Strange looking helmet

[estcrh]

This is in Japan...I have never seen anything like this...any ideas?

[IanB]

Eric, Looks like a rather crude attempt to imitate a mixture between a Korean hat and a Chinese helmet. There was a bit of a vogue for this kind of thing during the Edo period when Korean envoys were sent to Japan and marched along the Tokaido to Edo. The plume-tube is a bit of an oddity. I'm unsure about it being Japanese since there appears to be no provision to attach a shikoro. That was normally done to European helmets having a brim by riveting a vertical plate around the base of the bowl on the inside.

Ian Bottomley

[estcrh]

Eric, Looks like a rather crude attempt to imitate a mixture between a Korean hat and a Chinese helmet. There was a bit of a vogue for this kind of thing during the Edo period when Korean envoys were sent to Japan and marched along the Tokaido to Edo. The plume-tube is a bit of an oddity. I'm unsure about it being Japanese since there appears to be no provision to attach a shikoro. That was normally done to European helmets having a brim by riveting a vertical plate around the base of the bowl on the inside.

Ian Bottomley

Ian, thanks..it had that Korean sort of look on top but I could not figure out the rest here is a link to more pics. http://www.japanauctioncenter.com/view2 ... d102584872

[John A Stuart]

On the web-site it only mentions that it is of western taste, no other provenance. If it wasn't for the finials on top which look decidely Korean the bowl itself is reminiscent of the Spanish cabasset. Can we be sure of its' authenticity? John

[estcrh]

On the web-site it only mentions that it is of western taste, no other provenance. If it wasn't for the finials on top which look decidely Korean the bowl itself is reminiscent of the Spanish cabasset. Can we be sure of its' authenticity? John

John, the bottom does have a European sort of look, as for authenticity....hard to tell, here is the sellers evaluation

36 people (44 cases) of "good very good" and praised it.

0 people (0 items) the "neither" has earned a reputation as.

Five (5 cases), "Bad Bad" has a reputation.

not many sales and 5 bad reports out of 36, if it were real it would be a nice find but the fact that no one has bid on it so far is not good.

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Can we be sure of its' authenticity? John

 

Looks like it has welds on the top, that is disaxed.

[Iekatsu]

Not authentic in my opinion.

[John A Stuart]

I just happened to be going through the catalog for the Japan-British Exhibition in London 1910 and saw a helmet similar. Much more decorated with the same type finial, however , it has the plate added to attach the shikoro as Ian mentioned. John

[estcrh]

I just happened to be going through the catalog for the Japan-British Exhibition in London 1910 and saw a helmet similar. Much more decorated with the same type finial, however , it has the plate added to attach the shikoro as Ian mentioned. John

Sold for 62,000 yen.