Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The tsuba by an unknown artist depicts a circular object made of dark brown metal. The circular object has a brushed texture similar to wood grain. Two kidney-shaped holes are on either side of a long thin vertical slit centered in the circle. A small piece of gold-colored metal bridges the top of the vertical slit. The background is plain white with a subtle shadow cast by the circular object.

Artwork details

Date:
18th century
Medium:
Iron, copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette