Lot 481. A blue-laced armor with a do-maru. The helmet bowl Muromachi period (1333-1573), 16th century, the armor Edo period (1615-1868), 19th century. Sold for US$ 27,500 (€23,615). Photo: Bonhams.

The component parts all decorated in black, textured leather and laced in blue with purple and orange highlights, the 16-plate russet-iron suji bachi decorated in kata-jiro style with gilt-metal shinodare extending down from the four-stage tehen kanamono, the surfaces carved with flowering vines and swirling clouds, the mabizashi and fukigaeshi decorated with stencilled leather, gilt fukurin and heraldic crests of confronted crashing waves, the bowl fitted with a five-lame shikoro, the gilt-brass maedate pierced with a matching crest and set above shakudo kuwagata-dai carved with floral scroll and applied with a gilt-brass chrysanthemum medallion and bosses, and supporting gilt-brass kuwagata; the black-lacquer menpo applied with a white bristle mustache and fitted with a three-lame yodarekake; the cuirass a mogami-type do-maru in sugake lacing and with seven sections of five-lame kusazuri, leather-covered gyoyo applied with crests; chu-sode; shino gote; Etchu-haidate, the plates formed a ssections of bamboo; shino sueate; one armor storage box; no armor stand.

With a Juyo katchu (Important armor) certificate no. 82 issued by the Nihon Katchu Bugu Rekishi Kenkyu Kai (Society for the Study of Japanese Armor History), dated October 27, 1991.