Completed Critique Shogun Ieyasu

[akaryu]

Another one of the large scale daimyô busts sculpted by Augie Rodriguez, the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in his western-style or "namban" armor, produced ages ago by Fort Duquesne and now reissued by Steve Kirtley. A somewhat unusual combination of western armor with a Japanese dressing
Knights in shining armor are not my cup of tea, but any comments are welcome!

 

[swralph]

Very nicely painted.

 

[theBaron]

An interesting subject! What's the story behind the armor? Was it a gift from a Western monarch, from Britain, say? Or was it native, forged in Western style?

Prost!
Brad

 

[akaryu]

Hello Brad,
The story behind the "namban" or "southern barbarian" armor is quite an interesting one. The namban period started around 1550 and was the result of Portuguese influence on the Japanese arts. The Portuguese brought not only bible-toting missionaries but introduced firearms and western style armor. The Japanese adapted these suits of armor to their own taste, lacquering, adding items of Japanese origin, copying of course and so on. The western breast plate were better protection against musket balls and the western style suits were also seen as a sign of wealth by the high and mighty, such as the shogun and his peers. You will see that the Spanish style helmet is worn back to front, again a Japanese idiosyncracy! OK I stop ranting, but anyway, to answer your question, some of these suits were indeed gifts from western dignitaries before Japan went in a almost complete lockdown from the outer world, but many were local made copies.
cheers,
Piet

 

[Viking Bob]

A lovely painting style and an interesting piece.
Bob

 

[megroot]

nice work.

Marc

 

[Nemo]

Great to see this and nicely done! Did Augie stop sculpting? I know it's been almost 20 years since these were produced. Exceptional series.

 

[Ulrich]

Nice work on an interesting bust

 

[akaryu]

Great to see this and nicely done! Did Augie stop sculpting? I know it's been almost 20 years since these were produced. Exceptional series.

Hello Nemo,
Indeed they were produced a long time ago by Jim Johnston of Fort Duquesne, but several of them are now produced again by Steve Kirtley of SK Miniatures though as yet not all of them. Augie now is into medieval/fantasy and only sculpts for his own pleasure I understand. A pity, as I sure miss him with his interest in things Japanese, his quite unique style and his tremendous attention to historical correctness!
The busts of the first FD runs appear sometimes on auction sites were they fetch very high prices. I only miss one of them, Ii Naomasa the red devil!
Cheers,
Piet

 

[Nemo]

Thank you, akaryu. Yes, I remember seeing Augie around Atlanta some years back, which I believe is his hometown. Always enthusiastic. I did run into him on a fantasy/superhero board several years ago. I agree, his busts are a pleasure to paint and collect.