The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
An unpublished catalogue of the A. H. Church collection of Japanese sword-guards (tsuba) by Albert James Koop.
Publications online: 1264 objects
Tsuba depicting Shōki and a demon
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Literature notes
Thick; nearly square, with rounded angles; edge very regularly hammered up; in sunk relief, with iroye incrustation, is a large figure of Shōki (see 935) [EAX.10935], who stands leaning on his drawn sword and looking down at a terrified oni (engraved) who has stolen his fan; the lower part of the oni is represented at the back, the idea being that, while halfway through the kodzuka-hole, the demon has been made a prisoner by the insertion of the shakudō plug; also at the back are clouds in katakiri. Signed: Shigechika [Japanese text]. (Unrecorded.) -
Details
- Associated place
- Date
- c. 1800
- Material and technique
- obverse and reverse: sentoku, with hammered-up edge; shakudō kozuka-hole plug; tang-hole plugged with soft metal, probably copper obverse: with iro-e zōgan (multi-metal inlay) decoration, and engraved decoration reverse: with katakiri engraving (oblique chisel-cuts), and engraved decoration
- Dimensions
- 7.5 x 7.3 x 0.6 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
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processed material › metal › alloy › sentoku,processed material › metal › alloy › copper alloy › shakudō,
- Technique index
- Object type index
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arms/armour › koshirae › kodogu › tsuba
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Bequeathed by Sir Arthur H. Church, 1915.
- Accession no.
- EAX.10953
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Further reading
Koop, Albert James, The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba), 3 vols (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 1929), no. 953
Glossary (5)
Shōki, kozuka, sentoku, shakudō, tsuba
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Shōki
Zhong Kui, or Shōki in Japanese, is a figure from Chinese folklore who appeared to the ailing 8th century Chinese Emperor Xuanzong in a dream and dispatched the demons that were haunting him. Shōki promised the Emperor that he would rid the world of demon
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kozuka
The handle that holds the small knife called the kogatana.
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sentoku
A kind of brass made from an alloy of copper, zinc, and tin.
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shakudō
alloy of copper and gold, patinated to a dark blue-black colour
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tsuba
Japanese sword guard.
Location
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- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
-
The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
Thick; nearly square, with rounded angles; edge very regularly hammered up; in sunk relief, with iroye incrustation, is a large figure of Shōki (see 935) [EAX.10935], who stands leaning on his drawn sword and looking down at a terrified oni (engraved) who has stolen his fan; the lower part of the oni is represented at the back, the idea being that, while halfway through the kodzuka-hole, the demon has been made a prisoner by the insertion of the shakudō plug; also at the back are clouds in katakiri. Signed: Shigechika [Japanese text]. (Unrecorded.)
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