Important Iron Tsuba Maru Gata Decorated With Plant Scrolls - Edo Period - D. ? Cm.

Type: Tsuba (鍔) Diameter: 88 mm Weight: 191 g Main material: iron (tetsu), dark patinated.        Ornamentation: golden inlays (probably in nunome zōgan 布 目 象 嵌, gold leaf inlay technique).        Pattern: arabesques and stylized leaves (kikyō or karakusa, very common in the Edo period). Shape: maru-gata (round).        Openings: Nakago-ana (central hole): for the blade tang.   Kozuka-ana and kogai-ana (side holes): for the small knife The karakusa pattern (唐 草) — vine or arabesque ring—is common in decorative tsuba from the Edo period (1603–1868). The finely hammered golden inlays and embossed borders are reminiscent of style: Edo Kinko (金 工) or Higo depending on the production region. More precisely, this very delicate golden work can evoke the Mito or Nara schools, active in the 18th-19th centuries.