International Match Safe

Association and Museum

Sword Ware, Oriental Figures

IMSA#:  PMO-43

Estimated Date:   1900

Country of Origin:   Japan

Manufacturer:   Unknown (possibly Komai (either O. or S. Komai)

Catalog No.:   

Material:   Shakudo, an alloy of gold and copper, usually a blue-black color & various inlays of shibuichi (silver & copper).

Markings:   Maker's mark in Japanese on one edge.

Patent/Design No.:  

Patent/Design Date:  

Size (Inches):    2 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 1/2"

Reverse:   Plant and insect motif, see photo.

Description and Comments:  Oriental figures plus rabbit, striker on bottom. Some parts of this safe was made from sword fittings, the KASHIRA (fitting at end of handle), nakago ana (the almost triangular opening where the striker is on the vesta, sekigane (the oval shape around the opening of the striker). The metal working technique used is:Zogan (inlay). Inlay involves the embedding of relatively soft metals such as gold and silver into a harder ground made of materials such as copper, iron, brass, shakudo or shibuichi. There are a number of techniques, including line inlay (sen-zogan), flat inlay hira-zogan), high
relief inlay (takaniku-zogan), polished out inlay (togidashi-zogan) and thread inlay (ito-zogan). Here is some background info: The metalsmiths drew inspiration for their themes from folk tales, historical events, religion, heraldry, nature, and the works of the greatest Chinese and Japanese painters. Our appreciation of the difficulty of the guard maker's (the portion of the sword that was turned into a vesta) task increases as one considers the physical limitations of shape, size, and function with which the tsuba (sword guard) challenged the creativity of the maker.

Submitted BY:    From the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Carol B. and Stephen W. Brener.
 

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