Armor (Gusoku)

Helmet signed by Saotome Ietada Japanese

Not on view

This armor reflects several waves of Western influence in Japan. The helmet, modeled on a late sixteenth-century Dutch cabasset, is by the Japanese armorer Saotome Ietada, whose signature is found inside the bowl. The cuirass appears to be of early nineteenth-century European manufacture. These older elements, completed by more modern ones, were decorated with Buddhist divinities and literary figures by a Japanese craftsman using etching, which is a Western process. The helmet bears the badge of the Arima family, daimyo (lords) of Kurume.

Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Helmet signed by Saotome Ietada (Japanese, Edo period, active early–mid-19th century), Iron, silk, copper, gold, Japanese and European

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Three-quarter right view of helmet

Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Helmet signed by Saotome Ietada (Japanese, Edo period, active early–mid-19th century), Iron, silk, copper, gold, Japanese and European
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Helmet signed by Saotome Ietada (Japanese, Edo period, active early–mid-19th century), Iron, silk, copper, gold, Japanese and European

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