Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image depicts a round, dark brown or bronze-colored sword guard with a leaf design. The guard features a large oval-shaped hole in the center. The oval hole has rounded pointed ends and straight sides. The guard is decorated with a design of leaves and stems cut out around the oval hole. The leaves are teardrop-shaped with veins carved into them. The guard has a dark brown patina with some lighter areas where the metal appears to be worn. The background is a plain light gray color. The artwork is titled "Sword Guard (Tsuba)" and is by an unknown artist.