{"object":[{"sourceId":{"label":"Source ID","value":"9425"},"creditline":{"label":"Credit Line","value":"Memorial gift from the Estate of Charles W. Hay, Class of 1925"},"labelText":{"label":"More Information","value":"BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis small item is the handle for a utility knife (kogatana) that is often attached to the scabbard of a samurai sword.WHERE WAS IT MADE?This object was made in Japan during the Edo period (1615-1868).HOW WAS IT MADE?This handle was handcrafted from a material known as sentoku, a bronze alloy with copper, tin, lead and zinc that, when polished, turns a satiny yellow gold color. Fine designs made of gold, silver, and shakudo (another metal alloy) have been set, or inlaid, into the sentuko.HOW WAS IT USED?The kozuka was a decorative hilt for a small utility blade. During the Edo period, it was one of a number of sword accessories that were the focus of fine craftsmanship and the appreciative sensibilities of collectors. Well-crafted, beautiful accessories reflected the prestige and good tastes of their owners.WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS?Notice the woman weaving with a large loom, up in the clouds. She is known as the Heavenly Weaver in Chinese cosmic mythology. The daughter of the Celestial Emperor Tentei, the Heavenly Weaver was said to have fallen in love with a herdsman, Kengyu, and consequently neglected her weaving duties - weaving fabric from the clouds to make garments for the gods. Angered by this, Emperor Tentei punished the lovers by separating them by the Milky Way. They were only permitted to meet once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon when the two stars, Vega and Altair, cross paths."},"invno":{"label":"Object number","value":"73.005.139"},"description":{"label":"Description","value":"Copper colored utility knife handle (Kozuka) with design of a woman at a large loom weaving cloth.  There are gold clouds around the loom and her long silver scarf billows out behind her.  The loom itself is divided into two main sections with a fence like section at the center, the thread at the far end and the weaving board held by the woman.  The fabric material, face and billowing sash are in silver; the loom is in shakudo; and the clouds are in gold.  On the reverse there are also clouds in katakira.  There is a hole at the base of the handle that is pierced and burnished."},"medium":{"label":"Medium","value":"Sentoku with inlay of silver, shakudo, and gold"},"onview":{"label":"On View","value":"0"},"media":{"label":"Media","value":["73.005.139_d0534ab_014","73.005.139_d0534ab_015"]},"title":{"label":"Title","value":"Kozuka with design of \"The Heavenly Weaver\""},"classification":{"label":"Classifications","value":"Armor"},"primaryMedia":{"value":"https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/71807/full"},"culture":{"label":"Culture","value":"Japan"},"displayDate":{"label":"Date","value":"Edo period, late 18th or early 19th century"},"id":{"label":"Id","value":"213328"},"dimensions":{"label":"Dimensions","value":"1/2 × 3 3/4 inches (1.3 × 9.5 cm)"}}]}