Tantō, lacquer scabbard with bamboo pattern and with metal fittings, with kōgai and menuki with dragon

Japanese Collection

Accession Nr.: 5451.1-3
Type: weapons and armament; metalwork; lacquers
Date of production:
First half of the 19th century
Edo (Tokugawa) period
Place of production:
Acquisition: collection of Ferenc Hopp
Materials/Techniques: steel, bronze, gold, lacquer, wood, rayskin, bamboo; damask blade
Dimensions: length: 38.5 cm
From the artistic point of view, the most important were the sword fittings (kodōgu). The grip, which was often covered in rayskin, was wrapped with braided silk cord, with small pieces of hammered sheet metal (menuki) matching the adornments of the sword placed under the wrapping on both sides. Source: Fajcsák Györgyi (ed.): Japán vörös és fekete. Hagyományos japán viselet és kortárs magyar ékszerek / Japanese 'Rouge et Noir'. Traditional Japanese Wear and Traditional Hungarian Jewellery. Budapest, Iparművészeti Múzeum, 2013.