Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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An unpublished catalogue of the A. H. Church collection of Japanese sword-guards (tsuba) by Albert James Koop.

The A.H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba) by Albert James Koop

Publications online: 1264 objects

Reference URL

Actions

Send e-mail

Contact us about this object

Send e-mail

Send to a friend

Tsuba with susuki grass, grasshopper, and locust

  • Literature notes

    The guard oblong with rounded angles and narrowing towards the top; the kodzuka with pointed butt (like a sword); the kurikata with square ends. The whole of the first and the fronts of the second and third are modelled in relief as a tangled mass of fine susuki grass, amid which in bold relief are a grasshopper (gold) and a wingless locust (copper) on the guard, and a winged locust (copper) on the kodzuka. The back of the latter is of dark shibuichi engraved with a few grass-stems and inlaid in gold with a cricket; it is signed in cursive, Seikiūken [Japanese text] Masahiro [Japanese text] with kakihan [Figure]. (Compare the next [EAX.11084].

    W. J. Stuart Collection. Although the name kodzuka (ko-tsuka, "little handle") belong strictly to the complete scabbard-knife, i.e. handle plus blade, it is often applied for convenience, as here, to the handle only. The kurikata ("chesnut shape") is a metal loop fixed to the ura (rear or kōgai side) of the scabbard near the top; through it is passed the sageo or cord of flat silk braid by which the sword is secured to the girdle (having first been thrust between this and the garment below it). [Hamano work, Group XLI.]
  • Details

    Associated place
    Asia Japan (place of creation)
    Date
    19th century (1801 - 1900)
    Material and technique
    sentoku, with gold and copper
    Dimensions
    6 x 4.1 cm (height x width)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Bequeathed by Sir Arthur H. Church, 1915.
    Accession no.
    EAX.11081
  • Further reading

    Koop, Albert James, The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba), 3 vols (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 1929), no. 1081

Glossary (2)

sentoku, tsuba

  • 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) by Albert James Koop

    The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)

    The guard oblong with rounded angles and narrowing towards the top; the kodzuka with pointed butt (like a sword); the kurikata with square ends. The whole of the first and the fronts of the second and third are modelled in relief as a tangled mass of fine susuki grass, amid which in bold relief are a grasshopper (gold) and a wingless locust (copper) on the guard, and a winged locust (copper) on the kodzuka. The back of the latter is of dark shibuichi engraved with a few grass-stems and inlaid in gold with a cricket; it is signed in cursive, Seikiūken [Japanese text] Masahiro [Japanese text] with kakihan [Figure]. (Compare the next [EAX.11084].

    W. J. Stuart Collection. Although the name kodzuka (ko-tsuka, "little handle") belong strictly to the complete scabbard-knife, i.e. handle plus blade, it is often applied for convenience, as here, to the handle only. The kurikata ("chesnut shape") is a metal loop fixed to the ura (rear or kōgai side) of the scabbard near the top; through it is passed the sageo or cord of flat silk braid by which the sword is secured to the girdle (having first been thrust between this and the garment below it). [Hamano work, Group XLI.]
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