Shirt of Mail and Plate of Emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1624–58)

Unknown

dated A.H. 1042/1632–33 CE · Steel, iron, gold, leather · Arms and Armor

This shirt ranks as one of the most beautiful surviving Mughal armors and is among the earliest dated examples. The armor plates are covered in two-color gold and incised through to the dark iron with Qur'anic inscriptions in elegant calligraphy entwined with delicate foliage. An engraved inscription inside one of the plates identifies this armor as a gift from Saif Khan, a high-ranking Mughal prince and military official at the court of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1624–58). Additional inscriptions inside the plates record valuations assigned to the armor in the later years of Shah Jahan's rule, suggesting that the armor had belonged to the emperor. The decorated plates are fitted into a sturdy shirt of thick double-riveted mail of earlier date, possibly the fifteenth century. Each ring is stamped on one side with several of the ninety-nine names of God. The multiple religious invocations on the plates and mail cloaked the wearer in protective prayer. The fish-shaped buckles are also thought to have talismanic value.

Artist

Unknown

Date

dated A.H. 1042/1632–33 CE

Medium

Steel, iron, gold, leather

Culture

Indian

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2008