Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rust-colored metal object with rounded edges. The object is irregularly shaped. A large oval shape cut out in the center, with a narrower, tapered section at the top. A four-leaf clover shaped hole to the left. Three Asian-style designs on the right side. The top right design depicts a face with a frowning mouth and closed eyes with white eyebrows. A design underneath it has a black background with two gold shapes and a thin red shape between them. Black Asian characters on the object. The background is light gray. Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>).