Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 2 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
The lion dance is usually performed as part of the New Year's celebrations. On this tsuba, two performers dance in the lion costume, along with a third masked figure who is also part of the dance. The lion dance tradition developed in China from a belief that the dance would protect villages from evil spirits. Stylized lions such as this are known as Chinese lions (shishi) in Japan. A willow tree decorates the back and its boughs also appear in the upper portion of the front side. The tsuba is signed with a seal on the reverse.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
35471
label
Tsuba with Lion Dancers
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
35471
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuba with Lion Dancers
description
The lion dance is usually performed as part of the New Year's celebrations. On this tsuba, two performers dance in the lion costume, along with a third masked figure who is also part of the dance. The lion dance tradition developed in China from a belief that the dance would protect villages from evil spirits. Stylized lions such as this are known as Chinese lions (shishi) in Japan. A willow tree decorates the back and its boughs also appear in the upper portion of the front side. The tsuba is signed with a seal on the reverse.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by beqeust.
date
1815 (late Edo)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsubas
sword components
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.7
height
7
depth
0.4
dimensionsRaw
3 1/16 x 2 3/4 x 3/16 in. (7.7 x 7.03 x 0.42 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
[Seal] 昆寿; [Translation] Konju
med
sentoku, shibuichi with gold, silver and copper detail
creator_ids
4934
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
f95135f46e2b0e7d
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
fdf1f04bc1665515
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no