Set of Armor Plates (Char-aina) (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This set of armor consists of a breastplate, back plate, and two side plates cut away to accommodate the arms. Connected by leather straps, it would have been worn over a chain-mail shirt. Called a char-aina (four mirrors), it was thought to deflect the evil eye, as well as blades and arrowheads. The central steel panels are decorated with low-relief volutes and surrounded by a wide border of finely engraved palmettes filled with gold. The weak internal structures of the plates suggest that they were meant to be worn in parades and court ceremonies, rather than in battle.
Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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