Dealer for outstanding Edo (or older) maedate?

[drl]

I'm grateful to this whole forum for serving as a source of katchu education for so many people, including myself.

 

I've become fascinated with maedate—especially the ones of intricately carved creatures (dragons, shishi lions, octopi, imps, etc.). Can someone please recommend dealers that sell high-quality maedate of this type?

 

Or if you have some outstanding maedate for sale, please let me know.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Bugyotsuji]

Quick rule of thumb. 3-D Maédaté are generally Edo or younger.

[Iekatsu]

Try getting in contact with Kinokuniya, but be aware that the vast majority of Maedate on the market are post Edo and authentic examples can cost as much as a kabuto.

 

http://www.kinokuniya.tv/

[Bugyotsuji]

9 minutes ago, Iekatsu said:

Try getting in contact with Kinokuniya, but be aware that the vast majority of Maedate on the market are post Edo and authentic examples can cost as much as a kabuto.

 

http://www.kinokuniya.tv/

Regarding this, Kinokuniya will generally be aware of the age of a Maedate, as you can see in their catalog(ue)s. Some are so cleverly made though, that it's anyone's guess. With those they will avoid claiming any age or period. You have to remember too that Maedate were liable to getting struck or knocked or caught on things, and breakages were commonplace, meaning that to some degree they were and are considered expendables.

[drl]

Thank you for these helpful replies. It appears the Kinikuniya store is sold out of virtually all items, but I enjoyed reading about many of their sold items. I would appreciate any additional suggestions as well. Many thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Shogun8]

7 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Regarding this, Kinokuniya will generally be aware of the age of a Maedate, as you can see in their catalog(ue)s. Some are so cleverly made though, that it's anyone's guess. With those they will avoid claiming any age or period. You have to remember too that Maedate were liable to getting struck or knocked or caught on things, and breakages were commonplace, meaning that to some degree they were and are considered expendables.

This fragility also contributes to their rarity, since so many did not survive. As both Thomas and Piers have said, good period maedate are like the proverbial hen's teeth. Since they rarely appear, there really is no dealer that would "specialize" in them. Kino is your best bet, but even then, you have to be there when one arrives because it's often immediately sold to one of their regular customers. On each trip to Japan, I scour the dealers (including Kino) and antique shops and manage to score the occasional piece. Good luck in your quest!

[Iekatsu]

12 hours ago, drl said:

It appears the Kinikuniya store is sold out of virtually all items

Unfortunately they don't really keep their website up to date, you will have to get in contact with them to get their latest catalogue. Also if you let them know what you are after they maybe be able to source something.

[drl]

Thank you; I sent them an email inquiry. If it is helpful, here is the Kabuto on which I would like to mount an extraordinary creature maedate (replacing the circular maedate):

 

 

[Gakusee]

Hi, David, I might be mistaken, but did this armour come from Aoi Art? If so, have you asked Tsuruta san? He normally can procure all sorts of replacements…..

[drl]

21 minutes ago, Gakusee said:

Hi, David, I might be mistaken, but did this armour come from Aoi Art? If so, have you asked Tsuruta san? He normally can procure all sorts of replacements…..

You have an amazing visual memory. Yes, and I did already ask Tsuruta-san. They did not have any such maedate but kindly offered to keep an eye open for one.

[Bugyotsuji]

These come up fairly often, so no hurry. I am sure you’ll find something suitable in due course! 

[Marc T]

Hello David,

My personal opinion here, but if the maedate is original to this Kabuto, I would recommend to keep the original design. As Piers mentioned,maedate are expendable items, can be broken, lost, collected etc.

But if original to the helmet, they tells a lot about the Kabuto, or the original owner, it’s crest or it’s clan,etc.

Everything on a armor is designed for a purpose, and not just to look good. Maedate too have a meaning.

Actually, armor with their original maedate are not easy to find , and quite rare.

 

if you really feel the need to put an extraordinary creature maedate on your helmet, you should keep the original one and store it with the helmet mentioning that it was original to the helmet. Later owners will be able to remove the creature to give it back it’s original aspect.

Again, just my opinion. Hope it helps

Have a great day

[drl]

On 5/7/2022 at 9:56 PM, Marc T said:

Hello David,

My personal opinion here, but if the maedate is original to this Kabuto, I would recommend to keep the original design. As Piers mentioned,maedate are expendable items, can be broken, lost, collected etc.

But if original to the helmet, they tells a lot about the Kabuto, or the original owner, it’s crest or it’s clan,etc.

Everything on a armor is designed for a purpose, and not just to look good. Maedate too have a meaning.

Actually, armor with their original maedate are not easy to find , and quite rare.

 

if you really feel the need to put an extraordinary creature maedate on your helmet, you should keep the original one and store it with the helmet mentioning that it was original to the helmet. Later owners will be able to remove the creature to give it back it’s original aspect.

Again, just my opinion. Hope it helps

Have a great day

I fully agree about storing the original even if I find an exceptional creature maedate to study and display on occasion, and I am already documenting everything. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Best,

David

[Marc T]