波濤に岩上鷹図大小 Sword Guard (Tsuba)

Inscribed by 石黒政常 Ishiguro Masatsune Japanese

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 380

This is the smaller guard of a matching pair of sword guards (daishō-tsuba) made by Ishiguro Masatsune (石黒政常, 1760–1828) (pair with 43.120.723). It features a hawk perched on a rock above the sea. The depiction of birds and flowers was the forte of the Ishiguro School, which was established by Masatsune toward the end of the eighteenth century. The solemn character of their interpretations, seen here in the magnificent birds of prey, made Ishiguro works popular among Samurai and elevated the school to one of the most thriving centers of sword-fitting production in Edo (present-day Tokyo).

波濤に岩上鷹図大小 Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>), Inscribed by 石黒政常 Ishiguro Masatsune (Japanese, 1760–1828), Copper-gold alloy (<i>shakudō</i>), copper-silver alloy (<i>shibuichi</i>), gold, copper, Japanese

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Obverse

波濤に岩上鷹図大小 Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>), Inscribed by 石黒政常 Ishiguro Masatsune (Japanese, 1760–1828), Copper-gold alloy (<i>shakudō</i>), copper-silver alloy (<i>shibuichi</i>), gold, copper, Japanese
波濤に岩上鷹図大小 Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>), Inscribed by 石黒政常 Ishiguro Masatsune (Japanese, 1760–1828), Copper-gold alloy (<i>shakudō</i>), copper-silver alloy (<i>shibuichi</i>), gold, copper, Japanese

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