Artwork preview

Pair of Sword-Grip Ornaments (Menuki)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two gold-colored metal ornaments shaped like insects, likely crickets or grasshoppers, with detailed features such as legs, wings, and antennae. The top ornament is positioned with its back facing up, showcasing a textured, segmented body, while the bottom ornament is on its back, revealing a smooth, oval-shaped body with visible joints on the legs. Both ornaments have a shiny, metallic appearance with a darker, almost black coloration on parts of their bodies. They are placed on a plain gray background, with the top ornament near the top-center and the bottom ornament near the bottom-center of the image. The ornaments are symmetrical in design but not identical, suggesting they are a pair. The title of the work is "Pair of Sword-Grip Ornaments (Menuki)" and the artist is unknown.

Artwork Details

Date
18th century
Medium
Gold, copper, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), silver
Culture
Japanese
Dimensions
600 × 480 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette