A fine tsuba by Ishikawa Yoshitada

Description:

Japan, signed: Kano Yoshinobu und kakihan/ Ishikawa Yoshitada und kakihan, Mid / late Edo period, 2nd half of the 18th c
7,1 x 6,7 x 0,42 cm (0,32 cm mimi)
Tate-maru-gata. Suaka, on migaki - ground niku-bori with hira-zögan in shakudô, taka-zogan in gold and silver, katakiri-bori. On the front a tiger in the rain, the reverse with a pine tree.Kaku-mimi-koniku.
From an old German private collection, published in: Günther Heckmann, ‘Tsuba’. H.U.B Verlag, Nürtingen, 1995, T 78
The tiger is one of the 12 animals of the zodiac and stands for the 7th hour of the day (in Europe for the 4th and Sth hour). According to the legend, he can reach the age of 1000 years. After 500 years his fur becomes white, on his forehead the character "O" for "king" appears, and after a span of 1000 years he lives in the milky way. The tiger had probably been imported by the Buddhist monks of India and China. There, he is considered to be the symbol of manliness