Joseon Dynasty (17th - 18th century)

Details

A gold and silver inlaid iron helmet
Joseon Dynasty (17th - 18th century)
The round iron bowl of truncated cusp section with a cylindrical apex, the cylindrical section with silver-inlaid dragons in roundels, the horizontal brim fixed with four rivets, with gilt edge and gilt inlaid dragons, the bowl with four-clawed dragons, clouds, the sun, and auspicious symbols, and sanskrit characters in gold and silver inlay, with stylized sea waves in silver inlay around the lower edge, the front edge under the brim also with inlaid dragons and with cutaway sections to facilitate vision, the Japanese neck guard of five tiers of lacquered iron plates, the turnbacks clad in crinkled leather with gilt barleycorn twist edging with applied copper alloy crest of triple oak leaves and tendrils in roundels.

Provenance

Private collection, Japan

Lot Essay

A helmet bowl with the same inlaid decoration (fig.1) in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London was originally acquired from Japan and had been at one time fitted with a neck guard like the present helmet. A number of similar helmets and earlier Chinese helmets of the 15th and 16th century which closely resemble the present piece are also known, providing evidence of the close cooperation between the Ming dynasty Chinese armors and those of Joseon Dynasty Korea. There were many envoys from Korea to Japan during the Edo period, twelve starting from 1607 until 1763, and an unknown number after that. The possibility is that fine helmets such as this would have been brought by such envoys as gifts to their Japanese hosts.

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