But what are we looking at?
a two plate nanban kabuto, with kirigane.
the style refers to what the Nagasone made.
there is a similar one in the Wakayama Saika exhibition catalogue, described as maybe Saiga, but further than the kirigane, I see no link.
later not matching kuwagata dai, (maybe new?)
Early edo, probably.
nice and interesting kabuto, C- condition.
Hi Henrik, inform yourself very carefully before you start. Relacing is not as easy as it looks, working with urushi neither. Use real an genuine materials, if you do this good, you will learn a lot.
Hello Anthony,
you have an edo kabuto here, made in the style of East Japan, Tohoku.
this because the flat top, and de curved plates.
the lacquer, mabezashi and tsunamoto however, point in the direction of west Japan, Yamato.
this is probably a east and west fusion kabuto, as we find often during the edo period.
I was there on Saturday. it was good to be back after 3 years. you meet so many friends that it is impossible to speak to everyone. this community has a lot of interesting people, and everyone knows nmb. Thanks Brian!
I prefer to use the therm ‘iron’ when it comes to the material used for kabuto, simply because ‘steel’ is less practical to hammer in a certain shape.
but this is a very subjective approach after all.
one remark: it is extremely difficult to judge items on a picture only. Buying on a picture is always a risk.
Look at this example. maybe it is good, it is certainly at least a possible copy, but is it a genuine Unkai kabuto?
Why is this dealer selling such a pristine item using such poor pictures?
If it is good (what I doubt), he lost a lot of money by not using top pictures.
If it is a recent work, he won a lot.
Alex, the armor world is fascinating. But as every other valuable collectible, you have to inform before you spend big money. Inform yourself before you decide to buy. Golden rule: if it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.
one more thing I want to say here. The 62plate Saotome kabuto are underestimated. They are hardly to copy. And they are wonderful pieces of art. Quite safe to buy.
This is the collectors dream. A fantastic kawari, that never pops up for sale, and if they do, don’t dream, they cost a fortune. So the collector want it to be real, he is in love and lose all sense for criticism.