Marugata tsuba with spider web decoration in nunome-zōgan

Japan, Edo period (late 18th – early 19th century)

Iron and gold inlay, diameter 7.2 cm

This circular tsuba (marugata) features a highly subtle decoration, consisting of a spider web finely inlaid in gold using the nunome-zōgan technique. This process involves engraving tiny grooves into the surface of the iron and hammering gold threads into them, creating a luminous weaving effect that captures the light in a nuanced way against the dark patina of the metal.

The composition plays on the balance between emptiness and fullness: the golden threads of the canvas stretch across a deliberately irregular background, marked by small cavities and wear evoking the natural corrosion of iron. These irregularities are not defects, but a definite aesthetic choice, testifying to the Japanese taste for imperfect beauty and the transformation of time—an expression of wabi-sabi.

The spiderweb motif, rare on tsuba, symbolizes the fragility of life, patience, and the art of subtle trapping, a metaphor for the sword itself. In Edo Japan, these motifs were often chosen by scholarly samurai to express an introspective temperament, a meditation on the ephemeral and on vigilance.

The minimalist design, the delicacy of the inlay work and the carefully oxidized surface place this piece in the tradition of the refined ironwork schools of Edo or Mito, where the search for harmony between raw material and discreet ornamentation reached a high degree of perfection.

Piece from the Edo period, late 18th – early 19th century.

Diameter: 7.2 cm