1)Persian khula-khud (helmet), char-aina (chahar-aina, chahar a’ineh), literally the four mirrors, chest armor with four plates, bazu band (vambrace/arm guards), zirah (mail shirt), sipar...
Iran, Ak-Koyunlu period, late 15th century.
Shoes or boots are one of the last items on most peoples list of garb items. And this is because of a lot of things, health issues, comfort and even fear – smile. In general most can get by with mo…
Page 24 of 26 - Armour & weapon designs - a plea (part III). - posted in Pillars of Eternity: General Discussion (NO SPOILERS): Brilliant tournament armours. I really like the foot armour in the background too.
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Being a Scythian might just be my new favourite thing!
I think that armour is one of the hallmarks of civilisation. I speak here of civilisation in the classic sense: agrarian, stratified, complex societies in which a calorific surplus supports classes of specialists. Armour was an effective means of gaining military advantage for most of human history. Every tribe had access to weapons, every tribe had its fair share of violent men, but there are things about armour that require a level of organisation and wealth unavailable to nomadic peoples living in small kinship groups but that is available to settled people who live in towns and cities connected by trade. The fact of there being sufficient surplus to invest into military technology and the incentive to do so (to protect the surplus) means that military tech seems to emerge out of the situation spontaneously. Military technology is like a physical manifestation of the basic human desire to do violence with impunity, and the cultural environment provided by civilisation allows it to thrive. Historical armour worked, every single piece of armour I have included would have provided a degree of protection from injury from the kinds of weapons that the members of those cultures would have encountered. All other things being equal, the armoured individual wins the fight. In addition to this, armour also functions effectively as a sign of status. Its effectiveness as a sign and its effectiveness as a protective garment are inextricably linked: craftsmanship implies laborious attainment of skill, wealth, power. In order to produce effective armour there is a degree of organisation that needs to take place; organisation of labour, development of special skills, economic activity associated with the acquisition of materials, the production of surplus to support it all. The warrior wearing the armour carries around the evidence of this civilisation like a talisman. The more magnificent the armour the more cunning and splendid the civilisation behind it all must be. It could also be said that by implying the presence of sophisticated civilisation behind it all, the warriors are also advertising their own effectiveness as men of violence. With such sheep, what must the shepherds be like? ---------------------------------------- In terms of game mechanics I am conflicted. I simultaneously love the bewildering variety of armour and armour components available and dislike too much mechanical complexity. I am pretty happy with a system of light, medium and heavy armour, with helmets and shields providing extra bonuses, but would like to have a very crunchy system where lowly characters in jackboots and wooden helmets strip slain enemies of their rancid fish leather cuirasses to gain a small advantage. Ideally, everything in every game should be unique, it should be illustrated and it should be culturally and mechanically embedded in the game. So rather than wearing a wearing a mail shirt, a character should be wearing a rusty baidana with the names of the twenty-seven Thulean saints inscribed upon the rings. (+3 AC, +1 reaction among Praskoviyan Heretics, -4 reaction among Laighlander clergy). This is probably too ponderous. {The other option is to rule Fibre, Wood, Skin and Textile armor as Light (+1 AC), Scale, Lamellar, Brigandine,Coats-of-Plates and Mail as Medium (+3 AC) Plate as Heavy (+5 AC), Helmets and small shields offer +1 AC each and large shields offer +2 AC} _____________ What follows is a crude typology I established based on a few feckless days of perfunctory perusal and the raiding of Pinterest pins from some bloke who took offence and blocked me (which is apparently a thing). The categories are not backed up by any academic study but are useful in lumping things together that they may be examined. I am aware that the list is by no means complete and would appreciate additional examples of strange armour from around the world. I am also aware that there are many composite forms that combine one or more of the following categories - this is especially the case with Japanese armour which seems to be approximately as complex as all the armour of the rest of the world combined (so I am trying to avoid it). I'll do shields and helmets later on. The categories I have chosen are based on techniques of manufacture and are; Fibre/Wooden Armour: wooden armour. rattan armour, things composed primarily of raw cellulose. Skin Armour: leather, hides, things composed of the skins of other things Textile Armour: armour composed of woven fabrics Scale/Lamellar Armour: armour composed of individual plates attached to itself or to a backing Brigandine/Coat of plates: armour composed of individual plates attached to the inside of a garment Mail Armour: armour composed of a mesh of linked metal rings Plate Armour: armour composed primarily of metal plates The Armours Fibre/Wood - these armours are, along with the Skin category, among the most primitive. I am certain, though, that they provided significant military advantage for those who wore them, especially if they were fighting unarmoured enemies, which, in the contexts these kinds of armours existed, was highly likely. Papuan woven fibre cuirasses Aleutian wooden rod armour - Alaska Gilbert Islands woven coconut fibre armour with porcupine puffer fish helmet Nauru woven coconut fibre armour Shasta wooden rod and fibre armour - Pacific Northwest Tao woven rattan and fish leather cuirass - Taiwan Tlingit wooden splint and woven fibre armour - Alaska. Note awesome wooden helmet and bevor Skin Armour: Not nearly as prominent as you'd think from the depictions in film, television and rpgs, various forms of leather and hide armour have existed in various cultures over the centuries. Most have rotted so we have to make do with such cryptic references as this one describing rhinoceros hide armour in the Chinese Warring States period, 5th to 3rd century BC (at the end of which the species were, unsurprisingly, hunted to local extinction): "The armorers (han jên) make the cuirasses (kia). Those made from the hide of the two-horned rhinoceros (si) consist of seven layers of hide; those made from the hide of the single-horned rhinoceros (se) consist of six layers. Those made from a combination of both hides consist of five layers. The first endure a hundred years; the second, two hundred; the third, three hundred." Note: I'd like to find some authentic, non-fantasy cuir-boulli but Gygax casts too long a shadow Chukchi walrus hide and wood armour from Eastern Siberia, note the special back shield characteristic of Chukchi and Koryak armours The Chukchis were formidable warriors who offered ferocious resistance to Russian colonisation, from a 1909 description of Chukchi warriors: "To be fit for fighting, every warrior undergoes hard training, and spends all his leisure in various exercises ... The hero must run for long distances, drawing a heavily-loaded sledge. He carries stone and timber, jumps up in the air, but above all, he fences with his long spear. He performs this exercise quite alone; and the chief feature of it is the brandishing of the spear with the utmost force, so that it bends like a piece of raw reindeer leg-skin. He also practices shooting with the bow, and uses for this purpose in various arrows [sic], sharp and blunt. from all these exercises he acquires great skill and agility ... When he is shot at, he avoids the arrows by springing to one side, or parries them all with the butt-end of the spear, or simply catches them between his fingers and throws them back." Roman Crocodile skin armour and Helmet from Egypt 3rd century AD Said to be ceremonial But the Osprey Men-at-Arms series of books will interpret everything in the fightingest way possible Jackboots were a legitimate form of armour, Notably, greaves and sabatons were among the first components of plate armour abandoned and replaced with these Leather Cuirass from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi Buff Coat, 17th century Engrish. These were notable for costing more than the cuirass of plate it was customarily worn with (for peculiar historical reasons) Yami fish leather cuirass and rattan helmet, Taiwan. Yes, fish leather is apparently a thing. Textile Armour: this represents the most widespread and unsung type of armour in history. It worked quite well in surprising contexts. I