Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with the Chinese General Soso
(Japanese Military Armor)
The Chinese Three Kingdoms general Soso (Ch. Tsao Tsao) is shown on his boat crossing the Yangtze River. Under a full moon, he stood before his soldiers with a spear in his hands and declared that they would be victorious at the coming battle. After he spoke, two crows flew overhead. They are shown here in the upper left. Crows are an sign of disaster. Soso composed a poem about crows in an attempt to hide the bad omen, but was defeated in his battle. The reverse shows waves on the shore under a full moon.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Tokyo (Edo) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
2 5/8 x 2 7/16 in. (6.6 x 6.2 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.
51.124