Japanese Armor Society Forum

Last night, I received a mail from our member Henry Jones. Watching a documentary about the well known New York art dealer and collector Allan Stone, he recognised a kawari kabuto on the background. Henry remembered he saw this kabuto during the Grand Tour. And Indeed, it was this flaming jewel..
I always found it very intruiging to know the pedigree of an item. These things made a long and interesting journey before it’s our turn to look for them. And Henry has a good eye and memory!

after Allan Stone died, another well known artist-collector, Ben Birillo became the new owner.

The other day again I heard a Japanese person expressing how Japanese artefacts have been well looked after in the West. (Actually I have just remembered who. It was Princess Takamado in her lecture on Netsuké at Girton College Cambridge.)

PS Nice educational thread! Thanks.

Allan Stone was a collector and mecenas of Willem de Kooning, who's painings sell for tens of millions of dollars nowadays. He was also the promotor of a lot of now very famous pop art and abstract impressionist painters.

Piers, there is a high end art dealer in New York who collects kawari kabuto. Japanese art is indeed internationally high esteemed.
Who are we to argue with Princess Takamado..

Cool!

I am happy to help fill in a small portion of the helmet's provenance...

Stone was a prolific collector (hoarder) of many ethnographic objects. ( he filled his house until transit within was a challenge)

Allan Stone's gallery also represented the French/American conceptual artist Arman who was a collector of Japanese armor, particularly menpo and somen. Arman owned some important Myochin school masks during his life.

" We are just passing through time and space for a brief moment, and have the great privilege and great responsibility of preserving these objects for future generations."

Thank you for the compliment Luc, but I assure you: my eyes and memory are not as good as they used to be!

thanks Henry!

Arman, indeed, he was an avid collector of japanese armor. Interesting artist too. I met him once in Paris. Small world!

This kawari kabuto started as a nimaibari karuto, made by Saotome Ienao.
Later it was transformed to a kawari kabuto, as was often the case in the edo period. Many kawari kabuto have an old sanmai or toppainari as a base for later added harikake or iron sturctures. The guy who transformed it must have seen the Unkai Mitsuhisa flaming jewel kabuto, now in the Barbier Mueller collection. Or Mitsuhisa saw this one, also possible.

I wonder how it came in the USA? Was it a WW2 trophy? I don't know...

Arman's pieces, some famous well publicized ones...

http://sebastien.guillot4.free.fr/sime/diaporama.html

This kawari kabuto started as a nimaibari karuto, made by Saotome Ienao.
Later it was transformed to a kawari kabuto, as was often the case in the edo period. Many kawari kabuto have an old sanmai or toppainari as a base for later added harikake or iron sturctures. The guy who transformed it must have seen the Unkai Mitsuhisa flaming jewel kabuto, now in the Barbier Mueller collection. Or Mitsuhisa saw this one, also possible.

I wonder how it came in the USA? Was it a WW2 tropy? I don't know...
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Interesting!

Could have been a WW2 trophy or even earlier tourist purchase piece. Also, there were Japanese antique dealers who sold armors in NYC and San Fran as early as the 1890's... anything is possible!

Your guess is good as mine...

Indeed Henry, indeed.
Arman had a famous collection... do you know who helped him to make his artworks...? Nobody less than our Jas member Robert Burawoy!
You see, this is a very small world.
There is a film I always have to think about when I acquire an interesting item,
The red violin, a must see: