It’s difficult to pick a favorite object in The Met collection, but New York artist Laurie Anderson finds herself making a beeline to the Mail Shirt with Inscribed Rings (15th–16th century) whenever she visits.
Mail Shirt with Inscribed Rings, 15th–16th century. Possibly Iranian. Iron, copper alloy, 49 1/4 x 29 1/8 in. (125 x 74 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2016 (2016.2)
The shirt is constructed entirely of interlocking riveted links or iron and copper alloy, each stamped with the names of Allah and the five leading imams of the Shi’a (i.e. Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn), who are also collectively known as The Five (Panj tan) or the People of the Cloak (Ahl al-Kisa). These links are occasionally interspersed with links stamped with the talismanic invocation (translated): “There is no hero like ‘Ali and no sword like Dhu’l faqar.” These holy inscriptions ensured that the shirt provided the wearer with talismanic protection against peril.
For Anderson, the shirt remains a source of endless fascination and a happy reminder of the Friday evenings she spent at the Museum with her husband, Lou Reed. Join her in our Arms and Armor galleries as she contemplates the ways objects imprint on us and the charges they carry through time.
