Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Body armour in five parts

  • Description

    Material evidence of Islamic arms and armour only becomes significant from the 16th century onwards, when cuirasses of metal plates progressively replaced lamellar armour and coats of mail documented in the previous centuries. During the 16th century, chahar a’ineh (literally ‘four mirrors’) cuirasses were introduced in Iran. Placed on top of a mail shirt, these consisted of four curved plates, two with recesses for the arms, which were buckled around the person’s body with leather straps.

    Full sets of armour only rarely survive, making the one presented here an exceptional find. The central field of each plaque is decorated with medallions inscribed with Qur’anic verses, surrounded by a thick foliage inhabited by birds including hawks attacking herons. Additional Qur’anic passages from the ayat al-kursi or ‘throne verse’ (Qur’an, 2:255) frame the central field in a continuous frieze that still carries traces of the original gold inlay.

    The armour is signed by Luft ‘Ali, a renowned metalworker who was active under the reign of Nadir Shah Afshar (ruled 1736-1747). The other five pieces associated with Luft ‘Ali are in other prominent international collections including the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Wallace Collection in London, and the Museo Poldi-Pezzoli in Milan.

  • Details

    Associated place
    Asia Iran (place of creation)
    Date
    1737 - 1738 (AH 1150)
    Artist/maker
    Luft ‘Ali (active mid-18th century) (armourer)
    Material and technique
    steel, incised, and inlaid with gold; leather belt strap
    Dimensions
    largest breastplate 27 x 21.5 cm (height x width)
    smallest breastplate 20.7 x 18 cm (height x width)
    belt 15 x 113 cm irregular (height x width)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    5
    Credit line
    Purchased, 1997.
    Accession no.
    EA1997.176
  • Further reading

    Allan, James, and Brian Gilmour, Persian Steel: The Tanavoli Collection, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, 15 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 135, figs 14 a & b

Location

    • First floor | Room 31 | Islamic Middle East

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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