Bidspirit auction | A Trio of Japanese Iron

A Trio of Japanese Iron and Copper Alloy Tsuba, Edo Period - A trio of Japanese sword guards (tsuba) dating from the Edo period, comprising one lobed iron guard with a heavily textured surface, one rectangular copper alloy guard with cherry blossom motifs and a nanako fish-roe background, and one four-lobed iron guard with engraved floral patterns. The copper alloy tsuba features an incised square mark containing the numeral 5, while the floral iron tsuba includes secondary metal plugs (sekigane) in the accessory openings and brass-lined cord holes. These functional components were designed to protect the hand of a samurai while serving as decorative elements of the sword assembly.