Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image is of a circular metal object with a dark brown color. The object, titled "Sword Guard (Tsuba)", features three holes cut out of it: one long, narrow oval in the center and two smaller oval shapes on either side. The surface is adorned with engravings, including what appears to be a landscape scene at the bottom, featuring a curved line resembling a hill or mountain and several short lines that could represent water or grass. Above the central hole, there are more engravings that look like a building or structure. The top portion of the object has engravings resembling tree branches. Small gold dots are scattered throughout the design. The background of the image is plain gray.

Artwork details

Date:
ca. 1615–1868
Medium:
Iron, copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette