Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with Fish, Shells and Mask
(Japanese Military Armor)
This tsuba shows four separate motifs by four individual artists. Each artist signed his own name on a small plaque near the motif he made. This is a typical style for the Arikawa family from Mito. On the front are a blow fish (signed by Kiyomasa), a mask used in comedic performances (signed by Sanemasa), and sea shells (with an illegible signature). On the reverse is another small grouping of shells (signed by Naoharu). The artists on this tsuba are obscure and may be minor students of the Arikawa school.
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 acquistion unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Mito (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/16 x W: 2 7/8 x D: 3/16 in. (7.84 x 7.26 x 0.4 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.
51.143