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Source Description
The body of a dragonfly is at the upper right of the tsuba. The wing's on the dragonfly's right extend over the top and appear on the reverse. The tail runs along the right edge. Dragonflies are a symbol of autumn. There is also an ancient tradition of calling Japan "Dragonfly Island" because the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, thought that when viewed from the top of a mountain the islands had the shape of a dragonfly.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
21929
label
Tsuba with a Dragonfly
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
21929
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuba with a Dragonfly
description
The body of a dragonfly is at the upper right of the tsuba. The wing's on the dragonfly's right extend over the top and appear on the reverse. The tail runs along the right edge. Dragonflies are a symbol of autumn. There is also an ancient tradition of calling Japan "Dragonfly Island" because the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, thought that when viewed from the top of a mountain the islands had the shape of a dragonfly.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
n.d.
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsubas
sword components
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
5.1
height
3.8
depth
0.5
dimensionsRaw
2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16 in. (5.1 x 3.79 x 0.45 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
none
med
shibuichi, gold, silver
creator_ids
6194
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
b43477ea13a2d0ba
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
80ae71806587e2b2
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no