Blades and Mountings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō)
blades, dated 1839; mountings, 19th century
Medium
Steel, wood, lacquer, rayskin, silk, iron, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper, gold, silver, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi)
Dimensions
L. of sword (katana) 39 1/4 in. (99.8 cm); L. of sword (katana) blade 36 31/32 in. (93.9 cm); L. of sword (katana) blade cutting edge 28 5/8 in. (72.7 cm); D. of sword (katana) blade curvature 1 7/32 in. (3.1 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) 26 3/4 in. (67.9 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) blade 17 27/32 in. (45.3 cm); D. of short sword (wakizashi) blade curvature 9/64 in. (0.36 cm)
Classification
Swords
Culture
Japanese
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Brayton Ives and W. T. Walters, 1891
Accession Number
91.2.56, .84
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Daishō*—a matched pair of swords consisting of a katana (long sword) andizashi (short swordexemplifies the pinnacle of samurai craftsmanship from the late period. The blades, in 1839 by renowned swordsmith Naotane of the Taikei school feature precisely curved steel with cutting edges measuring 28⅝ inches for the katana and ⅞ inches for the wakiz. Mountings, crafted in the 19th by Honjō Yoshitane Yukinaka, include ornate fittings of shakudō (copper-gold alloy), shibuichi (copper-silver alloy), gold, and silver, wrapped around hilts of rayskin and silk, and housed in lacquered wo...
About the Artist
Naotane Taikei|Honjō Yoshitane|Yukinaka (Japanese|Japanese|Japanese) · 1778 |1801 |1801 –1857 |1900 |1900
Japanese, Yamagata 1778–1857 Edo|Japanese, Edo period, 19th century|Japanese, Hagi, active 19th century