Saddle and Stirrups |
With gold maki-e design of aoi (hollyhock) crests and peonies on an aventurine lacquer (gold “pear skin”) ground Momoyama period, dated Keicho 6 (1601) Gift of Ii Family |
Botan (tree peony) motifs have been popular throughout history as symbols of wealth. The aoi (hollyhock) motif, employed on the saddle, was the crest of the Tokugawa shogunate. This set of horse tack was given to Naoaki, twelfth head of Ii family by the Tokugawas in 1829.