Bronze Sword Guard 'Tsuba' - Japanese - Two Dragons - Oriental Landscape

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Bronze Sword Guard 'Tsuba' - Japanese - Two Dragons - Oriental Landscape Lovely quality bronze Tsuba adorned with gilt & silver coloured decoration. The piece is decorated with a scene depicting a pair of dragons. This Tsuba is part of a private collection of these that i have recently bought - all are offered on eBay at a low starting bid and no reserve. Please view my other listings in my eBay shop. This particular one is of excellent quality as seen in the photographs. The tsuba is usually a round or occasionally squarish guard at the end of the grip of bladed Japanese weapons, like the katana and its various declinations (tachi, wakizashi etc.), tanto, or naginata. They contribute to the control of the weapon (the right index finger of the fighter typically touches the tsuba), and to the protection of the hand. The tsuba was mostly meant to be used to prevent the hand from sliding onto the blade during thrusts as opposed to protecting from an opponent's blade. The chudan no kamae guard is determined by the tsuba and the curvature of the blade. The diameter of the average katana tsuba is 7.5 cm - 8 cm (2.953 inches - 3.15 inches), wakizashi tsuba is 6.2 cm - 6.6 cm (2.441 inches - 2.598 inches), and tanto tsuba is 4.5 cm - 6 cm (1.772 inches - 2.362 inches) During the Muromachi period (1333-1573) and the Momoyama period (157 3-1603) Tsuba were more for functionality than for decoration, being made of stronger metals and designs. During the Edo period (1603-1868) there was peace in Japan so tsuba became more ornamental and made of less practical metals such as gold. Tsuba are usually finely decorated, and nowadays are collectors' items. Tsuba were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen whose only craft was making tsuba. They were usually lavishly decorated. In addition to being collectors items, they were often used as heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with samurai roots sometimes have their family crest (mon) crafted onto a tsuba. Tsuba can be found in a variety of metals and alloys, including iron, steel, brass, copper and shakudo. In a duel, two participants may lock their katana together at the point of the tsuba and push, trying to gain a better position from which to strike the other down. This is known as tsubazeriai, lit. pushing tsuba against each other. Tsubazeriai is a common sight in modern kendo. In modern Japanese, tsubazeriai has also come to mean "to be in fierce competition." PACKING REF 1447 Our family run business offers a wide variety of interior design home & gift ideas including antiques, mirrors, bronzes, furniture & collectables. We are also constantly sourcing bargain reduced price everyday items including toys, tools, home improvement goods, electrical goods, clothing, gifts and much more. Due to the diverse knowledge bank of our family of buyers we offer a very wide range of goods - who knows what we might stock next, our only constant being our dedication to offering quality goods at the most competitive prices. Please browse our shop below and be sure to come back regularly as we list new stock everyday of the week.We are happy to accept most methods of payment. Paypal is our preferred method as it is quick and simple and also gives you the buyer peace of mind through its payment protection plan. However, should you prefer not to use Paypal we are happy to accept cheque, postal order or in larger transactions direct bank transfer. We also have a credit/debit ca... read more

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