Sword guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With Chrysanthemum Motif (菊花図鐔) 1750 - 1825

This is a sword guard made by Masayoshi in Japan, sometime between 1750 and 1825. The material is iron, worked with great delicacy. The chrysanthemum motif is not just decorative. It's a symbol of the Japanese Imperial family, and stands for longevity and rejuvenation. The making of this object involved laborious processes. The artist would have used techniques such as piercing, carving, and inlay to achieve the intricate floral design. This involved immense skill, and time spent on specialized tools. The contrast between the iron and the precious symbolism makes us think about social class. The sword would have been a mark of status. But this unassuming little object also transcends such distinctions, and invites us to contemplate the labor that goes into even the smallest thing. It collapses the divide between the functional and the beautiful.