Tsuba (sword guard)

1600/1699

British Museum
London, United Kingdom

This tsuba is made of shakudō with gold and silver inlay on an nanako ground. It has a lively design of seasonal flowers and grasses and deer. It was possibly made by a member of the Gotō family who developed the use of shakudō and were the official metalworkers working for the Ashikaga (1338-1573) and later the Tokugawa shoguns (1600-1868).

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Details

Title: Tsuba (sword guard)
Date Created: 1600/1699
Physical Dimensions: Length: 7.10cm
External Link: British Museum collection online
Technique: overlaid; gilded
Subject: plant; mammal
Registration number: TS.244
Production place: Made in Japan
Period/culture: Edo Period
Material: copper; shakudo; gold; silver
Copyright: Photo: © Trustees of the British Museum
Acquisition: Bequeathed by Franks, Augustus Wollaston

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