Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The tsuba, a sword guard, features a rounded square shape. The frame of the tsuba is metal with gold floral designs. A bird perches on a branch at the top of the tsuba. The branch and a snake extend across the tsuba. Two oval openings are positioned on either side of a central oval-shaped void, which appears to be rusted. The background of the image is gray.

Artwork details

Date:
17th century
Medium:
Iron, gold, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette