Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Black circular object with a wide central cutout shaped like an elongated teardrop with rounded sides, and two oval cutouts on either side. The object has a textured surface featuring a pattern of leaves and flowers in gold. The gold pattern includes small flowers, stems, and leaves. The background of the object is black.

Artwork details

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