Details
AN OWARI SUKASHI TSUBA
MOMOYAMA PERIOD (CIRCA 1575)

The round iron plate is pierced with a symmetrical quadrant design of scrolls beside pointed arches centered with ancient sword blade (ken) forms. The kozuka hitsu-ana is lined with copper sekigane--height and width 8.1cm., thickness 5.1mm.
Literature
One Hundred Masterpieces (1992), no. 49.

Lot Essay

The use of symmetrical designs in Owari and kyo-sukashi tsuba is found from the middle Muromachi to the early Edo periods. This design has both a European and a classical Japanese flavor to it. This merging of two cultural traditions is common to many art forms during the Momoyama period, influenced by the trade-goods and technology imported by the Portuguese and Spanish.

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