Tsuba
date: label: Date
content: late 16th–17th century
notes: label: Catalogue Status
content: Research in Progress
label: Description
content: The iron tsuba is an irregular oval in shape and has a raised, rim-chased mimi (edge).
label: Description
content: At bottom, a high relief decoration of rabbits and plants with brass details. At top,a low relief of clouds and a mountaintop, with textured tsushime hammer work.
label: Description
content: At the center is the nakago-ana, an opening through which the sword passes. At the bottom of the opening has sekigane (plugs added to fit the tsuba to a sword) made of shakudo (a soft copper and gold alloy). On either side are ryo-hitsu, openings for the kozuka (utility knife) and the kogai (skewer tool). At left is sashi ura, the side which faces the blade, whose opening takes the hangetsu-kei (half moon) shape. Opposite is the more elaborately decorated sashi omote side, which would face the sword hilt. Its tri-lobed opening is of the suhama type, symbolically representing the coastline of Horai, the holy island of the Immortals.
place: label: made in
content: Japan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
label: See more items in
content: Product Design and Decorative Arts Department
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. Hamilton Fish Webster
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1899-15-6
objectType: label: Type
content: metalwork
label: Type
content: Decorative Arts
label: Type
content: Tsuba
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Iron, shakudo (copper and gold alloy)