The Charlier and Cortina Collection of Exotic Samurai Helmets and Armour

A Naruto-nari kabuto [wave-shaped helmet] and mempo [face mask] | Edo period, 18th century

VAT reduced rateUK: Greenford Park Warehouse

Lot Closed

September 28, 01:06 PM GMT

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

The Charlier and Cortina Collection of Exotic Samurai Helmets and Armour

A Naruto-nari kabuto [wave-shaped helmet] and mempo [face mask]

Edo period, 18^th century

the simulated russet iron (sabiji-nuri) bowl with lacquer wave-shaped (Naruto-nari) form to the apex, plain sabiji-nuri peak with hammered brow, small black lacquer turnbacks, the neck guard with spaced lacing (sugake odoshi) in dark blue braid, gilt forecrest (maedate) in the shape of two ferns, sabji-nuri face mask with fierce expression (ressei mempo), wrinkled face and open mouth, detachable nose-plate, wild boar moustache, silver lacquer teeth, red lacquer interior, three-tiered throat protector with close-spaced lacing (kebiki odoshi) in matching braid, accompanied with a plain wood stand as illustrated

The helmet when mounted on a stand: 54.5 cm., 21½ in. high (including fittings)

The form of this unusually shaped helmet represents a rolling wave, with its stylised crest coiling in the violent motion caused by the vortex of a whirlpool in the Naruto strait. Formed in black lacquer, the shape draws the poetic imagination to the tempestuous waters situated between the provinces of Awa and Awaji infamous for its large whirlpools.

For a different example of a Naruto kawari kabuto, see L. John Anderson et al., Art of Armor: Samurai Armor From The Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection, (Connecticut, 2011), no. 13, pg. 144-45.

For another seventeenth century example, see Jean-Christophe Charbonnier et al., Daimyo: Seigneurs de la guerre au Japon, (Paris, 2018), no. 40, pg. 90.