Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with Nightingales and an Owl
(Japanese Military Armor)
At the upper left of this tsuba is a new moon. On the right, an owl perches on the branch of a flowering plum tree. A nightingale, on the lower left, flies under the branch. On the reverse, one bird is at the lower right. Bamboo and a branch are on the lower left. The nightingale and the plum tree may be a reference to a poem by Hakurakuten (Ch. Bai Juyi [Po Chü-i] 776-846).
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 (Place of Origin)
Measurements
2 3/4 x 2 5/8 x 3/16 in. (6.95 x 6.74 x 0.45 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.
51.243