Tsuka with Elephant Head
(Japanese Military Armor)
This unusual tsuka is shaped like an elephant's head, with the trunk extended. Elephants are not native to Japan, but during the 18th century at least two were brought to the country as gifts by foreign traders.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan (Place of Origin)
Measurements
L: 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. or 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.
51.1286.2