Sword Guard (Tsuba) Depicting Group of Monkeys in a Peach Tree (猿猴摘桃透鐔)

Japanese

Not on view

This tsuba shows a group of eight monkeys in and around a peach tree, with one monkey actually holding a peach in his hand. The faces of each of the monkeys are inlaid in copper. Both hitsu-ana (openings for scabbard accessories) have been plugged with gilt copper plugs of which one has come off.

Monkeys fetching peaches is a common subject in Chinese and Japanese art. A Chinese legend has it that Su Wukong (Japanese: Son Gokū, 孫悟空), better known as Monkey King, steals the Peaches of Immortality guarded by the Queen Mother of the West (Chinese: Xiwangmu, Japanese: Seiōbō) and consumes them.

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Group of Monkeys in a Peach Tree (猿猴摘桃透鐔), Iron, copper, gold, Japanese

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Obverse

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Group of Monkeys in a Peach Tree (猿猴摘桃透鐔), Iron, copper, gold, Japanese
Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Group of Monkeys in a Peach Tree (猿猴摘桃透鐔), Iron, copper, gold, Japanese

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