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tsuba

human history
  • Other Name

    sword guard (descriptive name)

  • Description

    tsuba and bag

    oval steel disc. Depicts child sitting on cattle on right hand side. Foliage along bottom with raised copper inlay covered in gold foil. Reverse depicts mini pagoda garden ornament with foliage and gold detailing. No kogai hole. Central nakago hole has been infilled with copper at corners to resize hole for a new blade. Rectangular handsewn bag with green cotton and self-striped gold silk. Patterned top band. Calico lining.

    Tsuba (sword guards) were used to protect the sword wielder's hands from sliding onto the blade. They are usually finely decorated, incorporating traditional motifs and designs and made from a variety of metals, such as iron, steel, brass or shakudo - an alloy of copper and gold.

  • Place
    Japan
  • Accession Number
    1934.316
  • Accession Date
    1934
  • Other Id

    M903 (miscellaneous)

    1934.316 (accession number)

  • Department

    Applied Arts and Design

tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales,… … Read more

Images and documents

Images

  • tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 08 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 08 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 08 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 08 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 08 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M903, [1934.316], Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 08 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba
  • tsuba

Artefact

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