Meiji period presentational bronze figure of a Samurai in full archaistic armor holding aloft a large dragon handled vessel and standing astride a rockery with a central waterfall. Bronze with steel armature and iron core. Tokyo, c. 1890.
He was found this was on July 1, 2012 after a wind storm.
Samurai Warrior Returns after Smithsonian Restoration
Our Bronze Samurai Warrior used to be in the gardens until a storm blew him over and he shattered. He was found on Sunday, July 1, 2012 by MacCallum More Museum & Garden's president, Diana Ramsey. Thankfully he has been fully restored and is now housed as a permanent exhibit in the museum.
Brief History:
The sculpture is the only bronze example in the large collection of garden statuary that comprises the MacCallum More Museum and Gardens; a property which is listed on the National Historic Register and the Virginia Landmark Register. The collection was assembled by Navy Commander William Henry Hudgins during his travels abroad over the decades of the 1940s – 1950s. According to the museum’s history, as Personal Aide to President Harry S. Truman and to Commander in Chief of NATO, Admiral Robert B. Carney, William Hudgins, called Billy, had the opportunity to travel extensively, sending back statuary and architectural salvage from around the world which was incorporated into his ever-expanding garden at the family home called MacCallum More. No documentation regarding the Samurai or any other of Commander Hudgins’ acquisitions exists, but oral history offers that the sculpture was purchased in Japan from an Australian diplomat and brought to the United States after World War II to be placed on the Hudgins property in Chase City, Virginia where it has remained since.
To learn more about the Samurai Warrior click here.