Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with a Fallen Grave Maker
(Japanese Military Armor)
At the top of this tsuba, a bat in flight is shown in front of a slender crescent moon. At the bottom is a grave marker that has fallen over on its side. Next to the marker are chrysanthemums and a rock. A snake crawls across the top of the marker. This may be an allusion to a story about Ono no Komachi, a 9th-century poet. The story is told in the Noh play "Sotoba Komachi."
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Kuwana (Place of Origin)
Measurements
2 13/16 x 2 11/16 x 1/8 in. (7.14 x 6.84 x 0.38 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.232