A koshira-e (mounting) for a Daisho set (set of long and short swords)


Edo period (1615-1868), mid-19th centuryEach with saya (scabbard) of black lacquer with an all-over marbled pattern in silver togidashi maki-e, the scabbard fittings all of black lacquer, the tsuka (hilt) covered in black-lacquered rayskin with silk tsukamaki wrapping in lozenge pattern, the gilt menuki each in the form of a tennin (Buddhist angel), the fuchigashira of shakudo nanako and gilt chiselled with aoi-mon (hollyhock crests), the tsuba of polished shakudo, the rim and the plugs to the ryohitsu holes with nekogaki ('cat-scratch') texturing; the wakizashi (short sword) with a kozuka of shakudo with a large nanako texture and a kogai with the same materials and decoration as the fuchigashira; wood tsukuri blades; silk cords; with cotton bags. Katana mounts: 90cm (35½in) long, wakizashi mounts: 70cm (27½in) long. (4).