Tsuba (sword guard) with eight family crests / Artist Unknown, Japan
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1978/2.7
- Title
- Tsuba (sword guard) with eight family crests
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, Japan
- Artist Nationality
- Japanese
- Medium and Support
- iron and gold
- Object Creation Date
- 19th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- Japan (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Japan (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Weston
- Dimensions
- 7.8 cm x 7.8 cm x 0.5 cm (3 1/16 in. x 3 1/16 in. x 3/16 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Arms and Armor
- Primary Object Type
- sword guard
- Secondary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Secondary Object Type
- sword guard
- Physical Description
- Circular tsuba, made of iron. Inside an exterior circle, eight smaller circles are placed with the same spacing. The eight circles are connected to the exterior circle as well as to the three center holes where kôgai, blade, and kozuka are placed. Each of the eight circles have a different family crests. The openwork technique seen here is called "marubori" (round carving). The surface is slightly textured by minute stippling.
- Subject Matter
- Family crests were important markers of the samurai class, in which military and political connections and blood and marriage relationships heavily weighed and determined one’s social status. This tsuba with eight different family crests alludes that the owner has some kind of relationship to eight different households or lineages; either of his own household (One household used more than one crest, although usually there was one dominant than other crests), his relatives or his allies.
- Secondary Keywords
- biological components
- buildings and the land
- components
- components and systems
- components by specific context
- descriptors
- design elements
- edged weapon components
- heraldic motifs
- herbaceous plants
- landscapes (environments)
- motifs
- natural landscapes
- plant components
- settlements and landscapes
- trees (components)
- vegetation and vegetation components
- vegetation components
- weapon components
- woody plants
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 691 x 715
- File Size
- 58 KB
- Record
- 1978/2.7
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1978-sl-2.7/1978_2.7.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1978-SL-2.7:1978_2.7.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Tsuba (sword guard) with eight family crests; Artist Unknown, Japan." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1978-sl-2.7/1978_2.7.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2024.