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This iron tsuba shows a phoenix in auspicious clouds on the obverse and a pine, clouds, and waves on the reverse. In Japanese mythology, the phoenix (hōō) is said to appear only very rarely and then usually to mark the beginning of a new era, e.g. the birth of a virtuous ruler.
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Title: Sword guard (Tsuba) With Phoenix Motif (鳳凰図鐔)
Date: 19th century
Culture: Japanese
Medium: Iron, gold, copper, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper-silver alloy (shibuichi)
Dimensions: H. 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); W. 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm); thickness 1/4 in. (0.6 cm); Wt. 5.3 oz. (150.3 g)
Classification: Sword Furniture-Tsuba
Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Object Number: 91.1.813
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