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Tsuba with dragons and shishi, or lion dogs
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Details
- Associated place
- Date
- 1st half of the 18th century
- Material and technique
- iron, with engraved decoration, and inlaid with brass and copper
- Dimensions
- 8.8 x 8.3 cm (height x width)
- Material index
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processed material › metal › iron,processed material › metal › alloy › copper alloy › brass
- 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.10819
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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. 819
Glossary
tsuba
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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)
Rounded oblong; designs in sharp relief, the higher parts in incrustation of brass or copper; on the front are two ascending dragons and pearl, with a "long life" seal character below; on the back are four lions (shishi) with three brocaded balls and a peony flower below; plain border of circular section; long octagonal seppadai lightly engraved with scrolls and inlaid in copper with two lotus leaves and in brass with two lotus-pods.
A very similar guard from the Hawkshaw Collection (no.316) is in the V. and A. M. The symbolism of various items in the design has a Buddhistic flavour.
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