Hello Samouraïs fans! I'm usually a lurker over in the seasonal scarf threads and have been meaning to read this thread for ages now - I went through it quickly this evening to see if anyone had posted about the central set of armor in the scarf and I still have to go through and read it in better detail! Although, I gasped many times at the beautiful photos and modeling shots, thank you for sharing the gorgeousness!
Since
Joannadyne shared her amazing pics and information from her visit to the Dallas exhibit (along with the fantastic comparisons to her scarf - thank you, Joannadyne!) and she and
csetcos said the actual armor in the scarf was currently in Phoenix, I do believe I have found the inspiration...
I was able to go to the Phoenix Art Museum today and see the traveling Samurai exhibit!
No way in the world was I going to wear my CW 13 since it is lava city here.
In fact, I haven't even been close to having a chance to wear it since I got it nearly two months ago. *insert burning sun emoji*
We were fortunate to arrive when a tour was about to start and learned so many awesome things! Here are a couple of cool tidbits (and if any of this is inaccurate, PLEASE correct me!):
- The armor presented in this exhibition is primarily of the Edo period (@1600-1800), a relatively peaceful time, and armor was not so much for battle but for a show of status and fashion. The docent stated it was "a time of haute couture for the samurai." Lol, how appropriate for Hermes!
- The tops of the "melon-shaped" helmets we saw each had a hole in them, which was probably for ventilation and for the hair to be pulled through for a top-knot. This is of course shown in the details at the top of the scarf (two upper corners and the one full helmet in the top middle section) as has been discussed. It was just so cool to see it in person and make that connection!!
- The armor in the exhibit was incredibly detailed, each made of multiple pieces intended to be lightweight and flexible. When I first saw the armor in question, I wasn't sure if it was the EXACT one used for the scarf, but it was sure close. The more I thought about it, I realized that in traveling that its pieces would naturally shift due to its flexibility. I also assume that when the armor is set up for display, it could look a bit different from place to place. When I analyzed and compared the details of Joannadyne's photo (post #189 in this thread) from the book, I determined it had to be one and the same.
I'll post a few more photos from the exhibit whenever they decide to get loaded from my phone to my computer!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these few!
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