Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with Snail and Insects
(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
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, 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.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.335