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Pitt Rivers Museum

1884.24.61.1

Short sword [.1] with curved single edged blade and curved hilt, with curved sheath [.2] of matt black lacquered wood.


1884.24.61.1

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Short sword [.1] with curved single edged blade and curved hilt, with curved sheath [.2] of matt black lacquered wood.
Long description
Short sword [.1] with curved single edged blade and curved hilt, with curved sheath [.2] of matt black lacquered wood. The blade and hilt have the same curve. The hilt is made of wood, covered with ray skin and bound with textile cord. It has a decorative copper cap at the butt and two ornamental brass figures (one is a human form) bound into the textile grip. The hilt has an iron guard, tsuba, that has a stamped or incised herringbone pattern and a perforation for a kogai. The sheath is curved with decorative copper alloy mountings. [SM 08/10/2007]
Geographical reference
Cultural groups
Japanese
Date / Period
Date made: Possibly before 1874
Date collected
?By 1874
Acquisition information
Donated: 1884
Materials and processes
Material Steel Metal, Material Wood Plant, Material Lacquer Varnish, Material Stingray Skin Fish, Material Copper Metal, Material Textile, Material Brass Metal, Process Forged (Metal), Process Carved, Process Bound, Process Lacquered Varnished, Process Cast, Process Incised
Dimensions
Length: max 613 mm sword, Width: max 70 mm sword, Length: max 479 mm sheath, Width: max 39 mm sheath, Length: max 655 mm together
Object numbers
Accession number: 1884.24.61.1 Accession number: 1884.24.61.2 PR Cat other PR nos: 1087
Research and responses

Related Documents File - Information supplied by Colin Langton, 1995, includes "overall length 65.5 cm". It gives in-depth details of type, style & design, and diagrams. [AP Leverhulme project on founding collection 1995-1998]

Search terms: Weapon, Figure, Sword, Sheath