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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
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette