Armor (Gusoku) for a Mounted Samurai with Accessories
This armor was intended for a high-ranking officer in the service of the Mōri family, daimyo (lords) of Chōshū, whose badge is incorporated into the armor’s gilt metal fittings. The figure wears a tachi (slung sword); its scabbard is covered with leopard skin, a fashion that looks back to the fourteenth century. The horse is mounted with a lacquered saddle and silver-inlaid stirrups, an iron bit signed by Myōchin Sadahisa, and a rare set of ceremonial braids that covers the horse’s flanks.
Artwork Details
- Title: Armor (Gusoku) for a Mounted Samurai with Accessories
- Date: 18th–19th century
- Culture: Japanese
- Medium: Iron, lacquer, silk, copper, gold, steel
- Classification: Armor for Man
- Credit Line: man’s armor: Gift of Dr. George M. Lefferts, 1910; horse trappings: Gift of Bashford Dean, 1914; helmet crest, foot defenses, horse bit, saddle, and sword: Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935; scabbard cover: Gift of Harald de Raasloff, 1915; dagger: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
- Object Number: 10.187.10; 14.100.544; 36.25.460...
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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