Shirt of Mail and Plate15th century

Not on view

Steel mail shirt with short sleeves and high collar displayed on a black mannequin, with a band of rectangular plates bearing Arabic script across the chest

Steel armor element composed of eight rectangular plates arranged in two columns, each plate inlaid with large silver Arabic calligraphy in thuluth script, bordered by finer inscribed bands, and joined at the center by small metal clasps, surrounded by chainmail links.

Steel mail-and-plate armor vest combining interlocking chainmail with vertical rows of rectangular iron plates, each plate engraved with Arabic or Persian script, with traces of gilt highlighting the inscriptions.

Title: Shirt of Mail and Plate
Place Made: Iran
Date Made: 15th century
Medium: Steel with silver inlay and traces of gilding
Dimensions: 39 × 24 in. (99.06 × 60.96 cm)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.729.1
Classification: Arms and Armor
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: This shirt, constructed of small interlocking rings known as mail, was reinforced with rigid plates to cover the vital areas of the body. Related elements of armor likely made in northwestern Iran in the late fifteenth century include a helmet (M.73.5.323, http://collections.lacma.org/node/239643) and two leg guards (M.73.5.729.7, http://collections.lacma.org/node/1767515 and M.73.5.729.8, http://collections.lacma.org/node/1767519). It is not possible to know if the elements were ever used together.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
Çakir Phillip, Filiz. "A Reflection on Armour of Then and Now." In Iranian Art from the Sasanians to the Islamic Republic: Essays in Honour of Linda Komaroff, edited by Sheila S. Blair, Jonathan M. Bloom and Sandra S. Williams. Edinburgh University Press, 2024.

Shirt of Mail and Plate15th century

Not on view

Title: Shirt of Mail and Plate
Place Made: Iran
Date Made: 15th century
Medium: Steel with silver inlay and traces of gilding
Dimensions: 39 × 24 in. (99.06 × 60.96 cm)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.729.1
Classification: Arms and Armor
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: This shirt, constructed of small interlocking rings known as mail, was reinforced with rigid plates to cover the vital areas of the body. Related elements of armor likely made in northwestern Iran in the late fifteenth century include a helmet (M.73.5.323, http://collections.lacma.org/node/239643) and two leg guards (M.73.5.729.7, http://collections.lacma.org/node/1767515 and M.73.5.729.8, http://collections.lacma.org/node/1767519). It is not possible to know if the elements were ever used together.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
Çakir Phillip, Filiz. "A Reflection on Armour of Then and Now." In Iranian Art from the Sasanians to the Islamic Republic: Essays in Honour of Linda Komaroff, edited by Sheila S. Blair, Jonathan M. Bloom and Sandra S. Williams. Edinburgh University Press, 2024.