Koboshi kabuto

A russet iron samurai helmet with small standing rivets

Bamen school, early Edo period, 17th century

Signed: Echizen (no) kuni Toyohara junin Bamen Tomokiyo saku

越前国豊原住人馬面朝清作

Provenance

Asano Seiichi, Tokyo

Sold Christie’s (New York, 28.03.2006)

A russet iron (tetsu sabiji) sixty-two plate goshozan kabuto, each mounted with twenty-five conical standing rivets (ko-boshi) of decreasing size; the front plate, larger than the others, is fitted with two lines of rivets, for a total of 1.575 rivets.

Little historical information is available about the Bamen school. Active as early as the end of the Muromachi period (1333-1573) in Echizen province (northwestern Japan) first in Toyohara and later in Maruoka, they began signing their kabuto using the name "Bamen" after they served in the field for Honda Narishige during the 1615 siege of Osaka. Armor production continued until towards the end of the Edo period, when the crisis involving all armorers forced the school's blacksmiths to turn to the manufacture of agricultural tools and tsuba (else) for sword mounts.

Founder of the Bamen school was Sadao, a name under which several generations of armorers probably signed; Sadao was succeeded by other great smiths, like Tomonori, Tomotsugu and Masayuki, who kept the school's distinctive features intact. Their helmets consist of 62 plates and are raised on both front and back, thus resembling a tenkokuzan type shape. Regardless of whether hoshi-kabuto or suji-kabuto, the front center plate has a shinodare-like covering.  The very curved lines of Bamen helmets affect the shape of the upper hole (hachimanza), and where the helmet is covered with rivets, as in this case, these go to form a butterfly-shaped reserve around it.

This kabuto shows well the characteristics of the school-the “butterfly” on the top and the front plate covering. No other helmets signed by Tomokiyo are known, so we are looking at a work of definite collector interest. The signature is in the style of the school, horizontal with a kanji for each plate, carved near the koshimaki. The fact that the word “Bamen” appears indicates that the helmet is a post-1615 work.
The extraordinary butterfly-shaped maedate is made of five assembled elements.