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An unpublished catalogue of the A. H. Church collection of Japanese sword-guards (tsuba) by Albert James Koop.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 with symbols of poem-writing at the Tanabata Festival
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Literature notes
Rounded oblong; the front represents an ink-stone (suzuri) with its shallow depression within the unevenly wide border; across this is modelled a large leaf of kaji (paper-mulberry) with nunome-gilt stem and venation; on the border are a few clouds engraved and a constellation (two groups of three disks joined by lines) in gilding.
On the back, within a raised border of irregular inner profile, are modelled a writing-brush (hairs in silver and shakudō) and a worn stick of ink (enriched with silver and gold), inscribed with its brand Taikwa...[Japanese text].
The whole design is symbolic of poem-writing at the Tanabata festival and it is the Weaver (Tanabata) constellation that is represented on the border of the ink-stone. -
Details
- Associated place
- Date
- 18th century (1701 - 1800)
- Artist/maker
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Umetada School (active 16th century - 19th century) (armourer)
- Material and technique
- obverse and reverse: iron; tang-hole plugged with soft metal, probably copper obverse: with engraved decoration, gilding, and gilt nunome-zōgan decoration reverse: with silver, shakudō, and gold
- Dimensions
- 7.7 x 7 x 0.5 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
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processed material › metal › iron,processed material › metal › gold,processed material › metal › alloy › copper alloy › shakudō,
- Technique index
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covered › metallized › gilded,
- 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.10207
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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. 207
Glossary (3)
nunome-zōgan, shakudō, tsuba
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nunome-zōgan
Decorative application of metal sheeting (generally of gold or silver) where the iron ground is first cross-hatched and the metal burnished on.
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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
-
The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
Rounded oblong; the front represents an ink-stone (suzuri) with its shallow depression within the unevenly wide border; across this is modelled a large leaf of kaji (paper-mulberry) with nunome-gilt stem and venation; on the border are a few clouds engraved and a constellation (two groups of three disks joined by lines) in gilding.
On the back, within a raised border of irregular inner profile, are modelled a writing-brush (hairs in silver and shakudō) and a worn stick of ink (enriched with silver and gold), inscribed with its brand Taikwa...[Japanese text].
The whole design is symbolic of poem-writing at the Tanabata festival and it is the Weaver (Tanabata) constellation that is represented on the border of the ink-stone.
Notice
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