Helmet hood of satin and decorated with horsehair. The helmet has a worn blue satin crown on which is a design in gilt paper strip. It is edged around the sides and the back of the head with strip made from another material brocaded with coloured silks and gilt paper strip. There are two flaps, one above the other, which hang down on each side. Each is pleated vertically in three places. The top flap is made of a brown silk twill with a brocaded silk and gilt paper strip design of hexagons in bottle green and gold and a branch in pale green silk. The flap underneath is made up from two silks. At the back of the head the silk has a khaki-coloured twill ground on which there are confronted birds in coloured silks. The front of the flap has a purely geometric pattern in cream-weft-faced twill on a dark grey wrap-faced twill ground.Helmet hood of satin and decorated with horsehair, Japan, early 18th century-19th century