Smallsword Hilt and Blade

hilt, Japanese, possibly Dejima; blade, European

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 376

Sword hilts of European fashion made of shakudō, an alloy of copper and gold patinated to the blue-black color that was used in Japan for small decorative objects such as sword mountings, were probably fabricated for the Dutch East India Company at their trading post on the Japanese island of Deshima. Hilt elements like these were then exported to Holland, where they were fitted with grips and blades.

Smallsword Hilt and Blade, Steel, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, hilt, Japanese, possibly Dejima; blade, European

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