Token of GB at the Royal Armouries Museum Leeds

[paulb]

Dear All
On Saturday 6th April the Token of GB held a second study day at the Royal Armouries museum. The day was devided in to two sections in the morning following a brief introduction to the day, Ian Bottomley gave a presentation about Armours given as diplomatic gifts to various nobility within Europe and traced their history after arriving. The presentation was the accumulation of many years of research by Ian  and offered a fascinating insight in to the political map of the times.
The second part of the day was focussed on hands on study of swords from the Deryk Ingham collection and viewing the collection of arms and armour within the Japanese gallery. In all we viewed 16 swords some of which had been taken off display for our benefit. It provided us with a rare opportunity to view some very special blades in hand.
It also offered a great illustration of collecting in the second half of the 20th century. No internet, Facebook or Instagram (My god how did they survive!!!) Amongst the swords were some personal favourites including a Juyo nagamaki naoshi attributed to Unji (Ex A.Z Freeman collection "Ishigiri" ), A TH katana attributed to Naotsuna and an O-suriage wakazashi attributed to both Bungo Takeda and Osafune (whoever made it it is a stunningly beautiful sword)
As always the museum team looked after us very well and went to great length to ensure we gained maximum benefit from the day.
For those unfamiliar with the museum it holds perhaps one of the most comprehensive collections of arms and armour in Europe, if not the world. It is a purpose built museum built in the 1990s to house the collection the majority of which had previously been in storage at the tower of London. If you have the opportunity to visit you will not be disappointed.

Some images attached to give a flavour of the day

 

 

 

[Shugyosha]

Hi Paul,

 

Thanks for organising the visit - a grand day out.

[DaveT]

I'll second that, great day. Many thanks.

[lonely panet]

silly question.

why the latex gloves, over kill?? or did you guys eat oranges with oysters with salt

[Shugyosha]

They were provided by the Royal Armouries Museum to protect the swords from our sweaty mitts. There was some debate over whether they were better than the traditional cotton ones, but I'd forgotten mine and I quite like rubber so I went along with it.

[Gakusee]

Cotton soils easily and rust can be transferred onto other items, once nakago has been touched with cottons gloves on. How many people religiously launder their cotton gloves after EACH sword viewing?

The friction is also better managed with latex and as they are disposable and non-organic, one can argue cross rust contamination is minimised. I have often seen people touch blades with cotton gloves believing the blades are protected and there is no need for fukusa. In fact, sweat permeates and penetrates via the cotton.

Downside of course is the environmental impact (((

 

But digressing......

 

Paul and Ian - well done for organising such an amazing day. Hopefully the members appreciate the effort that goes in it, not least removing items from storage or display and sharing them with random visitors, this placing trust in those visitors they would take proper care. And of course, the talks and presentations, ushering people around, etc.

 

 

John - nothing wrong with little rubber from time to time....we are all human after all

[IanB]

I agree about the use of latex gloves fro handling blades, but I always feel it is better to handle koshirae and especially the bindings in cotton.I noticed that since I have left, a couple of swords now have broken bindings which were intact. I suspect that it is because the latex 'grips' the silk and puts too much strain on  it.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

Many thanks for the report. More than a twinge of jealousy. Now I know why Ian has been a bit quiet lately. Takes quite a lot to keep a good man down. 

 

Regarding nakago handling.

 

Here in Japan there seem to be different policies depending on the area and authority. In our area we are blessed with a philosophy that says handling with bare hands is good for the Nakago black. Last month forty of our members took turns handling and appreciating 10 swords, including Kokuho from Hayashibara Museum of Art's collection.. Naturally there is not a spec of red rust anywhere as every blade has been checked in advance, and they clean them meticulously before returning them to their shirasaya.

 

In Tokyo at the big National NBTHK however some years ago, I remember they had us wearing cotton face masks and cotton gloves.

[Gakusee]

Yes, a topic of hot debate and different preferences. Sometimes (often actually) people talk over swords and if you have a mask on that prefers saliva reaching the blade.

Bare hands on tang is great but then if you want to (and do) handle tsuba and koshirae afterwards, it becomes a bit problematic.

Sometimes also one needs to be careful about shumei, kinzogan and kinpun mei - handling with bare hands is also ill advised there.

 

Any closeups of the actual blades from those who were there?

 

Would be great to see some of the better blades and koshirae.

[paulb]

unfortunately we dont have any better images of the blades. While the light was ok for viewing it didnt lend itself for detailed images of the swords on the tables. 

Regarding handling I admit to being in the old school on this (and talking blades only) and go with Piers on the bare hand approach. I think silicon can be dangerous and slippy and cotton lulls people in to a false sence of security. I have seen some touching blade with grubby cotton gloves believing they were being careful.

[Hoshi]

The spittle and occasional hand oils is never going to be completely avoidable, especially with older gentlemen where fine manipulation can be a challenge and beginners who are still learning. No amount of gloves and mask is going to supplant the need to take good care of the blades after the show (cleaning with isopropyl alchohol and re-oiled with good quality choji oil). If anything overkill measures can give the impression of false safety and lead to poor post-show cleaning... 

 

Shumei and other delicate inscriptions should stay covered with cellophane wrap for protection. Shirasaya should be specifically designed with play at the handle area to avoid friction with the lacquer. A lot of the older ones are completely unreadable now because of poor stewardship, it's a real pity. 

[Jussi Ekholm]

Seems like it was a splendid event.

 

Regarding the etiquette I've always thought like the old phrase "When in Rome do as the Roman's do". Adapting to various things is a good thing and you can pick up bits from here and there. Keeping an open mind is a good thing.

 

I must say even though I'm a nurse and have used various types of gloves at different places I've never thought of using them when handling swords. I must say I like that idea a lot compared to cotton gloves. Well the actual enviromental impact of a sword group using gloves like these is miniscule, so many get disposed daily in hospitals, elder care homes, etc. daily.

[IanB]

Jussi,  Being the National Museum of Arms and Armour it is a strict rule that nothing in the collection is handled with the bare hands. While I was a curator I used cotton out of preference. Long before to the collection became a museum it had been the responsibility of the army for centuries and you can guess the treatment many of the objects were subjected too. Nothing will bring them back to their original state, but there is no excuse to make them even worse.

Ian Bottomley  

[lonely panet]

I really only like latex in the bedroom boom boom. "Hahagaha"

 

From my experience, living on Australia and once working in the prison system.

 

The one thing this type of gloves do is make your hands sweet, sweet, sweet.

 

But Like jessi said, "when in Rome". But a good range of rotating cotton gloves is my pref.

[Jean]

Points of view are different whether you are in Europe or in Japan. In Japan, handling swords with gloves is frown at. Their imperatives are not the same that in Western countries, above all in museum. I just wonder if Japanese museum employees use gloves to handle swords.

[Luc T]

I agree 100% with Ian. Even armor should be handeled with gloves. It is a matter of respect and conservation

[DaveT]

Irony at its best