Antique Japanese Edo Period Gilt Copper Menuki Pair of Wasps Suzumebachi In High Relief Hardware surface wear

surface wear

Chestnut wood was a wood of choice for such a chest being strong as well as having a beautiful grain pattern

Prominent Tsurugashiwa (蔓柏) “three-vines oak” crest—associated with samurai houses

It weighs 7

Antique Japanese Edo Period Gilt Copper Menuki Pair of Wasps Suzumebachi In High Relief Hardware surface wearA finely detailed pair of menuki (ornamental sword hilt fittings) depicting large wasps (suzumebachi ), cast and chiseled in copper alloy with traces of original gilding. The insects are rendered with lifelike accuracylarge compound eyes, articulated wings, and the characteristic narrow waistshowcasing the remarkable realism and natural observation typical of late Edo kink () craftsmanship. The wasp was a favored but relatively rare motif in samurai