Chain shirt - found on the attic -- myArmoury.com

Sabine Hüttner · Posted: Sun 22 Jan, 2017 7:09 am Post subject: Chain shirt - found on the attic

Hello,
this is a typical item, comes out the darkness of an attic, with no references to the origin or the age.
I would be very happy if I could get information about it.
More pictures are avaliable
Thank you so much!

Mark Moore · Posted: Sun 22 Jan, 2017 7:59 am Post subject:

Uhhhh.....Wow! I believe you might really have something there! Yes, more pics...Please! Big Grin

........McM

Peter Spätling · Industry Professional

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I just have to agree with Mark Moore here, more pictures would be great. Also where it came from exactly?

Thank you

Grüße

Peter

Mark Moore · Posted: Sun 22 Jan, 2017 11:29 am Post subject:

One thing I DO know....that's no modern mail. And I'm pretty sure it's not a Victorian-era recreation. If it is, its a damn good one......McM

Bram Verbeek · Posted: Sun 22 Jan, 2017 4:09 pm Post subject:

This seems like a very nice find! Don't withold pictures from us, but I think this is one of the times where you might not wish to solely rely on pictures for identification. Be careful handling it though.

So could you give us more pictures? A ruler would help on a picture with about this part, because it's hard to guess the size of the rings. Also, a picture of the whole shirt.

I think I see rivets in only half of the horizontal rows of rings, which seems to indicate it is quite old (if european).

David Lewis Smith · Posted: Sun 22 Jan, 2017 6:14 pm Post subject:

Mark Moore · Posted: Sun 22 Jan, 2017 6:45 pm Post subject:

Yeah, David.....A LOT older. It reminds me of a type I remember seeing here in the long forum thread on chain mail....just don't remember which. You can tell by the way some of the rings are worn down, this stuff was used for a long time. I'm betting it's European, but from where is anyone's guess....where and when. Question

.......McM

Sabine Hüttner · Posted: Mon 23 Jan, 2017 4:35 am Post subject:

Hello and thanks for the recent answers!
It is nice to hear that it is probably not a replica of the 21st century. It is clear to me, that only a scientific metallurgical investigation will ultimately bring facts, but this would hardly be worthwhile if it is a modern piece. Attached photos..

Dan Howard · Posted: Mon 23 Jan, 2017 6:25 am Post subject:

My first guess is Turko-Persian, perhaps 15th-17th C.

Bram Verbeek · Posted: Mon 23 Jan, 2017 3:06 pm Post subject:

I think I see the inner diameter being about a cm, maybe a bit less with the rings closed, and the diameter of the rings being 1,5 to 12mm, so it's not a heavy shirt, the design looks a bit middle eastern, so Dan might be in the right place (and he's much more knowledgable than me). The lightness to me would suggest a bit later sooner than earlier, but I would love to be corrected in both cases.

There's active rust on it, so please be careful with handling it barehanded (the sweat from your hands will accellerate rust) and keep it very dry. The loose ring could be used for testing the metal, which would give you good identification of the origin.

Ralph Grinly · Posted: Mon 23 Jan, 2017 7:44 pm Post subject:

One thing that might help to narrow down the origon of this mail is to say just where in the world this attic is ? If it's in the UK, it's possible that it's a trophy brought home from one of the many Victorian military campaigns in India or the Middle East. Mail was still being worn in those areas in the 19th C.

Mart Shearer · Posted: Mon 23 Jan, 2017 8:24 pm Post subject:

I'm in agreement with Dan. It's most likely from the Middle East.

Bram Verbeek · Posted: Mon 23 Jan, 2017 11:20 pm Post subject:

Eric S