Sword Guard (Tsuba) Depicting Six Connected Butterflies (六つ蝶繋透鐔)

Japanese

Not on view

This tsuba shows an openwork (nikubori ji-sukashi) of six butterflies which are arranged circumferentially around the center, and in an alternating manner of one butterfly facing upwards and the next downwards. The eyes are highlighted in gold and the rim is decorated with a slightly different pattern on each lobe.

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Six Connected Butterflies (六つ蝶繋透鐔), Iron, gold, copper, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), Japanese

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Obverse

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Six Connected Butterflies (六つ蝶繋透鐔), Iron, gold, copper, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), Japanese
Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Six Connected Butterflies (六つ蝶繋透鐔), Iron, gold, copper, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), Japanese

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.