FOUR TSUBA (HAND GUARDS)Edo period (1615-1868), 17th to 19th centuryThe first rounded rectangular,shibuichi with chiselled calligraphy and flat inlay of gold, silver,shakudo, and copper, depicting on one side a courtesan reading a letter and on the other the text of the letter, signedOju Tsuneyuki horu (Carved to special order by Tsuneyuki), Otsuki school, published:Aito, 123 (August 1986); the second oval with irregular hammered-up rim, iron, chiselled and inlaid with gold, silver, and shell, depicting the moon, bamboo, and flowering plum, signed indistinctlyKiju saku; the thirdmokko (four-lobed),shakudo with gold and copper inlay, depicting shells and waves; the fourth oval with a hammered-up rim,shibuichi with inlay of gold, silver, copper, and shell, depicting passengers on a ferry-boat by a willow, with signatureHosono Sozaemon kore o horu; all with wood storage boxes.The smallest: 6.7cm (2 5/8in) high; the largest: 7.5cm (3in) high. (8).