Kabuto - Saotome Iechika with Ressei Menpo

Helmet Suji bachi kabuto signed "Joshu ju Saotome Iechika" 常州早乙女家親

The bowl of the sixty-four plate helmet is made with great precision from excellent iron with a great patina, and is in the "suji bachi" style, i.e. without visible connecting rivets and with lines of bent hem of overlapping plates, all of which are very significant features of the Saotome school.

The uniqueness and grandeur of the helmet are evidenced by details such as the multi-part  tehen kanamono  ventilation hole fitting combining shakudō alloy with gilded copper. The lowest and largest base of the fitting is decorated with the motif of "Chinese grasses" karakusa on a base stamped with the "fish roe" nanako pattern and on the edges is pierced in five places in a negative silhouette with the "wild boar's eye" inome sukashi pattern.

The hot-gilded sleeve for the maedate forehead jewel in the form of sankosho (a thunderbolt symbolizing the diamond essence of dharma) and the flat corners of the kuwagata, engraved with the motif of chrysanthemum kiku, are similarly precisely chiseled.

The fukigaeshi are covered with printed egawa deerskin and their edges are decorated with fukurin fitting. They feature the kamon family emblem in the form of a "Fallen Peony" ochibotan 落落牡丹, used by the Ikena, Konoe, Takatsukasa, Asonuma and other families.

In the inner part of bowl, ukebari lining opening hole show a clear signature . The luxurious appearance  is also enhanced by the gilding with gold lacquer (kinpun nuri) of the six-piece shikoro nape protection, laced with dark blue sukage-style lacing and with red decorative mimi ito lacing on the last, outermost lamella.

The kabutó no ó, the chinstrap cord, is also of the same color.

The helmet represents the best of the famous Saotome school of armor makers, one of the most prominent schools of the Edo period, in terms of quality of workmanship, stylistic purity and beauty.

Menpo armor face mask in the style of me no shita bo, Edo period (1603 - 1868)

A high-quality mask in the style of sabiji is made of iron with a artificially cultivated, beautiful patina. The stylization of the expression is "ressei bo" - an angry grimace with bared teeth and shiva wrinkles, with a mustache made of badger hair.

The back of the mask is varnished in the usual way with red natural urushi varnish.

The realization of the neck protection tare (yodarekake) is solved in a very interesting and unusual way.

The first two lines of kiritsuke sane are gilded, but the third, the lowest one due to the mask, is completely different - it is divided into three separate streams like the kusazuri , ending with pointed lobes. Their contrasting kuronuri black color features a very high-quality makie decoration - in the middle one is  a family crest in the form of a "flower diamond" hanabishi , used, for example, by the Takeda family. On the side lamellas, an lacquer imitation of silver  fukurin fittings is decorated with a gold karakusa ,,chinese grass" pattern . The back of the tare is whole gilded . The sukage-style lacing is made with red-orange odoshi ito, while the mimi ito decorative lace is situated vertically, on the edge of the last line of lamellas.

Stand is not included.