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An unpublished catalogue of the A. H. Church collection of Japanese sword-guards (tsuba) by Albert James Koop.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
Lenticular tsuba with mitsudomoye, or three-comma shapes
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Literature notes
Irregular, but highly polished surface, with decoration in faint etching-like relief; one face radially striated, with a drum bearing the mitsudomoye (three commas) badge, also a conch-shell trumpet (or perhaps a cloud form); on the other face can just be made out the form of a temple bell filling the field; kikkō daiper on edge.
Signed: Hata [Japanese text] Naoaki [Japanese text], a mid-19th century reviver of the old Nobuiye style. -
Details
- Associated place
- Date
- 19th century (1801 - 1900)
- Artist/maker
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Hata Naoaki (active mid-19th century) (armourer)Myōchin School (active 16th - 19th century) (armourer)manner of Nobuie I (died 1564) (armourer)
- Material and technique
- iron, with polished surface (migaki-ji); hitsu plugged with soft metal, probably shakudō
- Dimensions
- 8 x 7.5 cm (height x width)
- Material index
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processed material › metal › iron,processed material › metal › alloy › copper alloy › shakudō
- Technique index
- Object type index
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arms/armour › koshirae › kodogu › tsuba
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Bequeathed by Sir Arthur H. Church, 1915.
- Accession no.
- EAX.10079
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Further reading
Koop, Albert James, The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba), 3 vols (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 1929), no. 79
Glossary (2)
shakudō, tsuba
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shakudō
alloy of copper and gold, patinated to a dark blue-black colour
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tsuba
Japanese sword guard.
Location
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- 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
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The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
Irregular, but highly polished surface, with decoration in faint etching-like relief; one face radially striated, with a drum bearing the mitsudomoye (three commas) badge, also a conch-shell trumpet (or perhaps a cloud form); on the other face can just be made out the form of a temple bell filling the field; kikkō daiper on edge.
Signed: Hata [Japanese text] Naoaki [Japanese text], a mid-19th century reviver of the old Nobuiye style.
Notice
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