Thin plate iron tsuba of round form with a military commander’s fan (gunbai) design in openwork (sukashi); Ko-tosho school.

Early Muromachi period (1393-1453), late 14th to mid-15th century.

Dimensions: 91.2 x 89.5 mm, thickness: 1.5-2.5 mm.

Provenance: Patrick Liebermann Collection.

Reproduced in the exhibition catalogue Samurai. Guerriers et esthètes, BNU, Strasbourg, March 11 – July 13, 2022, №045, p.91 and in Patrick Liebermann, Tsuba. Itinéraires d’une collection, 2016, №72, p.111.

Reference: a similar tsuba reproduced in Nakamura Tessei, Tsuba shusei, Tokyo, 1963, p.36, fig. 2.