Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round, black metal object with a large oval-shaped hole in the center and two smaller oval-shaped holes on either side. The object has a black metal frame. There is a gold tiger on the bottom left. On the top right, there is a gold and black samurai. The object is decorated with black and gold floral motifs and gold flowers. The background of the image is white. The object appears to be a sword guard, also known as a tsuba.

Artwork details

Date:
18th century
Medium:
Iron, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), silver
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette