Tsuba with butterflies

Title

Tsuba with butterflies
Associated place

Japan (place of creation)
Date

c. 1800
Material and technique

iron, with cut and filed openwork decoration, with gold, and with gold wire nunome-zōgan decoration
Material index

iron;

gold
Technique index

forged;

openwork;

cut;

inlaid
Object type

tsuba
Dimensions

8.2 x 7.9 cm (height x width)
No. of items

1
Credit line

Bequeathed by Dame Jemima Church, in accordance with the wishes of her Husband, Sir Arthur H. Church, 1929.
Museum location

not on display
Museum department

Eastern Art
Accession no.

EAX.10730

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Catalogue text

Seven butterflies modelled in openwork within the narrow border; gold eyes and gold ring-spots on the wings; edge covered with eight different diapers (lozenge, swastika fret, shippō, etc.) in fine gold wire nunome.

The real name of this artist, whose work is by no means rare (compare the next six [EAX.10731, EAX.10736, EAX.10737, EAX.10738, EAX.10739, EAX.10740]), was, according to Wada (p.123), the more plebeian one of Nakamura Shinsuke [中村親介]. His adopted surname Gotō is written with the same characters as that of the famous family of sword-mount makers (Groups XXXIII, XXXIV).

nunome-zōgan

tsuba

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