A Suit of Armor with a Nio Do

EDO PERIOD (18TH CENTURY)

Details

A Suit of Armor with a Nio Do
Edo period (18th century)
The nio do or abara do ("rib-bone cuirass") laced entirely in blue, green, orange, purple and white, the do, mabi-sashi and face mask all lacquered "flesh-color" and the remaining components lacquered gold, the suit comprising; a uege kabuto, a simple three-plate iron helmet applied over the entire bowl with boar's fur with a tall peak embossed with eyebrows, the helmet fitted with a five-lame neck guard terminating in small fuki-gaeshi, the front of the helmet mounted with a Buddhist ken and gold-lacquer demon mae-date; the face-mask forged with deep wrinkles and a hinged nose piece and applied with boar-bristle moustache and chin tuft, the teeth lacquered silver, the mask fitted with a four-lame throat guard; the ni-mai Hotoke do made of two iron sheets worked to resemble the naked torso of an emaciated man, the top edge of the muna-ita and waki-ita finished in fukurin and the toggles of the straps carved with scrolling vines, the lower section of the cuirass with rows of kozane, fitted with seven sections of five-lame tassets; chu-sode, shino-gote, kawara-haidate and shino-suneate; flag mount on the rear of the curiass; one storage box, no armor stand

Provenance

Nakamura Kensaku, Kanagawa

Exhibited

Tomo History Museum, Ota City, "Igyo no yosooi" (Strange costume), 2002.4.27--6.9

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Tomo History Museum, ed., Igyo no yosooi (Strange costume), exh. cat., (Ota City: Tomo History Museum, 2002), pl. 3.

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