Sword guard (tsuba) depicting a tiger in a bamboo grove
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1800
Sword guard, tsuba , of copper engraved in katakiri-bori with a seated tiger in a bamboo grove. 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
- 1
- 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 7.3 cm; Width 7 cm
- Materials and techniques
- Copper, hammered surface with oblique chiselling (<i>katakiri-bori</i>) with gold and inlaid brass decoration
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Japan
Identification
- Candidate id
- vam-O465401
- Museum object number
- M.243-1911
- 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.