Artwork preview

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

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round, flat, bronze-colored metal object with a smooth, slightly raised edge. The object has a brownish-gold color with darker brown and black streaks throughout. Three cut-out shapes: a teardrop in the center, and two kidney shapes on either side. The teardrop cut-out has black Japanese characters on it. The surface features two black and gold deer, one on the right side and one on the left, surrounded by plants and flowers. The background behind the object is plain white. The object titled "Sword Guard (Tsuba)" is by an unnamed artist.

Artwork Details

Date
early 19th century
Medium
Copper alloy (sentoku), copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, silver, copper
Culture
Japanese
Dimensions
600 × 600 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette