This shaffron is an excellent example of what appears to be a standard form, consisting mainly of a leather ground covered with small square iron plates, which are sewn to the ground by leather laces threaded through a single hole and a small boss at the corner of each plate. Shaped iron plates are laced down the center and at each cheek. The leaf-shaped finial of the vertical rib attached to the central iron panel is very similar to those found on Tibetan cane shields, leather arm defenses, and leather boxes.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense)
Date:15th–17th century
Culture:Tibetan or Mongolian
Medium:Iron, leather, brass or copper alloy
Dimensions:H. 21 in. (53.3 cm); W. 20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 13.2 oz. (3095.8 g)
Classification:Equestrian Equipment-Shaffrons
Credit Line:Purchase, The Collection of Giovanni P. Morosini, presented by his daughter Giulia, by exchange; Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, by exchange; and Fletcher Fund, by exhange, 1997
Accession Number:1997.242d
[Art dealer, London, until 1997; sold to MMA].
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arms and Armor: Notable Acquisitions 1991–2002," September 4, 2002–January 18, 2004, no. 47.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet," April 5–July 4, 2006, no. 28.
Lhasa and its Mysteries : with a Record of the Expedition of 1903-1904. New York, 1906. plate facing p. 168 for hourse armor as worn in 1904.
Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. Portland, ME: Southworth Press, 1934. p. 98, fig. 125 (related horse armors).
Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. New York: Jack Brussel, Pub., 1961. p. 98, fig. 125 (related horse armors).
Stone, George Cameron, and Donald J. La Rocca. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1999. p. 98, fig. 125 (related horse armors).
Robinson, H. Russell. Oriental Armour. London: Jenkins, 1967. pl. XXVI (related horse armor).
Pyhrr, Stuart W., Donald J. La Rocca, and Morihiro Ogawa. Arms and Armor: Notable Acquisitions, 1991–2002. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. p. 50, no. 47, ill.
La Rocca, Donald J. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. pp. 8, 96, 100, 102–103, 140, no. 28, ill.
La Rocca, Donald J. "The Remains of a Rare Tibetan Shaffron." In Arms and Armour: History, Conservation and Analysis. London: Archetype Publications, 2021. pp. 83–5, 88, figs. 3, 4, n. 14.
La Rocca, Donald J. "The Remains of a Rare Tibetan Shaffron." La Lettre du Club International d'Eperonnerie (April 2023), pp. 75–9, figs. 3, 4, n. 14.
La Rocca, Donald J. "Les Restes d'un Rare Chafrein Tibétain." La Lettre du Club International d'Eperonnerie (April 2023), pp. 68–70, figs. 3, 4.
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