A Tsuba (Cup Sword) Nanban Art, iron pierced decoration en relief "Portuguese Carrack* with Christian Cross" nippo-portuguese 16th/17th C. Momoyama period (1573-1615) signs of use Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 7 cm Notes: * The Black Ships (Kurofune in Japanese, Edo Period term) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th/19th centuries. In 1543 the Portuguese established the first trade route linking Goa to Nagasaki. The large Carracks/Black Ships engaged in this trade had the hull painted black with pitch, and the term came to represent all western vessels.