A nimai-do gusoku [armour] with a rare kazaori eboshi kabuto [helmet in the form of a wind-swept court cap] | Edo period, 17th century

VAT reduced rateUK: Greenford Park Warehouse

Lot Closed

November 2, 02:22 PM GMT

Estimate

40,000 - 60,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from an American Collector

A nimai-do gusoku [armour] with a rare kazaori eboshi kabuto [helmet in the form of a wind-swept court cap]

Edo period, 17^th century

the fine kazaori eboshi kabuto with a chink to the bowl naturalistically rendered, decorated overall in gold lacquer, the small fukigaeshi [turnbacks] with applied mon [crests], the shikoro [neck guard] of four tiers with kebiki odoshi [close-spaced lacing] in light green braid, the russet iron mempo with facial features hammered and chased, detachable nose plate, the mouth agape with broad yak bristle moustache, gilded teeth, three-tier yodaregake [throat protector], the iron do [cuirass] in honkozane [true lamellae], with six-tier honkozane sode [shoulder guards], loosely spaced chainmail kote [sleeves], the tekko [gauntlets] applied with copper-gilt chrysanthemum over swirling waters, seven tassets of five-tiered kusazuri [skirt], the lining of the underskirt decorated in red, purple, white and gold brocade with stylised flowerheads geometrically arranged, shino suneate [shin guards], with an armour storage box

Please note that the wood armour display stand is not included in this lot. An armour stand can be ordered from the department.

The basis for the helmet on this armour is the eboshi, or court cap, the common headwear for the Japanese adult man up until the middle of the fifteenth century. Translating literally as a 'crow cap', the hat was often made of either black lacquered paper or textile, reminiscent of the birds dark plumage. Later changes in hairstyle and fashion delegated the cap out of general use, becoming worn only occasionally for ceremonial purposes. Helmets harking back to this once indispensable headpiece are recorded to have been worn by noted military commanders during the Warring States period (Sengoku jidai), including Maeda Toshiie (ca. 1538-1599) and Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611). Such helmets were often constructed much larger than the traditional eboshi and many were exuberantly covered in gold or silver leaf as in the current example, matching the flamboyant tastes and fashions of some samurai during this time. The wind-folded eboshi was so called because they were susceptible to being bent by the wind. Consequently the top was sometimes deliberately folded over and lightly lacquered, preempting the disruption to the intended look of the courtly cap.

For a further example of a kazaori eboshi kabuto dated between the 17^th - 18^th century, see Morihiro Ogawa, Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868, (New York, 2009), no.45, pg. 111.

For a similar example of a 17^th century nimai-do gusoku, see L. John Anderson, Art of Armor: Samurai Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection, (New Haven, 2011), p. 232-233.