Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Shoulder guard from a samurai’s ceremonial suit of armour

  • Description

    This suit of armour was made during the peaceful Edo period, when samurai wore armour only on ceremonial occasions, to show off their rank and wealth. It is made of small plates of lacquered metal laced together with silk cords. The armour is tough, flexible and much lighter than a European steel suit. The helmet is older than the rest of the armour: an inscription inside dates it to 1560.

  • Details

    Associated place
    Japan (place of creation)
    Date
    probably 18th century (1701 - 1800)
    Material and technique
    leather lames, covered in black lacquer, with maki-e lacquer decoration in gold, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl; laced with light-blue silk; soft metal mounts, engraved, and with sukashi (openwork) decoration
    Dimensions
    suit of armour 146 x 60 x 70 cm max. (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    gold,
    silk,
    Technique index
    dyed,
    dyed,
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Lent by the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, University of Oxford.
    Accession no.
    LI358.1.f

Glossary (2)

lacquer, maki-e

Location

    • Second floor | Room 37 | Japan

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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