Shirt of Mail and Plate

Iranian or Turkish

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 379

Acording to a Venetian ambassador writing in about 1478, the Ak-Koyunlu (White Sheep Turkoman) wore armor of "iron in little squares and wrought with gold and silver tacked together with small mail." Armor of this type seems to have been used throughout eastern Anatolia, Persia, and the Caucasus. This example is inscribed with generalized phrases extolling the power and glory of the ruler ("Glory to our lord . . . the sultan . . . the king") similar to those found on the Ak-Koyunlu turban helmets also in the Museum's collection (04.3.209, .214, .432). Designed for use in battle, the armor is more elaborately decorated than most and was probably also used for ceremonial purposes.

Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish

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Front

Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish
Shirt of Mail and Plate, Steel, iron, copper alloy, gold, silver, leather, Iranian or Turkish

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