Japanese Tsuba. A good collection of 18th century and later sword guards

Sold for £820

Japanese Tsuba. A good collection of 18th century and later iron sword guards, including two with signatures, each with gold decoration, one with a dragon and gold cloud design the other with plum blossoms, others examples include thistles, samurai warriors, exotic birds, dragons etc, some with gold or silver inlay, various shapes and sizes, see lot 121

(Qty: 22)

Provenance: The family of Dr Harry Stopes-Roe (1924-2014), son of the birth control pioneer Marie Stopes (1880-1958), and his wife Mary, née Wallis (1927-2019), herself the daughter of the illustrious scientist, engineer and inventor Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (1887-1979). The tsuba in this lot are all believed to have been acquired by or given to Marie Stopes. As a palaeobotanist Stopes had worked in Japan from 1907 to 1909, exploring coal mines in Hokkaido for fossilised plants.