Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with an Immortal with His Tiger
(Japanese Military Armor)
On the right side of this tsuba is a Chinese immortal standing with a tiger. It is either Bukan (Ch. Fung Gan), who would ride his tiger around his monastery to shock others or the Taoist sage Koreijin (Ch. Gu Lingren), who is accompanied by his white tiger. Tigers are said to turn white when they reach the age of five hundred years. The tiger demonstrates the power of sage's wisdom, because he was able to tame such a strong animal. On the left is a bamboo grove.
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, Tokyo (Edo)
(Place of Origin)
Japan, Mito (Place of Origin)
Measurements
2 11/16 x 2 5/8 x 3/16 in. (6.9 x 6.6 x 0.42 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.
51.181