A DAIENZAN SUJIBACHI KABUTO

Details

A DAIENZAN SUJIBACHI KABUTO
Helmet bowl, with lacquer attributuion Sandai-me (the third) Muneyuki saku, Nambokucho period (circa 1380), the mounts late 18th Century

A thirty-two plate russet iron deep suji-bachi with plate, the hibiki no ana and shiten no byo set low down, inside the hachi gold lacquered, lavishly mounted in copper gilt, the tehen kanamono of five stages, the lower stage pierced with chrysanthemums, shinodare to the front of the bowl with two han-shinodare on either side and to the back, each side of the kosho-no-kan, the leather covered mabizashi with fine quality pierced and engraved kuwagata-dai decorated with chrysanthemums and the mizusawa omodaka mon of the Mizuno daimyo family of Yamagata in Dewa, large o-manjyu shikoro of leather hon kozane black lacquered and laced with two horizontal bands of white and two of blue kebiki odoshi, the hishinui-no-ita with three pierced kanamono and the lame above with one to the front edges whilst the two upper lame turn back to form fukigaeshi partly leather covered and secured by kiku-no-byo and with the mon on a pierced kanamono

Provenance

William Tilley
John Harding

Lot Essay

The bowl shows typical signs of age and of having been mounted previously probably with fukurin to the suji and igaki, the lower edges of a number of teh plates exhibit traces of the original holes for the igaki, now filled. It is probable that the original koshimaki has been replaced but it is impossible to be certain without removing the lining.

This helmet was purchased from a theatrical "prop shop" in 1949 during William Henry Tilley's employment at the British Broadcasting Corporation, in Shepherds Bush, for the princely sum of ten shillings.

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