Dagger in Scabbard with Butterflies and Peonies

Description The tanto blade, from the early 14th century, is inscribed with the Sanskrit character presenting the Buddhist deity Fudô Myô-ô. It is mounted in a 19th-century scabbard decorated with butterflies on lacquer and metalwork depicting peonies. Some of the metal fittings are signed "Toshitsugu."

Exhibitions

• The Nature of Loyalty: Japanese Warrior Prints of the Nineteenth Century. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1989.

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

Inscriptions [Inscription] On blade: Fudo Myo-o; [Signature] On kozuka and kogai: Toshitsugu; [Signature] On scabbard: Akimasa (?)

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters