Artwork preview

Pair of Sword Guards (Tsuba)

Sunagawa Mao-Yoshi

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two round, black sword guards with a swirling pattern and gold flower embellishments. The guards are circular with a large oval cutout in the center. The swirling pattern consists of multiple curved lines that resemble brushstrokes. The gold embellishments are in the shape of flowers with five petals each, and are placed on either side of the oval cutout. The background is a solid gray color.

Artwork details

Date:
early 19th century
Medium:
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette