Beschreibung:

A FINE LACQUERED-WOOD KURA (SADDLE)Edo period (1615-1868), 17th century
A kurabane (wooden tree of the overall saddle) ofgunjin-gura (campaign saddle) type, the front and back of the pommel and cantle of black-lacquer ground with gold and silver lacquer designs of various feathers in low relief, some containing shell inlay, at the center of each face two large zabōki (wing-like feather dusters), each zabōki handle with a unique design in gold, red, and silver lacquer, the interior of the pommel and cantle along with the top of the igi (two bands which connect the pommel to the cantle) decorated in nashiji ground of various densities, the feather motif in gold and silver lacquer with shell inlay continuing on the pommel and cantle, a pair of rounded triangular copper-alloy fittings with flower-head and arabesque engraved design attached to both the pommel and cantle with twine and leather cords, the underside of one igi with the inscription in ink Matsura Iki no kami Genna sannen rokugatsu (Governor of Iki Matsura, sixth month of 1617) and a kaō
14 1/8in (35.9cm) front to back, 15 7/8in (40.3cm) at widest pointFootnotesThe Matsura clan were responsible for the governing of Hirado and Iki, now part of modern-day Nagasaki Prefecture on Kyushu. The date inscribed on the present lot coincides with the period that Matsura Takanobu (1592-1637) was the head of the family and Daimyo of Hirado Domain in Hizen Province.