Munich’s Kunsthalle is currently showing selected pieces from Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller’s Samurai Collection in Dallas, Texas. The selection includes armor and weapons as well as household items, but I was most impressed by the numerous helmets. Their design is often unique and highly elaborate, much more so than in medieval Europe. So here is a series pictures from the exhibition with an emphasis on the helmets. I added the description where available; unfortunately sometimes the autofocus failed me without my noticing.
Photography Notes
I took all pictures with a Sony Alpha 7R II and Sony SEL-2470Z f/4 lens. I had taken some iPhone 6s pictures on an earlier visit, but the dim museum lighting is one definite use case for a full-frame camera. Indeed I probably would have had trouble even with the first Alpha 7R due its noisy shutter and poor autofocus.
I tried a polarizing filter to reduce glass reflections but that didn’t help much and only made the pictures darker, so I apologize for any visible reflections. Click on any picture to enter a full-screen view with description and Exif data.
The Helmets
The first gallery shows the most interesting helmets at the exhibition. Samurai helmets were commonly worn with a face mask – see the second gallery for those.
Armor & Masks
The second gallery shows other items of note: face masks for warriors and horses, plus some full suits of Samurai armor.
A stunning and wonderful report on a subject of much interest to collectors and students of Samurai arms and armour. Interested folk could also look at http://www.militaria.co.za/ for a samurai arms and armour discussion board.