Armor (Gusoku)

Armorer Helmet signed by Saotome Ietada Japanese

early–mid-19th century

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.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer: Helmet signed by Saotome Ietada (Japanese, Edo period, active early–mid-19th century)
Date: early–mid-19th century
Culture: Japanese and European
Medium: Iron, silk, copper, gold
Dimensions: lining: L. 12 in. (30.5 cm); W. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); Wt. 0.8 oz. (21 g); trousers (r): H. 24 in. (61 cm); W. 23 in. (58.4 cm); Wt. 11.7 oz. (332 g)
Classification: Armor for Man
Credit Line: Gift of Edith McCagg, in memory of her husband, Louis B. McCagg, 1929
Object Number: 29.178
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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Armor (Gusoku)

Saotome Ietada

ca. 1650

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