Robot Fever: Samurai and Chogokin Robots at Florence's Stibbert Museum

The Museo Stibbert in Florence, a former villa of collector Frederick Stibbert turned public museum in 1906, houses a vast collection of 50,000 objects from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Its Japanese Armory, one of the most significant outside Japan, features 95 complete armors, 200 helmets, 285 swords and polearms, and 880 tsuba from the Momoyama and Edo periods (1568–1868). Recent restoration, funded by Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, repaired water damage from roof leaks and enhanced the display. To celebrate, the museum presents "Robot Fever: The Samurai in the Age of Chogokin" until September 10, 2017. The exhibition, organized with the Florence Toy Museum, juxtaposes Stibbert's Japanese artifacts with modern robot toys by Eastern and American designers, tracing the evolution of Japanese toys through the 20th century. It highlights visual and formal parallels between samurai armor and robot design, as well as enduring moral values from ancient warriors to modern superheroes, appealing to nostalgia and Japanese culture enthusiasts.