Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image shows a circular, dark brown metal object with a smooth surface. The object is a sword guard, or tsuba, with a dark brown patina. The object has two holes, one on the right side that is semicircular, and one on the left side that is elongated and teardrop-shaped. The left side of the object features an embossed design of bamboo stalks and leaves. The bottom of the object has two small, gold-colored insect-like designs. The background of the image is light gray.

Artwork details

Date:
ca. 1615–1868
Medium:
Copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), gold, silver, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette