Enrica Medugno
Senior Sale Coordinator
Lot 103R
A set of Qajar gold and silver-damascened steel armour Persia, 19th Century(3)
12 November 2024, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£7,000 - £9,000
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Oliver White
Head of Department
A set of Qajar gold and silver-damascened steel armour
Persia, 19th Century
Persia, 19th Century
comprising a helmet (khula-khud), a shield (sipar) and an arm-guard (bazuband), engraved and decorated in gold and silver overlay, the helmet with cartouches containing floral sprays, on a ground of dense foliate and floral interlace with a band of inscription-filled cartouches and roundels to the rim, the shield with cartouches containing quatrefoil floral motifs on a ground of dense foliate and floral interlace surrounded by a band of inscription-filled cartouches and roundels, the arm-guard with cartouches containing mounted horsemen and birds surrounded by floral tendrils, the helmet with noseguard flanked by plume holders, the camail with steel and brass rings forming horizontal bands, the shield mounted with four bosses, four suspension loops to reverse with straps
the shield 46.6 cm. diam(3)
the shield 46.6 cm. diam(3)
Footnotes
Inscriptions: to the shield, Persian poems, not fully deciphered; to the helmet, Persian verses in praise of the helmet.
Persian armour features only one arm-guard, as in the present lot, with the shield being used on the other arm as defence. A comparable set of armour with similar engraved decoration is illustrated in R. Hales, Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour: A Lifetime's Passion, London, 2013, p. 316, no. 770.
Important Notice to Buyers
Some countries, e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of works of particular origins. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) and Syrian origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid on or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.