Description A GOLD, SILVER AND COPPER INLAID SENTOKU TSUBA DEPICTING IMMORTALSJapan, Meiji period (1868-1912)The tsuba naturalistically cast imitating rock work with one hitsu, crafted in gold, copper and silver iro-e takazogan, depicting three immortals standing around a big baluster-shaped vase. Incised artist signature to the backside. LENGTH 6.2 cm WEIGHT 93 g Condition: Good condition minor traces of wear and ageProvenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world's leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts.