Tsuba with Dragons in Cartouches

Description This tsuba is decorated with six cartouches of dragons and a ground of fine fish egg ("nanako-ji") patterning. Four appear on the front and two are on the back. Each dragon is executed in a different metal. Dragons are a symbol of power and popularly depicted in Japanese art. Both secondary holes of this tsuba have been plugged.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] Tankasai/Motoaki (kao)

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters