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ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST – Japan: Courts and Culture – The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST – JAPÓN: CORTES Y CULTURA – GALERÍA DE LA REINA, PALACIO DE BUCKINGHAM

Japón: Cortes y Cultura: Galería de la Reina, Palacio de Buckingham

Esta exposición explora los encuentros reales británicos con Japón durante un período de 350 años.

Desde  armaduras de samurái  enviadas a James I en 1613 hasta un  regalo de coronación  para SM la Reina en 1953, los tesoros japoneses han llegado a la corte británica a través del comercio, los viajes y los tratados.

Cada objeto en exhibición refleja materiales y técnicas particulares de Japón. Excepcionalmente, muchos fueron encargados o presentados por la familia imperial japonesa. Juntos, revelan el intercambio ceremonial, diplomático y artístico que une las dos cortes de Oriente y Occidente.

… un desfile de tesoros exquisito, intrincado y verdaderamente divertido ★★★★

EL TELÉGRAFO

La Colección Real contiene algunos de los ejemplos más significativos dearte y diseño japonés en el mundo occidental. Por primera vez, se reúnen los aspectos más destacados de esta destacada colección para contar la historia de 300 años de intercambio diplomático, artístico y cultural entre las familias reales e imperiales británica y japonesa. La exposición incluye raras piezas de porcelana y laca, armaduras de samuráis, biombos bordados y obsequios diplomáticos de los reinados de Jaime I a Su Majestad la Reina. Juntos, ofrecen una visión única de los mundos de los rituales, el honor y el arte que vinculan las cortes y las culturas de Gran Bretaña y Japón.

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Descripción

Esta espléndida y discreta armadura fue enviada a James I de Inglaterra por Tokugawa Hidetada, tercer hijo de Tokugawa Ieyasu, quien gobernó como el segundo shōgun de la dinastía Tokugawa de 1605 a 1623. Algunas fuentes han sugerido que la armadura pudo haber pertenecido alguna vez a Takeda Katsuyori (1546 – 82), un  daimyō  que había luchado y perdido contra Tokugawa Ieyasu en la batalla de Tenmokuzan en 1582.La armadura es del tipo envuelto en el cuerpo ( dōmaru ), que gira alrededor del cuerpo y se abrocha a la derecha. El casco con forma de calabaza ( akodanari kabuto ) está firmado por Iwai Yozaemon, uno de los principales armeros de la familia gobernante Tokugawa. Las armaduras de Iwai Yozaemon en otras colecciones reales europeas indican que este fue un obsequio diplomático popular de la familia Tokugawa, fácilmente disponible de una fuente regular y confiable.

El casco tiene una nuca muy ancha, casi plana ( shikoro ), pequeñas vueltas atrás ( fukikaeshi ) y visera ( mabizashi ) decorada en laca dorada con nubes estilizadas. El  casco akodanari  tiene líneas de remaches verticales prominentes y está lacado en negro. Es posible que se haya diseñado un área elevada en la parte posterior del casco para acomodar el  chonmage , el peinado samurái que consistía en una coronilla afeitada con el cabello aceitado y atado en la parte posterior de la cabeza en una cola. Esta forma distintiva de casco fue extremadamente popular durante el período Muromachi (1392-1573) y el estilo tradicional habría atraído a la familia Tokugawa, que era conservadora en sus gustos. La mascarilla ( sōmen) tiene un aspecto temible, aunque posiblemente los bigotes se hayan recortado con el paso de los años.

Gran parte de la armadura está atada con seda roja y azul en un patrón de tablero de ajedrez. Las láminas ( kozane ) son piezas individuales de hierro lacadas y unidas, una técnica conocida como  hon-kozane  (‘verdadero’ kozane), que crea una armadura más flexible.

Continuando con el estilo conservador, las hombreras ( sode ) son muy grandes para una armadura de este período. Las áreas superiores de hierro sólido de la coraza (  ) están decoradas con dragones lacados en oro cuyas lenguas lacadas en rojo persiguen nubes estilizadas, posiblemente simbolizando la perla budista de la iluminación, sobre un fondo de laca negra. Las llantas ( fukurin ) y otros accesorios metálicos son de shakudō grabado y perforado y aleación de cobre dorado. Curiosamente, los pequeños herrajes para sujetar la coraza tienen un discreto motivo de una hoja de paulownia ( kiri ), símbolo imperial adoptado posteriormente por la familia Tokugawa. Las mangas ( kote) están decoradas de manera similar y tienen seda fina, aunque descolorida, con motivos auspiciosos y áreas de malla de hierro. Las grebas ( suneadas ) están decoradas con otras nubes estilizadas en laca dorada sobre negro.

Texto adaptado de  Japón: Cortes y Cultura  (2020).

Procedencia

Enviado a James I por Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada, 1613

Esta es una de las ‘dos ​​armaduras barnizadas’ entregadas al Capitán John Saris de la Compañía de las Indias Orientales en Edo el 19 de septiembre de 1613. Saris regresó a Plymouth con los obsequios en septiembre de 1614, pero no sobrevive ningún relato de su entrega a James I. Es casi seguro que la pareja fue la primera armadura japonesa en llegar a Gran Bretaña. A mediados del siglo XVII, parece que se separaron, ya que solo se registró uno en la Torre de Londres en 1660. La armadura actual se almacenó en una caja de laca en la Armería del Palacio de St. James, donde fue inventariada en 1649. –51 por el gobierno de la Commonwealth para la venta póstuma de las posesiones de Carlos I. En ese momento, se describió como una ‘Armadura india’ y Major Bas la compró el 23 de octubre de 1651 por 10 libras esterlinas.

Después del Interregno, la armadura se devolvió a la Colección Real, pero abundó la confusión sobre la procedencia de ambas piezas. La armadura de la Torre se describió, por ejemplo, en 1662 como un regalo a Carlos II “del emperador Mougul”, en la India. Todavía en 1916, la armadura actual se confundió con otra en las Armerías Reales que, de hecho, había sido entregada a Felipe II de España en 1585. En ese momento, en realidad estaba montada en la pared del Gran Vestíbulo en el Castillo de Windsor, con otros artículos japoneses de la Colección Real.

Fuente y fotos: ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST

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ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST – Japan: Courts and Culture – The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

Japan: Courts and Culture: The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

This exhibition explores British royal encounters with Japan over a period of 350 years.

From samurai armour sent to James I in 1613, to a Coronation gift for HM The Queen in 1953, Japanese treasures have reached the British Court through trade, travel and treaties.

Each object on display reflects materials and techniques particular to Japan. Uniquely, many were commissioned or presented by the Japanese Imperial Family. Together, they reveal the ceremonial, diplomatic and artistic exchange linking the two courts of East and West.

… an exquisite, intricate, truly diverting parade of treasures ★★★★

THE TELEGRAPH

The Royal Collection holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art and design in the western world. For the first time, highlights from this outstanding collection are brought together to tell the story of 300 years of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between the British and Japanese royal and imperial families. The exhibition includes rare pieces of porcelain and lacquer, samurai armour, embroidered screens and diplomatic gifts from the reigns of James I to Her Majesty The Queen. Together, they offer a unique insight into the worlds of ritual, honour and artistry linking the courts and cultures of Britain and Japan.

Explore the Exhibition

Description

This splendid and understated armour was sent to James I of England by Tokugawa Hidetada, third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled as the second shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty from 1605 to 1623. Some sources have suggested that the armour may once have been owned by Takeda Katsuyori (1546 – 82), a daimyō who had fought, and lost, against Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Tenmokuzan in 1582.

The armour is of the body-wrapped (dōmaru) type, which hinges around the body and fastens on the right. The ‘pumpkin-shaped’ helmet (akodanari kabuto) is signed by Iwai Yozaemon, one of the main armourers to the ruling Tokugawa family. Armours by Iwai Yozaemon in other European royal collections indicate that this was a popular diplomatic gift from the Tokugawa family, easily available from a regular and reliable source.

The helmet has a very wide, almost flat neck guard (shikoro), small turn-backs (fukikaeshi) and visor (mabizashi) decorated in gold lacquer with stylised clouds. The akodanari helmet has prominent vertical rivet lines and is lacquered black. A raised area at the back of the helmet bowl may have been designed to accommodate the chonmage, the samurai hairstyle which consisted of a shaved pate with the hair oiled and tied at the back of the head in a queue. This distinctive form of helmet was extremely popular during the Muromachi period (1392–1573) and the traditional style would have appealed to the Tokugawa family who were conservative in their tastes. The face-mask (sōmen) has a fearsome appearance, although the whiskers have possibly been trimmed over the years.

Much of the armour is laced in red and blue silk in a chequerboard pattern. The lamellae (kozane) are individual pieces of iron lacquered and laced together – a technique known as hon-kozane (‘true’ kozane), which creates a more flexible armour.

Continuing the conservative style, the shoulder guards (sode) are very large for an armour of this period. The solid iron upper areas of the cuirass () are decorated with gold lacquer dragons whose red lacquer tongues chase stylised clouds, possibly symbolising the Buddhist pearl of enlightenment, on a black lacquer ground. The rims (fukurin) and other metal fittings are of engraved and pierced shakudō and gilt-copper alloy. Interestingly, the small fittings to secure the cuirass have a discreet motif of a paulownia (kiri) leaf, an imperial symbol later adopted by the Tokugawa family. The sleeves (kote) are decorated in a similar fashion and have fine, though faded, silk with auspicious motifs and areas of iron mail. The greaves (suneate) are decorated with further stylised clouds in gold lacquer on black.

Text adapted from Japan: Courts and Culture (2020).

Provenance

Sent to James I by Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada, 1613

This is one of the ‘two varnished armours’ given to Captain John Saris of the East India Company at Edo on 19 September 1613. Saris returned to Plymouth with the gifts in September 1614, but no account of their delivery to James I survives. The pair were almost certainly the first Japanese armours to arrive in Britain. By the mid-seventeenth century, they appear to have been separated, for only one was recorded at the Tower of London in 1660. The present armour was stored in a lacquer box in the Armoury at St James’s Palace, where it was inventoried in 1649–51 by the Commonwealth government for the posthumous sale of Charles I’s possessions. At that time, it was described as an ‘Indian Armor’ and purchased by Major Bas on 23 October 1651 for £10.

Following the Interregnum, the armour was returned to the Royal Collection, but confusion about both pieces’ provenance abounded. The armour at the Tower was for example described in 1662 as a present to Charles II ‘from the Emperor Mougul’, in India. As late as 1916, the present armour was confused with another in the Royal Armouries which had in fact been given to Philip II of Spain in 1585. At that time, it was in reality mounted on the wall of the Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle, with other Japanese items from the Royal Collection.

Source & Photos: ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST

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ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST – Japan: Courts and Culture – The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

Japan: Courts and Culture: The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

This exhibition explores British royal encounters with Japan over a period of 350 years.

From samurai armour sent to James I in 1613, to a Coronation gift for HM The Queen in 1953, Japanese treasures have reached the British Court through trade, travel and treaties.

Each object on display reflects materials and techniques particular to Japan. Uniquely, many were commissioned or presented by the Japanese Imperial Family. Together, they reveal the ceremonial, diplomatic and artistic exchange linking the two courts of East and West.

… an exquisite, intricate, truly diverting parade of treasures ★★★★

THE TELEGRAPH

The Royal Collection holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art and design in the western world. For the first time, highlights from this outstanding collection are brought together to tell the story of 300 years of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between the British and Japanese royal and imperial families. The exhibition includes rare pieces of porcelain and lacquer, samurai armour, embroidered screens and diplomatic gifts from the reigns of James I to Her Majesty The Queen. Together, they offer a unique insight into the worlds of ritual, honour and artistry linking the courts and cultures of Britain and Japan.

Explore the Exhibition

Description

This splendid and understated armour was sent to James I of England by Tokugawa Hidetada, third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled as the second shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty from 1605 to 1623. Some sources have suggested that the armour may once have been owned by Takeda Katsuyori (1546 – 82), a daimyō who had fought, and lost, against Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Tenmokuzan in 1582.

The armour is of the body-wrapped (dōmaru) type, which hinges around the body and fastens on the right. The ‘pumpkin-shaped’ helmet (akodanari kabuto) is signed by Iwai Yozaemon, one of the main armourers to the ruling Tokugawa family. Armours by Iwai Yozaemon in other European royal collections indicate that this was a popular diplomatic gift from the Tokugawa family, easily available from a regular and reliable source.

The helmet has a very wide, almost flat neck guard (shikoro), small turn-backs (fukikaeshi) and visor (mabizashi) decorated in gold lacquer with stylised clouds. The akodanari helmet has prominent vertical rivet lines and is lacquered black. A raised area at the back of the helmet bowl may have been designed to accommodate the chonmage, the samurai hairstyle which consisted of a shaved pate with the hair oiled and tied at the back of the head in a queue. This distinctive form of helmet was extremely popular during the Muromachi period (1392–1573) and the traditional style would have appealed to the Tokugawa family who were conservative in their tastes. The face-mask (sōmen) has a fearsome appearance, although the whiskers have possibly been trimmed over the years.

Much of the armour is laced in red and blue silk in a chequerboard pattern. The lamellae (kozane) are individual pieces of iron lacquered and laced together – a technique known as hon-kozane (‘true’ kozane), which creates a more flexible armour.

Continuing the conservative style, the shoulder guards (sode) are very large for an armour of this period. The solid iron upper areas of the cuirass () are decorated with gold lacquer dragons whose red lacquer tongues chase stylised clouds, possibly symbolising the Buddhist pearl of enlightenment, on a black lacquer ground. The rims (fukurin) and other metal fittings are of engraved and pierced shakudō and gilt-copper alloy. Interestingly, the small fittings to secure the cuirass have a discreet motif of a paulownia (kiri) leaf, an imperial symbol later adopted by the Tokugawa family. The sleeves (kote) are decorated in a similar fashion and have fine, though faded, silk with auspicious motifs and areas of iron mail. The greaves (suneate) are decorated with further stylised clouds in gold lacquer on black.

Text adapted from Japan: Courts and Culture (2020).

Provenance

Sent to James I by Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada, 1613

This is one of the ‘two varnished armours’ given to Captain John Saris of the East India Company at Edo on 19 September 1613. Saris returned to Plymouth with the gifts in September 1614, but no account of their delivery to James I survives. The pair were almost certainly the first Japanese armours to arrive in Britain. By the mid-seventeenth century, they appear to have been separated, for only one was recorded at the Tower of London in 1660. The present armour was stored in a lacquer box in the Armoury at St James’s Palace, where it was inventoried in 1649–51 by the Commonwealth government for the posthumous sale of Charles I’s possessions. At that time, it was described as an ‘Indian Armor’ and purchased by Major Bas on 23 October 1651 for £10.

Following the Interregnum, the armour was returned to the Royal Collection, but confusion about both pieces’ provenance abounded. The armour at the Tower was for example described in 1662 as a present to Charles II ‘from the Emperor Mougul’, in India. As late as 1916, the present armour was confused with another in the Royal Armouries which had in fact been given to Philip II of Spain in 1585. At that time, it was in reality mounted on the wall of the Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle, with other Japanese items from the Royal Collection.

Source & Photos: ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST

, , , , , , ,

ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST – Japan: Courts and Culture – The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

Japan: Courts and Culture: The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

This exhibition explores British royal encounters with Japan over a period of 350 years.

From samurai armour sent to James I in 1613, to a Coronation gift for HM The Queen in 1953, Japanese treasures have reached the British Court through trade, travel and treaties.

Each object on display reflects materials and techniques particular to Japan. Uniquely, many were commissioned or presented by the Japanese Imperial Family. Together, they reveal the ceremonial, diplomatic and artistic exchange linking the two courts of East and West.

… an exquisite, intricate, truly diverting parade of treasures ★★★★

THE TELEGRAPH

The Royal Collection holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art and design in the western world. For the first time, highlights from this outstanding collection are brought together to tell the story of 300 years of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between the British and Japanese royal and imperial families. The exhibition includes rare pieces of porcelain and lacquer, samurai armour, embroidered screens and diplomatic gifts from the reigns of James I to Her Majesty The Queen. Together, they offer a unique insight into the worlds of ritual, honour and artistry linking the courts and cultures of Britain and Japan.

Explore the Exhibition

Description

This splendid and understated armour was sent to James I of England by Tokugawa Hidetada, third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled as the second shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty from 1605 to 1623. Some sources have suggested that the armour may once have been owned by Takeda Katsuyori (1546 – 82), a daimyō who had fought, and lost, against Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Tenmokuzan in 1582.

The armour is of the body-wrapped (dōmaru) type, which hinges around the body and fastens on the right. The ‘pumpkin-shaped’ helmet (akodanari kabuto) is signed by Iwai Yozaemon, one of the main armourers to the ruling Tokugawa family. Armours by Iwai Yozaemon in other European royal collections indicate that this was a popular diplomatic gift from the Tokugawa family, easily available from a regular and reliable source.

The helmet has a very wide, almost flat neck guard (shikoro), small turn-backs (fukikaeshi) and visor (mabizashi) decorated in gold lacquer with stylised clouds. The akodanari helmet has prominent vertical rivet lines and is lacquered black. A raised area at the back of the helmet bowl may have been designed to accommodate the chonmage, the samurai hairstyle which consisted of a shaved pate with the hair oiled and tied at the back of the head in a queue. This distinctive form of helmet was extremely popular during the Muromachi period (1392–1573) and the traditional style would have appealed to the Tokugawa family who were conservative in their tastes. The face-mask (sōmen) has a fearsome appearance, although the whiskers have possibly been trimmed over the years.

Much of the armour is laced in red and blue silk in a chequerboard pattern. The lamellae (kozane) are individual pieces of iron lacquered and laced together – a technique known as hon-kozane (‘true’ kozane), which creates a more flexible armour.

Continuing the conservative style, the shoulder guards (sode) are very large for an armour of this period. The solid iron upper areas of the cuirass () are decorated with gold lacquer dragons whose red lacquer tongues chase stylised clouds, possibly symbolising the Buddhist pearl of enlightenment, on a black lacquer ground. The rims (fukurin) and other metal fittings are of engraved and pierced shakudō and gilt-copper alloy. Interestingly, the small fittings to secure the cuirass have a discreet motif of a paulownia (kiri) leaf, an imperial symbol later adopted by the Tokugawa family. The sleeves (kote) are decorated in a similar fashion and have fine, though faded, silk with auspicious motifs and areas of iron mail. The greaves (suneate) are decorated with further stylised clouds in gold lacquer on black.

Text adapted from Japan: Courts and Culture (2020).

Provenance

Sent to James I by Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada, 1613

This is one of the ‘two varnished armours’ given to Captain John Saris of the East India Company at Edo on 19 September 1613. Saris returned to Plymouth with the gifts in September 1614, but no account of their delivery to James I survives. The pair were almost certainly the first Japanese armours to arrive in Britain. By the mid-seventeenth century, they appear to have been separated, for only one was recorded at the Tower of London in 1660. The present armour was stored in a lacquer box in the Armoury at St James’s Palace, where it was inventoried in 1649–51 by the Commonwealth government for the posthumous sale of Charles I’s possessions. At that time, it was described as an ‘Indian Armor’ and purchased by Major Bas on 23 October 1651 for £10.

Following the Interregnum, the armour was returned to the Royal Collection, but confusion about both pieces’ provenance abounded. The armour at the Tower was for example described in 1662 as a present to Charles II ‘from the Emperor Mougul’, in India. As late as 1916, the present armour was confused with another in the Royal Armouries which had in fact been given to Philip II of Spain in 1585. At that time, it was in reality mounted on the wall of the Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle, with other Japanese items from the Royal Collection.

Source & Photos: ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST

1 reply
  1. Luxury - MyLuxePoint
    Luxury - MyLuxePoint says:

    La Colección Real contiene algunos de los ejemplos más significativos dearte y diseño japonés en el mundo occidental. Por primera vez, se reúnen los aspectos más destacados de esta destacada colección para contar la historia de 300 años de intercambio diplomático, artístico y cultural entre las familias reales e imperiales británica y japonesa

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