Skip to main content
The Walters Art Museum

Online Collection

Explore the Art Collection keyboard_arrow_down close
  • Explore By...
  • Category
  • Date
  • Medium
  • Creator
  • Places
  • Museum Locations
The Walters Art Museum walters-logo-white
  • Calendar
  • Art
  • Shop
  • Give Now
  • Visit
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours
    • Directions & Parking
    • Food, Drink, & Shop
    • Free Admission
    • Tours
    • Accessibility
    • Visitor Promise
  • Experience
    • Virtual Museum
    • Exhibitions & Installations
    • Programs & Events
    • Collections
    • Buildings
    • Baltimore
  • Support
    • Support the Walters
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Institutional Funders
    • Evening at the Walters
    • Volunteers
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Leadership
    • Strategic Plan
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • Research
    • Policies
Image for Tsuba with Snail and Insects
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
Image for Tsuba with Snail and Insects
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
Image for Tsuba with Snail and Insects
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
  • arrow_forward_ios
  • arrow_forward_ios
Tsuba with Snail and Insects Thumbnail
Tsuba with Snail and Insects Thumbnail
Tsuba with Snail and Insects Thumbnail
Tsuba with Snail and Insects Thumbnail
Tsuba with Snail and Insects Thumbnail
Tsuba with Snail and Insects Thumbnail

Tsuba with Snail and Insects

Tanaka Tokuaki (Japanese, 1840-1889) (Artist)
1840-1889 (late Edo, Meiji)
iron and silver with gold, shakudo, and shibuichi
(Japanese Military Armor)

The variety of insects on this tsuba illustrates the sensitivity towards nature in traditional Japanese culture. Along with flowers and birds, insects can be emblematic of a specific season. The insects on the front of this tsuba are associated with summer and autumn. At the upper right is a spider, with a grasshopper and a praying mantis beneath it. A beetle and a snail are shown at the bottom.

Inscription

[Signature] 田中篤明; [Translation] Tanaka Tokuaki.

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.

Share
  • social-item
  • social-item
  • social-item

Geographies

Japan, Fukui (Place of Origin)

Measurements

2 in. (5.1 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.

51.335

Do you have additional information?

Notify the curator

Hours

  • Wednesday—Sunday: 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
  • Monday—Tuesday: Closed

Location

600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

  • Visit
  • Experience
  • What's On
  • About
  • Shop
  • Support The Walters
copyright

The Walters Art Museum

  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy/Terms of Use
  • Copyright Info
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • twitter
modal close
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
  • arrow_forward_ios
  • arrow_forward_ios