Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dark brown circular metal object with three holes. The three holes are vertically aligned and shaped like elongated ovals. The left and right holes are symmetrical and similar in size and shape. The central hole is larger and more vertically elongated. The metal object has a design featuring birds. The top quarter of the object shows five birds flying. The bottom right quarter of the object shows one bird standing and one bird flying. The object also features gold inlays. The background of the image is light grey. The object is a sword guard, specifically a Tsuba.