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LOT 0303
Medieval Warrior's Iron Chain Mail Armour Shirt
CIRCA 15TH CENTURY A.D.
30 1/4 x 22 in. (9.93 kg, 87 x 56 cm).
A butted short-sleeved chainmail shirt made of thick oval rings assembled in the usual system of one-to-four; in an excellent state of preservation, with over 95% of the rings intact, very few broken or corroded, with no later additions.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market before 2000.
Private collection, South Germany.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13066-249665.
Cf. a similar mail shirt from Germany with butted rings from Nuremberg, 15th century, in the Metropoltan Museum of Art, New York, no.25.188.9; Gilliot, Weapons and Armours, Bayeux, 2008, pp.17-20, for similar coats of mail from Germany; Wood, E., Edge, D., Williams, A., ‘A note on the construction and metallurgy of mail armour exhibited in the Wallace Collection’ in Acta Militaria Medievalia, Tom IX, Kraków-Sanok, 2013, pp.203-228; Wijnhoven, M.A., Ringed battle shirts from the iron age, Roman Period and Early Middle Ages, Amsterdam, 2022.
FootnotesIn the German-manufactured ring mail armours, in the 15th century A.D., the rings protecting the breast were very thick, whereas the sleeved mail armours were thinner. Master armourers from Nuremberg were famous for this production across Europe.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0303
Medieval Warrior's Iron Chain Mail Armour Shirt
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
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Viking Hooked Iron Axehead
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A piriform vessel with short neck, domed lip and conical base, bands to the shoulder with impressed annulets and other detailing; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 885 grams, 16.3 cm
Fine condition.
From the collection of a North London gentleman, latterly with a London gallery as a display collection exhibiting the wide range of decorative types; accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD. -
Late Roman Iron Axehead
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Small type with broad curved cutting edge, round socket in a triangular frame; narrow neck. 97 grams, 73 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
