Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with a Hanging Bouquet ("Kusudama")
(Japanese Military Armor)
On the right of this tsuba is a flower cluster, also called a medicine ball (kusadama). These balls are used as part of the traditional decoration for the Boy's Festival on May 5th. Brocade bags of fragrant herbs, such as musk and cloves, were bound together with flowers and streamers. They were hung in homes to ensure long life. Along the lower left edge on the back is a blind trimmed in fabric.
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, Tokyo (Edo) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
at center: 2 7/16 x 2 x 3/16 in. (6.17 x 5.04 x 0.4 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.
51.129