Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Tsuba by an unknown artist is round and made of dark metal. The guard has a star-shaped design with a woven pattern. There are two oval-shaped holes in the center, and the edge has small holes. The guard features gold inlays of flower-like shapes around the edge. The background of the image is light gray.

Artwork details

Date:
mid-19th century
Medium:
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette