Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

Minayama Ōki

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metal sword guard, circular, dark gray with areas of lighter grey. Two birds encircle the guard, one pointing right and one pointing left; each with beak, eye, and feathers. A thin metal ring extends from the left. Centered, an oval shape with a triangular cutout; four Asian characters on left and a gold square on lower right.

Artwork Details

Date
18th century
Medium
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, copper
Culture
Japanese
Dimensions
600 × 600 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette