Philip Hafferty
Specialist
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Lot 40
A FINE BLACK-LACQUER SUIT OF ARMOR WITH A BAMEN KABUTO Edo period (1615-1868), 17th/18th century
26 October 2022, 10:00 EDT
New YorkUS$45,000 - US$55,000
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Jeff Olson
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A FINE BLACK-LACQUER SUIT OF ARMOR WITH A BAMEN KABUTO
Edo period (1615-1868), 17th/18th century
Laced in green and comprising a 70-plate suji kabuto with high sides and swelling at the rear of the crown, a profile distinctive to smiths of the Bamen group, the depression on the top of the crown with five-stage gilt-metal and copper chrysanthemum-form tehen kanamono, the bowl fitted with a five-lame shikoro and the fukigaeshi decorated with heraldic crests in gold hiramaki-e, the helmet adorned with a gold-lacquered leather fan-shaped maedate inscribed Matsubara Johei, the interior of the helmet at the base of the pates, along the koshimaki Echizen Toyoharu no jū Bamen Tomonori saku; the ressei menpō with a bulbus nose and deep wrinkles on the cheeks, fitted with a four-lame yodarekake; the nimai okegawa dō decorated along the munaita with heraldic crests in gold hiramaki-e, the cuirass fitted with seven sections of five-lame kusazuri, the bottom lame laced in orange; chūsode decorated with additional heraldic crests on the lowest lame; the odagote with gourd-shaped plates on the upper arms and forearms, and with chrysanthemum-shaped plates at the elbows; Iyo haidate of lacquered leather; shino suneate and kōgake; with a large two-piece gold lacquer circular ushirodate; with sashimono bearing the same heraldic crest, numerous armor storage bags, each inscribed with the name Matsubara Johei; with two armor storage boxes; no armor stand
Laced in green and comprising a 70-plate suji kabuto with high sides and swelling at the rear of the crown, a profile distinctive to smiths of the Bamen group, the depression on the top of the crown with five-stage gilt-metal and copper chrysanthemum-form tehen kanamono, the bowl fitted with a five-lame shikoro and the fukigaeshi decorated with heraldic crests in gold hiramaki-e, the helmet adorned with a gold-lacquered leather fan-shaped maedate inscribed Matsubara Johei, the interior of the helmet at the base of the pates, along the koshimaki Echizen Toyoharu no jū Bamen Tomonori saku; the ressei menpō with a bulbus nose and deep wrinkles on the cheeks, fitted with a four-lame yodarekake; the nimai okegawa dō decorated along the munaita with heraldic crests in gold hiramaki-e, the cuirass fitted with seven sections of five-lame kusazuri, the bottom lame laced in orange; chūsode decorated with additional heraldic crests on the lowest lame; the odagote with gourd-shaped plates on the upper arms and forearms, and with chrysanthemum-shaped plates at the elbows; Iyo haidate of lacquered leather; shino suneate and kōgake; with a large two-piece gold lacquer circular ushirodate; with sashimono bearing the same heraldic crest, numerous armor storage bags, each inscribed with the name Matsubara Johei; with two armor storage boxes; no armor stand
Footnotes
The Bamen group of armor smiths worked in Echizen Province. Little biographical information has survived regarding individual smiths in the group, and their collective output is limited to fewer than 50 helmets (there are only eight known works by Tomonori). The Bamen were known for producing helmets of high quality with unique characteristics such as the so-called tenokokuzan crown (a saddle-like depression at the top of the bowl) and for the progressively diminishing size of standing rivets as they approach the crown on their hoshi kabuto. They would also sometimes leave a four-lobed space around the tehen free of rivets, often in the shape of a fan.