Sword Guard (Tsuba)

Japanese

Not on view

This tsuba shows on the obverse a Chinese figure wearing a prominently gilded headgear, leaning onto his cane and with one shoe visible which is gilded as well. Towards the bottom left, we see what appears to be a rat eating from some kind of bundle and the reverse shows reed but is, apart from the raised inscription “after a painting by Ōkyo,” undecorated. Maruyama Ōkyo (円山応挙, 1733-1795) was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century who founded in Kyōto the Maruyama School of painting.

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>), Iron, gold, copper, Japanese

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Obverse

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>), Iron, gold, copper, Japanese
Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>), Iron, gold, copper, Japanese

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