Sword Guard (Tsuba) Depicting Two Gibbons (二疋手長猿図鐔)

Japanese

Not on view

The obverse of this tsuba shows towards the top and the bottom a gibbon in an almost symmetrical interpretation and with their hands meeting on the otherwise undecorated reverse, suggesting that they are working together to reach something, possibly fruits. The gibbons are of shakudō with copper faces and eyes in gold. The hitsu-ana (openings for scabbard accessories) are of irregular shapes.

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Two Gibbons (二疋手長猿図鐔), Iron, gold-copper alloy (shakudō), copper, gold, Japanese

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Obverse