Smallsword Hilt and Blade

Unknown

ca. 1730 · Steel, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold · Arms and Armor

Sword hilts of European fashion made of shakudō, an alloy of copper and gold patinated to the blue-black color that was used in Japan for small decorative objects such as sword mountings, were probably fabricated for the Dutch East India Company at their trading post on the Japanese island of Deshima. Hilt elements like these were then exported to Holland, where they were fitted with grips and blades.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1730

Medium

Steel, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold

Culture

hilt, Japanese, possibly Dejima; blade, European

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of Jean Jacques Reubell, in memory of his mother, Julia C. Coster, and of his wife, Adeline E. Post, both of New York City, 1926