Hoate Laquered iron half mask for samurai armor

A rare samurai mask of hanbo shape, covering half face and excluding the nose.
The narrow size of the nose aperture immediately suggests a very old date, confirmed also by the iron and laquer consumption, which help to date the item to the 16th century.
The general shape of the mask, together strong but delicate, is very similar to a model drawn in the Meiko-zukan-zokushu signed by Yoshimichi and to the hanbo signed Takayoshi in the Orikasa collection: the curled lip and the well balanced lines follow the same design, while instead of the sweat draining tube (ase nagashi) we find here a single otayori to fix the helmet lacing and the sweat can drain through the three holes on the chin.
The five plates of the yodarekake are very narrow, as expected from such an old mask.

Hoate for sale. Price on application. Please include item stock number: men-776