This exceptionally fine cuirass of crucible ("watered") steel is unusual in its use of octagonal plates decorated with fluting. The edges and central bosses are damascened in gold with Koranic inscriptions.
Iranian and Indian cuirasses of this four-plate construction are known in Persian as char-a'ina, "four mirrors." The term suggests the talismanic value of the mirror for repelling evil.
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Front panel, center round
Front panel, upper
Front panel, lower
Back panel, center round
Back panel, upper
Back panel, lower
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Proper right panel, back
Proper left panel, middle
Proper left panel, front
Proper left panel, back
Artwork Details
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Title:Cuirass (Char-aina) with Mail Shirt
Date:cuirass, 17th–early 18th century; mail shirt, 18th–19th century
Culture:cuirass, Iranian; mail shirt, Iranian or Indian
Medium:Steel, iron, gold, leather, textile
Dimensions:Breast- and backplates: 11 x 11 in. (28 x 28 cm); side plates: 11 5/8 x 6 1/8 in. (29.5 x 15.5 cm); Wt. of cuirass 6 lb. 8 oz. (2948 g)
Classification:Armor Parts
Credit Line:Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935
Object Number:36.25.18a–d, .22a
Inscription: Inscribed on the cuirass: al- Asmāʾ Allāh al-Ḥusnā, "the ninety-nine names of Allah."
George Cameron Stone, New York (until d. November 18, 1935; his bequest to MMA).
Grancsay, Stephen V., Thomas T. Hopes, George C. Stone, and Fred G. Blakeslee. [Boxed Set Containing "Brief Essays on Armor and Arms," Nos. 1–4 and a Series of 17 Pamphlets of Photographs of Arms and Armor in Members' Collections, Nos. 1–85]. New York: Armor and Arms Club, 1925. no. 1, fig. 56 (36.25.18a–d).
Grancsay, Stephen V. "A Loan Collection of Oriental Armor." The Metropolitan Museum fo Art Bulletin (May 1928), pp. 128–29, ill. (36.25.18a–d).
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. 43, fig. 56.2 (36.25.18a–d).
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. 43, fig. 56.2 (36.25.18a–d).
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. 43, fig. 56.2 (36.25.18a–d).
Stöcklein, Hans. "Arms and Armor." In A Survey of Persian Art, edited by Arthur Upham Pope, and Phyllis Ackerman. Vol. 3. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1939. pp. 2561–62, n. 4 (36.25.18a–d).
Robinson, H. Russell. Oriental Armour. London: Jenkins, 1967. pp. 36–38, fig. 21 (36.25.18a–d).
Alexander, David G. "Decorated and Inscribed Mail Shirts in the Metropolitan Museum." Waffen– und Kostümkunde: Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für historische Waffen– und Kostümkunde, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 44, ser. 3, v. 27, no. 1 pp. 33–34, fig. 7 (36.25.22a–c).
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. Arms & Armor: Essays by Stephen V. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 26–27, fig. 7.1 (36.25.18a–d).
Allan, James, and Brian J. J. Gilmour. Persian Steel: The Tanavoli Collection. Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, Vol. 15. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 136 (36.25.18a–d).
Alexander, David, Stuart W. Pyhrr, and Will Kwiatkowski. Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. pp. 48–51, no. 14, ill.
Reddy, Ravinder. Arms & Armour of India, Nepal & Sri Lanka: Types, Decoration and Symbolism. London: Hali Publications Limited, 2018. p. 295, ill.
blade, 18th–19th century; guard and decoration on blade, 19th century; grip, 18th century
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