Tsuba (sword guard)

From Mino Province, Japan
Edo period, 17th century AD

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).

L. Smith, V. Harris and T. Clark, Japanese art: masterpieces in (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)

L. Smith and V. Harris, Japanese decorative arts from (London, The British Museum Press, 1982)