Beautiful Iron Tsuba, Large Katana Garde, Maru-gata, Japan, Edo Period, 18th Century

A beautiful, wide, circular-shaped tsuba—Maru-Gata—a sword guard, in this case for a katana, given its size. Although subtle, the decoration appears at the four corners of both sides, featuring stylized clouds and waves. It appears to have been mounted several times; the nakago-ana (blade socket) contains several sekigane (copper shims) used to adjust new blades. Kozuka hitsu-ana and Kogaï-ana are present on either side of the nakago-ana.
Nice thickness, feels substantial in the hand, and has a lovely ringing sound—a sign of quality.
Good overall condition; no breaks or flaw, just a few normal chips around the old sekigane and some minor rust marks. I will leave it to the buyer to clean it.
Japanese working, dating from the mid-Edo period, 18th century or earlier. 
Dimensions: 8.7 cm x 8 cm x 0.4 cm

SHIPPING CONDITIONS BELOW

​​​​​​ FREE shipping within France; for European shipping and payment, please send me a message. 
I no longer ship outside Europe, and I do not accept payments from outside Europe either!!  Contact: Charles Cordier: 06.46.13.37.64 (text messages only) or via Proantic, thank you.
Accepted payments: French check or bank transfer.
No PayPal.
Thank you.

With each purchase, you’ll receive an invoice for the total amount minus shipping costs, along with my business card to include with the package. My packages are custom-designed for each item and properly protected using professional and/or recycled materials. Items valued at less than 1,000 euros will be shipped via Colissimo. Items valued between 1,000 and 5,000 euros will be shipped via Chronopost. I can also arrange for in-person delivery for certain items to be delivered in Paris, at French retailer showrooms, and for those valued at over 5,000 euros; otherwise, I will use a shipping carrier. Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.