Armor with exotic helmet and vertical plate russet-iron "bucket-shape" cuirass

EDO PERIOD (17TH - 18TH CENTURY)

Details

Armor with exotic helmet and vertical plate russet-iron "bucket-shape" cuirass
Edo period (17th - 18th century)
The armor comprising:

Helmet [kabuto]:
black-lacquered iron plate exotic helmet (kawari kabuto) bowl of 'cloth cap' (zukin) form with embossed eyebrows, gold-lacquered central sun-disc, the riveted brim clad with dyed leather and with silver edging, four-tiered neck-guard of lacquered leather plates of regular cusped profile, the lower tier fringed with deerskin fur and with applied shibuichi badge to rear the two turned-back front portions clad with dyed leather matching the brim with similar edging, each with an applied silver family badge of paulownia and split arrow flights

Face Mask [menpo]:
russet-iron lower face mask (hanbo) with throat protector of four tiers matching the neck guard with lacquered leather sheets with deerskin on the lower and applied silver family badge

Cuirass [do]:
two-piece hinged cuirass of riveted vertical russet-iron plates, the surface splashed with silver, the upper breast portion and underarm sections clad with dyed leather and with silver edging, the shoulder straps with lateral guards of two tiers matching the shikoro and with silver wisteria badges in roundels, two leaf-shaped shoulder strap covers with matching dyed leather and silver edging and with paulownia badges, skirt in two parts of four and three sections each with five tiers of purple and red loosely-laced black-lacquered leather plate with lower tiers clad with silver wisteria badges

Sleeves and shoulder guards [kote and sode]:
Shoulder guards of variegated lacing matching the neck guard, the upper vertical plate clad with dyed leather and with gilt-metal fitting, sleeves of hinged fluted russet-iron sheet and shaped hand covers with wisteria badges in silver roundels, all chain-linked and sewn onto textiles

Thigh and lower leg guards [haidate and suneate]:
Thigh guard of black-lacquered rectangular scales closely laced with red braid with on a textile base with dyed-leather reinforcing and silk with floral motifs embroidered in gold: lower-legs guards of leg-shaped hinged russet-iron plates, the rising mustard-color knee sections with brigandine-type iron hexagonal inserts

Accessories:
Black-lacquered bracket for a personal banner: various cords and ties: a pair of straw sandals: two silk under-jackets and one pair of silk under-pants: a black-lacquered iron forehead and cheeks protection, folding iron half helmet (tatami-kabuto) with gilt wisteria and split arrow flights badge: armor box with leather cover and gilt paulownia and arrow flight badge.

Lot Essay

This elegant yet serviceable armor has fully matching components with the sturdy iron cuirass inherited from sixteenth-century bullet-proof wear, and close-iron plate arm and leg protection. The cuirass derives from European examples brought to Japan during the sixteenth century, and is of the type made during the Momoyama and early Edo periods by armorers such as the Unkai school (cf. armor with cuirass signed Unkai Mitsunao, British Museum Collection OA+13545, also of iron splashed with silver - Japanese Art: Masterpieces in the British Museum, Lawrence Smith, Victor Harris, and Tim Clark (London: British Museum Press, 1990). The intact silk lining to the helmet defies attempts to define the method of manufacture, yet it is most likely of the so-called 'zu-nari' ( head-shaped) form composed of a small number of riveted plates, and fashionable during the last decades of the sixteenth-century civil wars. It is most rare for such a perfect armor to be accompanied by accessories such as the folding half-helmet which bears the same arrow flight with paulownia badge, and such fine quality under-garments.

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