The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
An unpublished catalogue of the A. H. Church collection of Japanese sword-guards (tsuba) by Albert James Koop.
Publications online: 1264 objects
Tsuba depicting the god of luck Jurōjin, with his familiar
-
Literature notes
Modelled, largely in openwork with slight iroye, as the face of a rock, in a hollow of which sits Jurōjin, one of the Luck Gods, with his familiar, a stag: he looks up at a flying crane depicted in low relief above; at the back in low relief, a pine-tree and ground-bamboo. Signed: Toshinaga [Japanese text] with kakihan [Japanese text]. (Probably Toshinaga II, died 1771.) -
Details
- Associated place
- Date
- 18th century (1701 - 1800)
- Material and technique
- sentoku, with cut and filed openwork decoration, and iro-e zōgan (multi-metal inlay) decoration; tang-hole plugged with soft metal, probably copper
- Dimensions
- 7.2 x 7.1 x 0.4 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
-
processed material › metal › alloy › sentoku,
- Technique index
-
cut,
- Object type index
-
arms/armour › koshirae › kodogu › tsuba
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Bequeathed by Sir Arthur H. Church, 1915.
- Accession no.
- EAX.10933
-
Further reading
Koop, Albert James, The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba), 3 vols (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 1929), no. 933
Glossary (3)
Jurōjin, sentoku, tsuba
-
Jurōjin
Jurōjin is one of the Shichifukujin or Seven Gods of Good Fortune. He is depicted as a wise old man and is often accompanied by a 1500-year-old deer; both are symbolic of longevity.
-
sentoku
A kind of brass made from an alloy of copper, zinc, and tin.
-
tsuba
Japanese sword guard.
Location
-
- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
-
The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
Modelled, largely in openwork with slight iroye, as the face of a rock, in a hollow of which sits Jurōjin, one of the Luck Gods, with his familiar, a stag: he looks up at a flying crane depicted in low relief above; at the back in low relief, a pine-tree and ground-bamboo. Signed: Toshinaga [Japanese text] with kakihan [Japanese text]. (Probably Toshinaga II, died 1771.)
Notice
Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.
© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum