Junior Curator- Tsuba Group of 2024 by Aneta Vostrá

Tumulus Period (A.D. 250–552)

104068_17 — 2024-03-08 10:50:03 UTC

First sword guard. Above is a Toran-Gata Sukashi Tsuba, or opеnworkеd sword guard with a rеclinеd еgg shapе (Jyuluck).

Citation: “History of Tsuba, Japanese Sword Guard.” Tsuba.jyuluck-Do.com, tsuba.jyuluck-do.com/History.html.

Onin War (1467 -1477)

104068_17 — 2024-03-08 10:53:44 UTC

The Ōnin War was a civil war that destroyed Kyoto and happened in the Muromachi period of Japan. Ōnin refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei era. At the end of the war, Iga ikki has independence.

Edo Period (1603-1868)

104169_18 — 2024-03-12 13:10:53 UTC

The Edo period saw tsuba at their most relevant and evolved state. During this period Japanese people saw tsuba as a work of art as creators experiment with various different materials to improve the looks and/or function of the tsuba (True Katana).

Citation: “Tsuba: The Unsung Hero of Samurai Sword Components - TrueKatana.” Www.truekatana.com, www.truekatana.com/blog/122/tsuba-the-unsung-hero-of-samurai-sword-components#:~:text=Tsuba%20as%20a%20symbol%20of%20cultural%20identity%3A%20As. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

Heian Period (794-1185)

104169_18 — 2024-03-13 15:53:48 UTC

During this period the tsuba was first implemented onto katanas and could be seen more in armies it still didn't have any artistic properties (True Katana)

Kamakura period (1185-1333)

104169_18 — 2024-03-13 19:36:19 UTC

During the Kamakura period tsuba started taking on some small designs. These designs were very minimal but it was a start for the future of tsuba (True Katana)

Muromachi Period (1336-1573)

104169_18 — 2024-03-13 19:38:55 UTC

During the Muromachi period the designs on a swords tsuba would contribute to the overall value and aesthetic of the katana this is when attention towards tsuba became heightened and it was when families started putting their family emblems on their tsuba (True Katana)

Sengoku Period (1447-1573)

104169_18 — 2024-03-13 19:40:41 UTC

During the Sengoku period/end of Muromachi period sword smiths started experiment with different materials as well as further developing the designs used in the tsuba (True Katana).

Left Nagasaki Port - Circa 1790

104204_35 — 2024-03-13 20:44:01 UTC

The VOC likely was the company that transported our tsuba from the Nagasaki port in Japan to Amsterdam.

The Dutch were one of the best traders in Europe due to their location, relevance of the things they had to offer, and skills for excellent shipbuilding. Dejima, an artificial island in Nagasaki, was created in 1634, and the Dutch were the only ones allowed to stay there (“Dejima History”). Dejima would later end due to a commodore from the United States coming to end the isolation of Japan in want of trade in 1853, which led to the ending of the 200 years of Japan’s seclusion, and Dejima would officially end in 1904 (Alam).

Citation:

“Dejima History.” Nagasakidejima.jp, 2018, nagasakidejima.jp/english/history/#:~:text=The%20artificial%20island%20of%20Dejima.

Alam, Azmir. (2023). Seclusion of Japan in Tokugawa Period: Reasons, Advantages & Disadvantages.

Travels to Amsterdam through Batavia and Cape Town - Circa 1780

104204_35 — 2024-03-14 13:38:45 UTC

For our tsuba to get to Amsterdam it would have had to take the trade route that consists of passing through Batavia and Captetown, before arriving in the Netherlands. This would have had to happen circa the time of 1780.

Retrieved by Lobkowicz - 1990

104204_35 — 2024-03-14 13:39:18 UTC

After the fall of communism, which was the second time the Lobkowicz lost their collections, they were able to retrieve their items once again, around 1990. However, this did not include all of the items from their collection, as some of them were never retrieved, and are still lost today.

Made to create interest for the Dutch - Mid 18th century

103991_10 — 2024-03-14 13:43:49 UTC

(Potential) Sale at a Flee Market - Mid 19th Century

103991_10 — 2024-03-14 14:03:44 UTC

We believe that the Tsuba could have been sold in a flee market. That is because many objects that would be displayed in a cabinets of curiosities would have typically bought at a flee market. That is due to the fact that average, middle class and upper-middle class did not travel overseas, making it difficult to acquire artefacts abroad.

(Potential) Cabinet of Curiosities- Kunstkammer

104068_17 — 2024-03-27 13:04:23 UTC

Transitioning to the 18th century, the Enlightenment era marked the decline of cabinets of curiosities and the emergence of modern museums. While investigating the connection between cabinets of curiosities and the tsuba, we stumbled upon the Strahov Monastery cabinet, gifted in 1798 by Karel Jan Erban, containing various artifacts including weaponry. Although we couldn't directly link this to the Lobkowicz family, their collections reflect centuries of Central European cultural, social, and political life. Moreover, we noted references suggesting Samurai armor, indicating an interest in Japanese weaponry among Central European collectors (www.fg.cz, 2024).

Citation:

www.fg.cz , 2024, FG Forrest, a s. “Cabinet of Curiosities.” Prague.eu, www.prague.eu/en/event/2391/cabinet-of-curiosities#:~:text=The%20Cabinet%20of%20Curiosities%20in.

Made to create interest for the Dutch - Mid 18th century

104169_18 — 2024-03-27 13:32:21 UTC

The technique used to decorate our tsuba is called the Cloisonné technique which is a technique of creating designs on metal vessels with coloured-glass paste placed within enclosures made of copper or bronze wires, which have been bent or hammered into the desired pattern. (Metropolitan museum of art).

It originated in Egypt before 1800 B.C.E and developed into an actual technique in Japan and China.

Metmuseum, editor. "Chinese Cloisonné." metmuseum, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/

clos/

hd_clos.htm#:~:text=Cloisonn%C3%A9%20is%20the%20technique%20of,hammered%20into%20

the%20desired%20pattern. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.