6th Dec, 2023 11:00
Arms, Armour & Militaria
83
A RARE SOUTH INDIAN MAIL AND PLATE SHIRT (ZEREH BAGTAR), 17TH CENTURY, PROBABLY HYDERABAD OR GOLCONDA, ANDRHA PRADESH
formed of riveted rings of D-section wire alternating with heavy solid rings, open at the front, a pair of half-length arms, extending to the waist, vented at the back, the front, back, and sides fitted with vertical panels of rectangular lamellar plates over the torso, those on the back arranged over six columns with two tall panels on each side with a Devanagari inscriptions, and those at the front arranged over four columns on each side (small losses, some minor early internally patched repairs, expert restorations), 67.0 cm
Roy Elvis Catalogue Number A16.
The inscriptions include the name Maharajah Anup Singh and 'No. 10'.
A related shirt, with more elaborate plates inscribed to Maharajah Anup Singh is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. No. 2000.497).
Maharaja Anup Singh (reigned 1669-98) was a general in the armies of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707) and led a series of campaigns in the Deccan including battles at Golconda in 1687 and Adoni in 1689. Most of the arms and armour captured by him was then placed in his armoury at Bikaner. It is likely that this shirt originates from Bijapur, the richest and most powerful state in the Deccan until its defeat by Aurangzeb. Mail shirts reinforced with steel or iron plates were probably introduced to India during the early Mughal period by the Ottomans. See Alexander 2015, p. 46, no. 13.
Sold for £4,000
formed of riveted rings of D-section wire alternating with heavy solid rings, open at the front, a pair of half-length arms, extending to the waist, vented at the back, the front, back, and sides fitted with vertical panels of rectangular lamellar plates over the torso, those on the back arranged over six columns with two tall panels on each side with a Devanagari inscriptions, and those at the front arranged over four columns on each side (small losses, some minor early internally patched repairs, expert restorations), 67.0 cm
Roy Elvis Catalogue Number A16.
The inscriptions include the name Maharajah Anup Singh and 'No. 10'.
A related shirt, with more elaborate plates inscribed to Maharajah Anup Singh is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. No. 2000.497).
Maharaja Anup Singh (reigned 1669-98) was a general in the armies of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707) and led a series of campaigns in the Deccan including battles at Golconda in 1687 and Adoni in 1689. Most of the arms and armour captured by him was then placed in his armoury at Bikaner. It is likely that this shirt originates from Bijapur, the richest and most powerful state in the Deccan until its defeat by Aurangzeb. Mail shirts reinforced with steel or iron plates were probably introduced to India during the early Mughal period by the Ottomans. See Alexander 2015, p. 46, no. 13.
Auction: Arms, Armour & Militaria, 6th Dec, 2023
