Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with Fish and Seafood
(Japanese Military Armor)
An assortment of fish appears along the bottom of this tsuba. The largest is the sea bream in gold at the lower right corner. Sea bream are felicitous fish because their name "tai" contains a syllable from Japanese word for auspicious ("medetai"). Near the bream is another fish in copper Above it is an abalone shell in silver alloy. A spiny lobster, which is a sign of longevity, is in a copper and gold alloy on the left. On the reverse are a wasabi root and another fish.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Tokyo (Edo) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 2 7/8 x W: 2 5/8 x D: 1/8 in. (7.25 x 6.65 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.
51.201