盔甲 (1) - 日本 江戶時代（1600-1868）

AN EDO PERIOD IRON HALF MASK OF THE SAMURAI

A Japanese hanbo (also called hanpo) of the Edo period (1603-1868) - an iron half face mask from a suit of samurai armour. It protected the chin, cheeks and throat while leaving the nose and mouth free for breathing and giving orders.

EDO PERIOD
This hanbo was made in the Edo period. The evidence:
- Hand-forged iron. The mask plate and all four throat lames are iron (a magnet reacts), hammered to the curve of the face.
- Hand-cut throat lames, each with a scalloped edge embossed to imitate rows of scales (kiritsuke-kozane style).
- Natural urushi lacquer built up in layers. A pale sabi-urushi ground shows where the top coat has chipped.
- Fine age crackle in the vermilion (shu-urushi) interior.
- Individually forged cheek hooks (orikugi).

CRAFTSMANSHIP & TERMINOLOGY
Hanbo: a type of mengu (face armour) covering the chin and cheeks, without a nose piece.
The exterior is finished in a warm amber-brown lacquer (urushi). The inside is lacquered in vermilion red (shu-urushi), a traditional finish for the inner face of armour masks.
Two iron hooks (orikugi) on the cheeks held the helmet cord in place.
A small sweat drainage hole (ase-nagashi-no-ana) sits under the chin.
Below hangs a four-lame throat guard (yodare-kake) with scalloped upper edges, laced in the spaced sukage-odoshi style with dark blue cord.
A cotton tying cord (himo) is attached to the upper cheek edges.

COMPOSITION
- Mask plate and 4 throat lames: iron (magnet reacts)
- Finish: amber-brown lacquer outside, red lacquer inside
- Lacing and tying cord: textile cord

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
Height (incl. throat guard): 17.5 cm
Width: 18 cm
Depth: 8 cm
Weight: 279 g

CONDITION
Used, with age wear. Please judge from the photos.
- Lacquer chips and losses along the upper edges of the cheeks and around the rims, showing the lighter under-layer.
- Scratches and small abrasions over the outer lacquer surface.
- The red interior shows fine age crackle, edge wear and small chips along the border.
- The lacing shows some fuzzing and wear. The throat guard is complete with 4 lames.
- Both cheek hooks are present.
No signature (mei) was found. No certificate or provenance documents are included.

SHIPPING & DUTIES
Carefully packed and shipped from Japan by international express courier with tracking. Import duties, taxes and customs fees in the destination country are paid by the buyer.

We are a licensed dealer of Japanese antiques and vintage items, operating with official permission from the Public Safety Commission. Antique Dealer License No. 543951800700