A kawari kabuto (helmet)
Late Edo Period, 19th century
The original leather zunari bowl with an iron mabisashi upon which is a grotesque face in built-up hari kake and lacquered with sabinuri, surmounted with a gilded iron plate imitating a form of head wear; a five-lame itamono ko-manju jikoro black-lacquered and laced in mauve kebiki odoshi.
FOOTNOTES
黒漆塗頭形変兜　江戸時代後期（19世紀）

The kawari helmet form, with its tall structure and steep sides, provided both visibility and an intimidating presence on the battlefield. The helmet itself is of simple utilitarian design but armourers used this as a base for the extravagant harikake (a wooden armature covered with papier-mache and lacquer) decoration. The application of gilt to the iron plate surmounting the helmet would have drawn attention to the fantastical decoration below and would have bestowed prestige upon the wearer.