Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dark brown, circular metal object with three central cut-outs: one long, thin triangle and two elongated oval shapes on either side. The surface is weathered, with visible scratches and small spots of gold and silver inlay. A bird and foliage designs are present at the bottom right. The object is a sword guard, or tsuba, created by an unknown artist.

Artwork details

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