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Image for Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond
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Image for Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond
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Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond Thumbnail
Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond Thumbnail
Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond Thumbnail
Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond Thumbnail
Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond Thumbnail
Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond Thumbnail

Tsuba with Herons in a Lotus Pond

Otsuki Mitsuhiro (Japanese, 1795-1841) (Artist)
1795-1841 (late Edo)
sentoku, shibuichi, silver
(Japanese Military Armor)

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.

Inscription

[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

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.

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Geographies

Japan, Kyoto (Place of Origin)

Measurements

2 1/2 x 2 3/16 x 1/8 in. (6.3 x 5.56 x 0.32 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.

51.137

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Hours

  • Wednesday—Sunday: 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
  • Monday—Tuesday: Closed

Location

600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

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