Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round, dark brown metal object with three cut-out sections. The cut-outs are two kidney shapes on the left and right, and a long, narrow triangle in the center. The bottom right has gold-colored metal inlays depicting a bird with a long neck and legs standing in grass. The bird faces left, with its beak pointing up. Its body is covered in scale-like patterns. The bottom left has gold-colored metal inlays of grass and a dark brown and black rock. The top left has a gold-colored metal inlay of a mountainous landscape with a small building. The background of the image is light gray. The title of the work is "Sword Guard (Tsuba)" and it is by an unknown artist.