Knife Handle (Kozuka)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image shows a rectangular metal object with a dark patina. The object is a knife handle (Kozuka) by artist Kōsai. The handle is long and narrow with rounded edges and is lying horizontally. The left side of the object is a darker shade of brown than the right. The handle features an etched design of a bird with outstretched wings on the right side; the bird has a gold-colored beak, legs, and a band around its neck. The etching on the right side looks like Japanese characters. The background is a plain, light gray color.