Sword guard (tsuba) decorated with a gourd and kitchen knife. Signed ‘Minamoto Sadakazu of Naniwa' [Osaka] ’and ‘Keiō 2, tiger year, early spring [1866]’.
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1866
Sword guard ( tsuba ) decorated with a gourd and kitchen knife. Signed ‘Minamoto Sadakazu of Naniwa' [Osaka] ’and ‘Keiō 2, tiger year, early spring [1866]’. The tsuba is a practical device placed between the hilt and the blade giving protection to the hand as well as providing a medium for the Japanese metalworker to demonstrate his skills.
Early tsuba were simple iron disks but these were sometimes pierced or hammered with low relief decoration. Various copper alloys were later used and these could be patinated to a wide range of colours and finishes and then inlaid with other coloured metal alloys. Tsuba became miniature art forms in their own right and many schools developed their own unique styles.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Height 85 mm; Width 82 mm
- Materials and techniques
- Folded iron ground (<i>mokume-gane</i>) with applied and inlaid decoration in wood-grain (<i>mokume</i>) effect mixture of copper and shakudō alloy
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Japan; Osaka
Identification
- Candidate id
- vam-O167517
- Museum object number
- M.339-1911
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type and source attribution against specialist references.