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tsuba

human history
  • Other Name

    sword guard (descriptive name)

  • Description

    tsuba

    large steel four lobed disc with low relief design of a man in kimono robes, with gold, holding a jug over his head, on reverse a low relief design of a galloping horse. This tsuba is based on a folk tale of man providing wind. Likely to have gone with a very large sword. The kozuka hole has been filled in.

    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 Date
    Unknown
  • Other Id

    M923 (miscellaneous)

  • Department

    Applied Arts and Design

tsuba, M923, Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 05 Sep… … Read more

Images and documents

Images

  • tsuba, M923, Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 05 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M923, Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 05 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba, M923, Photographed by Andrew Hales, digital, 05 Sep 2016, © Auckland Museum CC BY
  • tsuba
  • tsuba
  • tsuba

Artefact

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