Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The sword guard, or tsuba, is circular and made of dark metal. It has a textured surface. A large dragon head is at the bottom left. The dragon's body winds around to the top left and right. The dragon body on the right side appears to be climbing or on a rock. The dragon has gold accents and details. There are two openings in the center. The opening on the left is oval-shaped, and the one on the right is a teardrop shape with a flat bottom. The background is plain and light gray.

Artwork details

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