Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round, flat, dark brown metal object with a central oval-shaped cutout and two smaller oval-shaped cutouts on either side. The object has a decorative design featuring two men in armor. The man on the right wears a helmet with a face guard and holds a sword. The man on the left holds a bow and arrow. The background of the object features a fence-like design at the bottom and a curved line at the top. Gold accents are used throughout the design. The object appears to be a sword guard, also known as a tsuba, created by an unknown artist.

Artwork details

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