Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond

Description On this tsuba, two heron stand in a lotus pond. The large lotus petals are visible on the left. There is at least one other tsuba like this by Mitsuhiro and one by his father Mitsuoki. The inscription says that the design is after one by the 10th-century Chinese painter Hsu Hsi. This may be a reference to paintings by Hsu Hsi of herons and lotus plants in Japanese temple collections, but the composition does not match any known paintings.

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

Inscriptions [Transcription] 似徐熈彫鐫　大月光弘; [Transliteration] Joki no zu [o motte] chosen/Otsuki Mitsuhiro; [Translation] Carved after a painting by Hsu Hsi/Otsuki Mitsuhiro

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters