Momoyama-Early Edo Period (16-17th c.)/Iron, silk, wood
34.0 x 34.0 x 16.0 cm
SUMMARY
This is a representative example of a sixty-two plate riveted suji-kabuto helmet. The shikoro, the fabric lacing hung along the bottom of the helmet, has a gold lacquered base and is an arrangement of five layers of rectangle plates with slits covered in a dark reddish purple thread. As for the decorative ornaments on the sides of the helmet, they are wood with gold foil, carved into the shape of an antler’s horns. The family crest of six one-mon coins on the folded frontal part suggests that this helmet was handed down in the family of Sanada, the lord of Matsushiro castle in Shinshu (now Nagano Prefecture).
ARTIST
Signed Saotome Iechika
Saotome Iechika is one of the armorers of the Saotome family who was active from the Momoyama era into the beginning of the Edo era. His style is serene, and the kabuto helmets he left are notable for having relatively flat tops, egg-shaped bottoms and deep crowns, made with well-tempered iron.
List of artworks by the same artist
INFORMATION

Thursday, August 24 - Sunday, November 19, 2006
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection The Oscar Niemeyer Museum (Curitiba, Brazil)
Wednesday, November 3 - Sunday, November 28, 2004
Treasures of Japanese Art Exhibition Kagawa History Museum (Kagawa, Japan)
Tuesday, July 2 - Sunday, August 11, 1996
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection National Museum of Decorative Art (Havana, Cuba)
Friday, February 10 - Sunday, April 16, 1995
Treasures of Japanese Art: Edo Period 1615-1868 La Pedrera / The House Mila (Barcelona, Spain)
Friday, September 23 - Sunday, January 22, 1995
Treasures of Japanese Art: Edo Period 1615-1868 Juan March Foundation (Madrid, Spain)
Saturday, May 28 - Monday, July 18, 1994
Treasures of Japanese Art: The World of the Samurai Medici Museum, Medici-Riccardi Palace (Florence, Italy)
Sunday, January 26 - Sunday, March 22, 1992
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection Kunstlerhaus (Vienna, Austria)
Saturday, August 10 - Sunday, October 20, 1991
Behind Golden Screens: Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection – An Official Event of Japan Festival ’91 and the Edinburgh Festival National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh, UK)
Wednesday, September 26 - Sunday, December 9, 1990
Treasures of Japanese Art National Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Stockholm, Sweden)
Thursday, February 22 - Sunday, April 1, 1990
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection Sao Paulo Art Museum (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Monday, May 29 - Sunday, July 23, 1989
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection Taplow Court Oriental Gallery (Taplow Court, UK)
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