A PURPLE LACED DAIMYO YOROI (ARMOR)

Edo period (17th - 18th century)

Details

A PURPLE LACED DAIMYO YOROI (ARMOR)
Edo period (17th - 18th century)
The armor comprising:
Helmet [kabuto]: The iron ridged helmet with the hachimanza (decorative fixture at the central aperture) of five tiers, to front of the bowl three silver shinodare (arrow-shaped decorative components placed between the plates) with gold edging, sets of two shinodare to rear, left, right , and the four quarter positions, the suji are clad with black shakudo fukurin (edging) chased with scrolling, russet iron plates divide other plates which are clad in shakudo like the suji, to the rear an agemakji-no-kan (iron ring to hold a decorative bow), wide mabisashi (brim) clad with stenciled leather shishi-mo (lion and seaweed) design
Neck guard [shikoro]: The four-tier neck guard of shittsuke-zane (plate in semblance of individual lamellae), the lower tier with five gilt Gion Mamori (amulet of Yasaka shrine in Kyoto) mon, the fukigaeshi (turnbacks) with fukurin, green leather surrounding the main shishi-mo section which has shakudo agehacho (Standing butterfly) mon in roundels, kuwagata -dai (fixture for two gilt horns) of shakudo pierced and roundly carved with leafy chrysanthemums and support for the maedate (fore-crest) of a dragon of shakudo with gilt details
Face mask [menpo]: russet iron with white bushy moustache and detachable nose, yodare-kake (bib) of four tiers of shittsuke-zane, with pierced shakodo fittings and two butterfly mon, a separate nodowa (neck guard) of two tiers and two loosely attached side pieces, with two gilt Gion Mamori mon
Cuirass [do]: The haramaki -do (cuirass) of shittsuke-zane, the munaita (breast portion) and waki-ita (under-arm portions), and tate-age (upper rear portion) of stenciled leather with fukurin, seven tasset kusazuri (skirt), matching sei-ita (cover for the vertical joint in the center of the back), matching breast pendant of leather-clad plate
Sleeves and shoulder guards [kote and sode]: The hyotan-gote (sleeves) with butterfly mon on the hand covers and Gion Mamori mon on an upper plate of each, O-sode (large shoulder guards) matching the cuirass with Gion Mamori mon
Thigh protector and lower leg guards [haidate and sune-ate]: The thigh guards of chain with shakudo butterfly and Gion Mamori mon, shino sune-ate (lower leg guards) of black lacquered iron splints with gold lacquered scrolling

Provenance

Inshu Ikeda Family, Tottori Prefecture

Literature

Tokyo Bijutsu Club, Inshu Ikeda Koshaku ke gozohin nyusatsu (Catalogue of the collection of Marquis Ikeda Family) (Tokyo: Tokyo Bijutsu Club, 1919), no. 177.

Exhibited

Tokyo Bijutsu Club, "Inshu Ikeda Koshaku ke gozohin nyusatsu" (Auction preview of the collection of Marquis Ikeda Family), 1919.5.31-6.1.

Lot Essay

The Ikeda family, who claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji in the Heian period, flourished under the Tokugawas from the time that Terumasa (1565 - 1613) sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. His son Toshikata received the fief of Bizen province (Okayama) , and the clan held both Bizen (Okayama prefecture) and Inaba - or Inshu - (Tottori Prefecture) throughout the Edo period. The armor is Illustrated as Number 177 in the sale of the Inshu province Ikeda Collection in 1919 at the Tokyo Bijutsu Club.

More from An Inquiring Mind: American Collecting of Japanese & Korean Art

View All