Tsuba with a Carp Leaping Out of Water

Description On the right side of this tsuba, a carp is shown leaping from the water. Its body arches to the left, following the curve of the tsuba's edge. At the upper left is a wasp that may be the carp's prey. At the bottom, waves show where the carp exited the water. On the reverse are water and lily pads.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Date] Manen ka-no-e saru aki saku; [Translation] Made in the autumn of the [first year] of Manen (1860), the year of the monkey; [Signature] 万延庚申秋作　夏雄; [Translation] Natsuo [Seal]

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters