Jeff Olson
Director
Lot 1024
A rare and important happuri Nanbokucho period (14th/15th century)
8 October 2013, 13:00 EDT
New YorkUS$20,000 - US$30,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Japanese Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A rare and important happuri
Nanbokucho period (14th/15th century)
Forged in iron as a simple protection for the forehead and cheeks and applied with standing flanges on the cheeks for deflective purposes, lacquered black
Forged in iron as a simple protection for the forehead and cheeks and applied with standing flanges on the cheeks for deflective purposes, lacquered black
Footnotes
Exhibited:
Louisville, The Frazier History Museum, "Samurai, The Flowering of Japan", 2012. 5.12.—9.30
Published:
Andrew Mancabelli and David Pepper, Samurai, The Flowering of Japan, exh. cat., (Louisville, 2012), pg. 20
This example is an early and original happuri showing several coats of old lacquer, damage and repair. Original, authentic happuri from the early periods were not saved once they fell out of use at the close of the 15th century, so almost all of them have been lost to time.
Once believed to be the face and head defense of only lower class warriors, extant Heian/Kamakura-period paintings illustrate that they were used in conjunction with helmets among even the most elite Samurai.