TWELVE TSUBA (HAND GUARDS)
Edo period (1615-1868), 17th to 19th century
All iron, chiselled and pierced, the first three Nanban (European-influenced) style with intricate openwork, the first octagonal, fluted rim, with slight gold inlay, as dragons, jewels, and floral tracery; the second rounded rectangular, beaded rim, with slight gold inlay, as dragons, jewels, and floral tracery; the third almost circular, slight gold inlay, as dragons, jewels, and floral tracery; the fourth circular, with a single dragon, signed Echizen no ju Kinai saku and with a spurious date of Genna ninen (1616); the fifth almost circular, with butterflies, grasses, and dewdrops; the sixth almost circular, with bamboo leaves, signed Bushu no ju Masakata; the seventh with slight gold overlay, the rim modelled as a rope connecting four pierced copper coins; the eighth circular, overcleaned, with irises and a kamakiri (praying mantis); the ninth circular with slight gold inlay, as a tiger in a bamboo grove, signed Tamura Suketsugu saku; the tenth mokko (four-lobed), with five kiri (paulownias) and tendrils; the eleventh circular, overcleaned, with a stylized flower; the twelfth circular, with a bamboo plant. The smallest: 7cm (2¾in) high; the largest: 9cm (3½in) high. (12).
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