Fireman's parade leather coat (kawabaori) with family crest, 19th century
Unknown Japaneseexpand_more
Cloth: deerskin; smoked resistexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; purchase from the Thomas Murray Collectionexpand_more 2019.20.122
Not on Viewexpand_more
The crest on the upper back of this coat is of an encircled triple comma oriented counter-clockwise. The repeated character in archaic seal script at the bottom reads hon 本. It can have many meanings, and it is unclear what was intended here. The name Itakura 板倉, also in seal script, appears on the collar; it was either the name of a merchant family or of a shop that likely paid to have these expensive coats created and then given to the firefighters. This very public investment in the safety of the community was also good for business, as many merchants and shops supported firefighters through gifts of parade clothing.
Details
- Title
- Fireman's parade leather coat (kawabaori) with family crest
- Role
- Maker
- Accession Number
- 2019.20.122
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murray et al. 2018, pl. 52
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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