Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round, flat object with a dark gray and gold color scheme. The object has a textured surface with a gradient of dark gray and gold. There are two oval-shaped holes on either side of a central, vertically oriented oval hole. The central hole has a small, rounded protrusion at the top with a thin, metal piece attached. A gold-colored bird with outstretched wings is positioned at the top. The bottom left features a brown and gold design resembling a bird's head in a shield or crest. The bottom right features a gold-colored flower design with four petals. The background of the image is light gray. This object is a sword guard, or Tsuba, by an unknown artist.