Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Paroosevelt · 12th January 2014, 04:45 PM

Hi people. Thanks for the response and sorry for such a late reply. In all honesty I'm not a collector and haven't been greatly interest in arms and armour. I'm writing a report up for a piece uni work and thought this might be a good place to start off with ideas. I have actually found the area quite fascinating though.

I visited the royal armouries in Leeds recently which has one example which is very similar in design although the decorative motifs are more similar to the helmet design already posted.

I'm currently hung up on the technical aspects and the signs of use or wear. For example there is a large crack on the back at the top and numerous other nicks on the iron plating. However there are no corresponding nicks on the copper alloy. I was thinking they had been replaced or were a later addition altogether.

What also bothers me is that the bottom of the guard at the back appears to have been cut through. You can see that the rivets are cut in half. I'm not at all sure why this has been done as the holes which would attach to the mail of the hand guard are now missing. I was wondering if the two larger holes were made to compensate for this offering alternative connection to other bits of armour or if they were indeed done for display as already suggested. The piece is part of the dodds collection at the oriental museum durham. Dodds donated thousands of pieces and had a penchant for altering his booty which is quite worrying. He also never kept records which is kind of the reason I'm doing this work.

You can also see that the hinge is made of numerous pieces and not just two. This is probably a question for a blacksmith but i wonder if this was common. I'm not sure if anyone can answer any of these queries but they just from part of interesting reasearch on the use of objects and their authenticity.

I read an article recently in the royal armouries yearbook about the galvanization of indian armours with zinc. Apparently the study shows the examples as being the earliest known evidence for galvanizing. I wonder if my armguard has been subject to the same treatment although i suppose scientific analysis would have to clear that up.

I hope you find these questions as interesting as i do.

12th January 2014, 04:45 PM	#13
Paroosevelt Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 3	Hi people. Thanks for the response and sorry for such a late reply. In all honesty I'm not a collector and haven't been greatly interest in arms and armour. I'm writing a report up for a piece uni work and thought this might be a good place to start off with ideas. I have actually found the area quite fascinating though. I visited the royal armouries in Leeds recently which has one example which is very similar in design although the decorative motifs are more similar to the helmet design already posted. I'm currently hung up on the technical aspects and the signs of use or wear. For example there is a large crack on the back at the top and numerous other nicks on the iron plating. However there are no corresponding nicks on the copper alloy. I was thinking they had been replaced or were a later addition altogether. What also bothers me is that the bottom of the guard at the back appears to have been cut through. You can see that the rivets are cut in half. I'm not at all sure why this has been done as the holes which would attach to the mail of the hand guard are now missing. I was wondering if the two larger holes were made to compensate for this offering alternative connection to other bits of armour or if they were indeed done for display as already suggested. The piece is part of the dodds collection at the oriental museum durham. Dodds donated thousands of pieces and had a penchant for altering his booty which is quite worrying. He also never kept records which is kind of the reason I'm doing this work. You can also see that the hinge is made of numerous pieces and not just two. This is probably a question for a blacksmith but i wonder if this was common. I'm not sure if anyone can answer any of these queries but they just from part of interesting reasearch on the use of objects and their authenticity. I read an article recently in the royal armouries yearbook about the galvanization of indian armours with zinc. Apparently the study shows the examples as being the earliest known evidence for galvanizing. I wonder if my armguard has been subject to the same treatment although i suppose scientific analysis would have to clear that up. I hope you find these questions as interesting as i do.