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Mail Shirt

ca. 1500–1600
Not on view
This is part of a small group of inscribed mail shirts constructed of riveted and inscribed iron-alloy and copper-alloy links, examples of which are preserved in the Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The links are each stamped on the obverse with the names of Allah and the five leading imams of the Shi’a (i.e. Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn), who are also collectively known as The Five (Panj tan) or the People of the Cloak (Ahl al-Kisa). They are plain on the reverse.

The shirt is believed to have been used by the sculptor Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (1876–1973) while modeling her monumental equestrian bronze statue of El Cid (cast in 1927), which still stands today on the grounds of The Hispanic Society, New York.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mail Shirt
  • Date: ca. 1500–1600
  • Culture: Persian
  • Medium: Iron alloy, copper alloy (latten), copper, brass
  • Dimensions: L. 34 in. (86.4 cm); W. 57 in. (144.8 cm); Diam. (outside) of links 11/16 (17.0 mm); Diam. (inside) of links 7/16 in. (11.0 mm); Wt. 16 lb. 9 oz. (7520.6 g)
  • Classification: Mail
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.198
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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