Helmet in the form of a Sea Conch Shell
Artist
Nagasone Tojiro Mitsumasa
(Japanese, 17th century)
Date1618
Mediumiron with traces of lacquer, textiles
Dimensions22.9 × 30.5 × 26.7 cm (9 × 12 × 10 1/2 in.), 3 lb,13 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.89.1
DescriptionMade of 2 tiers of 12 plates each, surmounted by a cap of a single embossed plate, scribed on the outside to continue the seam lines of the lower plates. Each spike is constructed of 2 plates, a shaped outer plate forming the spike riveted to a structural inner plate. Some brazed repairs. Visor constructed of 2 plates, the flat underplate lapping over the edge of the embossed upper plate. There are remains of black lacquer under the visor.
Multiple sets of shikoro holes indicate that the hachi was remounted several times during its life.
Label TextLate sixteenth-century warlords and powerful generals wore flamboyant “extraordinary helmets” (kawari-kabuto) to distinguish themselves amidst uniformly armored footmen and brilliantly attired samurai. This masterpiece of metalwork must have belonged to one of the most important men in Japan at the time of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was so greatly admired that several derivative copies were made during the 1600s. The helmet is sculpted like a sea-conch shell with a brim textured like ray-skin. The conch-shell is a symbol of worldly and religious authority. It was sounded by generals to marshal troops. It was also a symbol of Buddha’s voice and the preaching of Buddhist Law.ProvenancePurchased at Parke-Bernet Galleries, sale no. 1293, 980 Madison Ave, NYC, Dec. 6 1951. From the Edward Hubbard Litchfield Collection. Collection of Bunkio Matsuki, NYC, 1906. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
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