Artwork preview

Knife Handle (Kozuka)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rectangular gold-colored metal object. The object is long and flat. A small dark gray cat figure protrudes from the center. The cat has its paws on the left and tail on the right. The cat holds a long thin object. The cat has red eyes. There are two etched designs on the right side of the object. One design appears to be a bug or insect. The other design appears to be four stacked horizontal rectangles inside a square. The object is on a light gray background.

Artwork details

Date:
ca. 1615–1868
Medium:
Copper alloy (sentoku), copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper, gold
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
599 × 337 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette