Artwork preview

Blade for a Sword (Katana)

Etchū no kami Fujiwara Takahira

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Long, curved, single-edged sword blade with a rounded tip and a straight or slightly convex shape. The blade has a hamon and a complex pattern of tempered and untempered steel visible on its surface. A series of small holes are present along the bottom 2/3rds of the blade's back. The background of the image is solid black. The overall shape of the blade is slender and tapering from hilt to tip.

Artwork details

Date:
dated June 1622
Medium:
Steel
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
262 × 625 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette