Sword Guard (Tsuba) 19th century

Editor: At the Metropolitan Museum of Art we have on display a 19th-century sword guard, or Tsuba, by Kanō Natsuo. Curator: The subdued metal palate gives off an aura of elegant solemnity, a fitting tribute to the warrior culture from which it came. Editor: These sword guards are crafted from metal using techniques like piercing and carving, forming decorative additions. Consider how armorers elevated what could have been purely functional objects to the level of complex art. Curator: I'm drawn to consider this object in the context of its user: the samurai. These weren't merely decorative, they were cultural signifiers indicating social standing, allegiances, and personal aesthetics, reflecting how they performed the ideals of the samurai class. Editor: Right, the metal of the guard connects to resources and craftsmanship. Labor informs these patterns. Take a close look, our artist played with scale using the surprisingly prominent figures of small ants that climb over the guard. Curator: Those small gold figures are a fascinating inclusion, almost acting as a memento mori for a class defined by violence. Tiny insects contrasted against the destructive power of a sword. Editor: Good point. How fascinating to consider that it also inverts the relationship of warrior and worker. The labor and the object of violence become inseparable and force us to recognize the social systems enmeshed within the craft. Curator: I appreciate how this work acts as a looking glass, helping us gaze not only at artistic technique and material, but reflecting also Japan's historical power structures through a lens of art history. Editor: Indeed. Examining the means of creation alongside the symbols represented makes for an especially nuanced understanding of both the artwork and its cultural milieu.