have seen recreations of linen jacks resisting reconstructions of bodkin arrows fired from replica longbows admirably. Aztec manuscript depicting ichcahuipilli padded armour. Probably similar to European gambesons. Notable for the fact that many Spanish eventually adopted its use because it was less oppressively hot than plate cuirasses Quilted armour from the Cameroon Indian Chilta hazar masha, coat of a thousand nails, constructed of many layers of fabric and brass rivets with some plate components Another Chilta hazar masha Eyelet Doublet, holledoublet, a curious construction of tightly sewn eyelets, by all accounts extremely resistant to cutting and piercing Authentic hunting dog jackets constructed with the same technique Details of the construction. It is apparently incredibly time-consuming French 14th century Jupon, padded armour of quilted construction, essentially the same thing as a gambeson German 15th -16th century wappenrock, probably of layered linen Reconstruction of a linothorax, a rigid form of armour constructed from layers of linen glued together. The resulting object is like ultra-tough papier-mache From Hans Memling's Altarpiece of St. Ursula, note the bloke on the left wearing a jack with jack-chains, metal reinforcement splints on his arms. Also notable is the fact he is wearing the garment over a mail shirt, perfectly standard practice This is a strange one, not only is Japanese armour complicated and strange in every other way, they also invented the horo, which is a fabric covered wicker frame that offers protection from blows from behind. These things can be huge and imposing and definitely constitute part of the samurai's considerable arsenal of psychological warfare Korean fabric armour looks like a potato sack Sudanese jibba, padded armour of quilted construction More Sudanese armour. I get the distinct impression that there were parts of Africa experiencing mediaeval combat well into the modern era This image depicts a type of Russian padded armour called a tyegilyai which is difficult to track down in its original form when you got no Cyrillic to work with Scale/Lamellar Armour: closely-related forms of armour based on little plates laced together. The distinction is that lamellar plates are laced together independent of a backing and scale plates are laced directly to a backing. Brigandine and coats of plates are closely related forms that have the plates on the inside. Unfortunately nomenclature does not provide a convenient term allowing me to lump them together. Chukchi lamellar made of bone, walrus hide and deer antler apparently, the helmet is also lamellar European "penny plate" helmet of scale construction Japanese coin armour, close resemblance to Meyrick's apocryphal "ringmail" Japanese lacquered leather scale armour Koryak iron lamellar, 1901. The Koryaks lived in Eastern Siberia near the Chukchis and with them made a transition from bone lamellar to iron Sudanese ring armour from Battle of Omdurman, 1898, Meyrick style but half a world away and centuries too late Yolo leather lamellar, Chinese, Note lacquered leather arm defence Leather scale armour. I can't find a reference but I recall seeing this listed as Scythian, so maybe 3rd century BC Polynesian coconut husk scale armour on backing of woven rattan Roman lorica squamata iron scale armour. Italian iron scale armour, 14th century Tlingit Chinese coin armour, apparently the Tlingit traded furs and were paid in Chinese coins which they evidently had difficulty spending. I can imagine it would be useful to have it on you if you need to purchase something. Reconstruction of Valsgarde pre-Viking splinted arm and leg defense WWI French steel body armour of a structure similar to Meyrick's apocryphal tegulated mail construction Reconstruction of Qin dynasty ceremonial stone lamellar, 3rd century BC Tibetan iron lamellar with lamellar aventail on helmet, possibly 16th -17th century Filipino Moro carabao (water buffalo) horn cuirass and helmet emulating Spanish plate armour Brigandine/Coat-of-Plates: this form of armour is like inside-out lamellar or scale armour, even to the extent that there are examples of coats of plates that are constructed of old lames from recycled lamellar. The distinction tends to be that brigandines are composed of smaller plates, are often stylishly emulative of civilian jerkins and are a later development. Coats of plates are technological precursors to European plate armour of the later Mediaeval and have a comparitively clunky quality. Italian 16th century brigandine showing construction. Mongolian boots with metal plates inside Boru coat of plates, iron and leather, African Swedish Coat of Plates from the Battle of Visby in 1361 Swedish Coat of Plates from the Battle of Visby in 1361, showing the variation in the size and shape and number of plates Reconstruction of a Visby Coat of Plates Another 16th century Italian Brigandine English jack of plates, distinct from the brigandine in that the plates are sewn in rather than riveted Mail Armour: flexible mesh woven of metal rings. All mail known in Europe since its invention by the Celts in the 3rd century BC is made with riveted rings or a combination of riveted and solid rings, though much Asian mail is made of rings that are not riveted but butted together, which makes them significantly weaker. Proper riveted mail is notable for being pretty much invulnerable to cutting blows. You can get bludgeoned to death through it and a good thrust with a strong weapon can break a few rings and wound but cutting it is hard. It's also pretty good against arrows provided some kind of padding is worn underneath. Venetian 15th century riveted mail hauberk Sind Mail and Plate armour, 18th to 19th century, India or Pakistan Arming doublet with mail sleeves and voiders, 15th century European "Bishop's Mantle" constructed of over 100,000 individual riveted links, German, 16th century French Arming doublet with mail sleeves Japanese mail and plate armour, Japan has a bewildering number of mail weaves. Japanese mail is always sewn to a fabric backing Japanese Yoroi Katabira with mail sewn inside a padded garment Ottoman kazaghand with mail sewn inside 15th century. This armour was also referred to as a jazerant or gestron Moro mail and plate armour with mail and plate helmet/coif Persian mail and plate armour and barding, 1450 Russian baidana mail, notable for its use of flat "washer" shaped riveted rings Russian baidana mail shirt belonging to Tsar Boris Godunov Plate: As a construction technique for armour, the use of plates of metal is ancient, and approaches high levels of sophistication in Roman times before achieving its apotheosis in the European Renaissance. Plate armour is incredibly difficult to cut or puncture and, contrary to popular belief, very resistant to arrows. There was also a period after the advent of firearms when heavier plate was made bulletproof and shot after construction to provide a dent as proof of that fact. Most, but not all, helmets use this manner of construction. Mycenaean Dendra Panoply, bronze, 15th century BC Bronze cuirass, Netherlands 11th to 8th century BC Etruscan bronze breastplate, 8th century BC Etruscan kardiophylax, bronze pectoral, 7th century BC Greek bell cuirass, bronze, 7th century BC Greek muscle cuirass 475 BC Etruscan triple-disc breastplate, 5th-4th century BC Carthaginian brass breastplate, 3rd century BC Italian transitional armour, 14th century, incorporating elements of brigandine, mail and plate Henry VIII's armour from about 1510, body armour does not improve after this point, Henry outgrows this armour fairly quickly German anime cuirass from about 1590 French Cuirassiers three-quarter armour, 1630, the armour of the lower legs is discarded first Persian krug mail and plate cuirass, 16th to 17th century Japanese breastplate with marks of bullets, 1750 Iron plate cuirass from Nias, Indonesia late 19th to early 20th century
Time to review the top guns of our 2015 December Premiere Firearms Auction, and the event was HUGE. In case you hadn't heard, the event resulted in nearly $15 million in sales and pushed our annual total to $51 MILLION! That is another record in the firearms industry set by Rock Island Auction Company and we couldn't be more proud. Since no one else has breached even $40 million, these phenomenal numbers cement our place as the world's #1 firearms auction house for a twelfth consecutive year. Of course, we couldn't have done it without the trust of our consignors, the loyalty of our buyers, and a super active internet community like you that likes our posts, shares our photos, watches our videos, and reads our blogs. Click here to read the full write-up of the 2015 December Premiere Firearms Auction Numbers like this should be extremely encouraging for the entire firearms community! It's no secret that the number of new guns being sold seems to reach a new high every other month and by our own numbers the overall market for collectible firearms is also at new and exciting heights. We had bidders from 21 countries bidding via the RIAC website alone! Let's take a look at some of the high dollar, popular, and over-achieving guns in this sale. Most Popular Lot 3665: U.S. Winchester Arms M1 Garand Semi-Automatic Rifle with Case Estimate: $700 - $1,000 Realized Price: $1,725 Number of Sealed Bidders: >30 The popularity of M1 Garands does not appear to be waning anytime soon, especially high condition examples. This has been especially apparent in 2015 when we sold M1 serial number 7, prototype models from the SALVO project, and more famously a National Match refinished by the CPRPFS (now the CMP) that belonged to President John F. Kennedy. The Winchester M1 shown above was manufactured in 1944 and wonderfully restored by Miltech of California. Original or restored, people want a good looking Garand; this rifle simply allowed them to do it with a significant reduction in price but still with high attention to detail and authenticity. Top Dollar Lot 1262: Important, Fresh and Extremely Significant Middle Eastern Treasure: 15th Century Shirt of Mail and Plate with Elaborate Gold Koftgari Decorated Plate Reinforcement with the Property Stamp from the Janissary Arsenal at the Hagia Irene Church in Istanbul with Inscription that Appears to Bear the name of the Recipient: Qaytbay Mamluk Sultan of Egypt 1468-1496 Estimate: $200,000 - $500,000 Realized Price: $2.3 Million If you receive our emails or look at our social media pages, then you already knew about this one. A 15th century shirt of armor belonging to an Egyptian sultan sold for $2.3 million dollars! This is far and away the highest amount achieved by any item at Rock Island Auction Company, and what an exciting moment it was to watch it sell. It is simply an incredible piece that was covered in more depth by our "More Museum Worthy Pieces" article last month. For a blow-by-blow account of the sale of the shirt, read our full auction write-up. Highest Performing Item Overall Lot 1132: Finely Carved Powder Horn with French-Indian War Themed Decoration Estimate: $1,800 - $2,750 Realized Price: $25,875 With the wonderfully high sale price of the armor, you'd think it would be a no-brainer for the highest performing item in the auction. However, this unassuming powder horn takes that prize by hammering for 1,150% over its low estimate, while the armor hammered over its mark by 900%. The engraving on the horn is sharp and, at its base, depicts armed Native Americans bearing a flag of Great Britain. The rest shows an unnamed river with tributaries that wraps around the horn almost two complete times. The horn may have doubled as a map for someone who frequently traveled that waterway. Highest Performing Genre: The Royal Hunt Collection Lot 1329: Massive and Magnificent European Red Stag Wall Mount From King Frederick William III Accompanied by Mid-19th Century Military Themed Items Average Percentage Above Low Estimate: 260% OK, so the true top performing genre was the "Antique European Military Item," but that stat is definitely going to be skewed by the sale of the armor. The next genre in the list is the items from the Royal Hunt Collection. An incredible collection of hunting trophies taken by top men in the Imperial German military and assembled over 40 years through the support of Kaiser Wilhelm II's descendants. The moment these began to be offered, you could hear the buzz in the room and it was reflected in the bids. It was nearly dumbfounding to see mount after mount pass their estimates by thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. Selling a mere 60 lots after the Egyptian armor, it was a very exciting afternoon at Rock Island Auction Co. Obviously, the non-firearm items in this auction had a spectacular day, but let's look at some of the top sellers in some of the most popular areas of collecting. Highest Selling Colt Lot 1687: Super Ultra-Rare Early Production Colt Model 1909 Serial Number "22" 45 ACP Semi-Automatic Test Trial Pistol with Factory Letter Realized Price: $161,000 The headline for this weapon says it all. It's a ridiculously high condition example of an important developmental stage of an iconic weapon. There were 23 ever made, serialed 0-22 making this the final one ever produced! It was easily the top dollar Colt in the auction with its $161,000 realized price. In second was a San Francisco shipped, Glahn engraved Single Action Army in .44 S&W with an R.L. Wilson letter in lot 1220 that realized $103,500. Each one a beauty! Highest Selling Winchester Lot 1014: Magnificent John Ulrich Masterpiece Factory Engraved, Signed, Gold Inlaid, and Elaborately Ornamented Winchester Model 1894 Lever Action Rifle From the Legendary Mac McCroskie Collection Realized Price: $207,000 This was the highest estimated Winchester in the auction, so there's no big surprise here. Though guns that were not the highest estimate have come through before! It's another outstanding piece from the Mac McCroskie Collection, so you know it is of the highest quality and condition. As Director of Auction Services Kevin Hogan says, "If there was a Mount Rushmore of gun collecting, he'd be on it." This gun is a fine representation of the caliber of guns in his collection (no pun intended). Expertly master engraved, gorgeous wood, gold inlaid, high condition, and featured in several books, it is everything a collector could want from a top of the line Winchester. Highest Selling Civil War Arm Lot 3174: Rare U.S. Civil War Era Ames Foundry Model 1841 6 Pounder Cannon Dated 1855 with Provenance Realized Price: $109,250 It's true, this isn't a small arm, but it is definitely the highest selling Civil War Era item in the sale. Many cannons come through our doors, but few are original models like this one. This cannon is one of very few 6-pounders in private hands, especially when accompanied by its large quantities of documentation. The highest selling small arm of the sale was sold only two lots earlier and was the Sharps Model 1853 in lot 3172 that was captured during John Brown's raid on the Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. That historical carbine sold for $28,750. Highest Selling Non-Firearm This was easily the Egyptian armor. Since we've covered it already, we'll be moving right along. Highest Selling German Arm Lot 1584: Rare Historic Factory Engraved Walther PP Gold Plated Nazi Presentation Semi Automatic Pistol with Leather Holster and Spare Magazine Realized Price: $37,375 We have seen some absolutely incredible European arms collections come through our doors this year. This was especially apparent in The Iconic Ralph Shattuck Collection filled with amazing Lugers and German military pieces. Pistols like this gold plated, presentation Walther PP show that the collections are still rolling in and going strong. It's beautiful, pre-WWII, fresh to the market, and according to the inscription, was a Christmas present in 1934. The collector that secured this fine firearm has some fascinating research ahead of them. Following the Royal Hunt Collection, German Military Lugers were the 2nd highest performing genre in the entire auction - a good sign of a continuing solid market for those collectors. What a sale and what a year! It was an exciting weekend that put an exclamation point on an already successful season. Newcomer collections were top performers and led the way via the Legendary Mac McCroskie Collection and the Royal Hunt Collection, but traditional genres such as the German Military pieces were not far behind. Again, a hearty and sincere thank you to everyone who helped make this year, and the previous 11 a reality. We'll continue to work as hard as we can to keep your interest, your trust, and your loyalty. Our next auction will be an Online Only Auction held on Friday, January 29, 2016 beginning at 9:00 a.m. CT. The first batch of lots in that auction has posted today! Head on over to gunauctiononline.com search today to browse and bid on these items. It'll be a great way to start the new year. -Written by Joel R. Kolander
Persian Lithorax. Based on historical sources (iconography). Hand sewn. Materials; vegetable tanned leather, felt, linen, copper nad brass. Plates thickness: 1mm. In response we will send you a mail with estimated delivery date and you will be asked to take all measurements needed to prepare a lamellar especially for you (we treat each of our clients individually). www.lykia.pl FB: https://www.facebook.com/Lykia-Armour-443952388965839
Another reason why Moro armors are not Mindanaoan is the chain linking design. Ottoman metal arts produced different ki...
So, I had to do something with all those lamellar pieces I made, right? First I tied rows of it together using some paracord – I think it took about 27 of them to go around my body? Then I ti…
As a self-taught leatherworker, I know the struggle of trying to break into a field with a rather daunting reputation for being both esoteric and expensive — but what I’ve found is that…
Zafaranama, ca 1467. Garrett Library Manuscripts, 3 Painting by Bihzad
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