Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A round, flat, brown metal object with a rusty appearance. The object has three cut-out sections: two oval shapes on either side and a teardrop shape in the middle. A raised design of a fish with a long tail and fins protrudes at the bottom right. The fish has small golden eyes. The background of the object features several small, blue Japanese characters. The object is titled 'Sword Guard (Tsuba)' by an unknown artist.

Artwork details

Date:
ca. 1615–1868
Medium:
Iron, silver, pewter, copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette