Tsuba with ship design
The decoration on this sword guard depicts a Dutch ship. The representation of the ship in a typical Japanese manner highlights the relationship between the two countries in the Edo period. Other elements on the tsuba, such as the waves under the ship and the wave pattern around the tang hole, seem to hint at a wider influence of East-Asian maritime trade relations.
Object views
Stories
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A tsuba of global fascinations
story by Francesca Gammino.This beautiful sword guard embodies in its materiality countless narratives of global exchanges, artistic contaminations and fascinations, as well as questions about its origins, its makers and the copies that were made of it. Just like the ship it depicts, this story will sail through the elements, and we will shed light on the stories it holds. Would you like to come on board?
