Object number
4201.348.1
Title
Shirt of mail and plate
Creator
Description
This object is a shirt of mail and plate. The shirt has diagonally cut sleeves cut to elbow length, and it opens completely down the front. There is a short collar that is short at the front and higher at the back. Each side of the front opening of the shirt has a slight triangular extension at the bottom that overlaps inwards. The mail is made up of round, single riveted iron rings that are attached one to four each. The collar is lined with one row of copper alloy rings that also extend down the proper right side of the collar, building up to three rows wide.
On each side of the front of the shirt are two vertical rows of four rectangular plates tapering upwards. The back of the shirt has five vertical rows of plates, with three middle rows of 15 rectangular plates each, where the centre row tapering to the base of the spine, with an internal indent down the middle. The two lateral rows consists of one vertical row of four large rectangular plates that are located from the bottom to around the middle of the shirt and taper upwards. The plates overlap each other upwards. There are holes in the first internal row of chest plates, some riveted that may have been where leather straps and buckles to close the shirt were located. The plates are pierced with holes around the outer edges through which they are secured to the mail and to each other. There is evidence of some replacement rivets and repairs to the plates.
The decoration on the plates consists of engravings of floral rectangular bands framing Arabic inscriptions sitting on a dot-punched background. The front plate decorations all extend over two plates (1 and 2; 3 and 4; 5 and 6; 7 and 8; 62 and 63; 64 and 65; 66 and 67; 68 and 69). The back plate framed decorations extend over each full vertical row and include floral detail, script, and cartouches. The inside of all of the plates are also engraved with floral detail and script that does not match the external decoration – these decorations also extend across the plates.
There is some remaining evidence of previous decoration, with blackened lettering and gold background (see plates 58-61 especial for black detail; plates 63-64 for gold background).
Date
1450 - 1700
Material
Dimensions
- Height: shirt 700 mm
- Height: shirt 780 mm
- Width: shirt 1120 mm
- Width: shirt 590 mm
- Diameter: rivet 11 mm