Arm Guard
1733-1734 (made)
| Place of origin |
This steel armguard is finely decorated on the outer surfaces with chiselled decorative motifs and calligraphy, all covered with silver or gilt silver. The Arabic inscriptions, which are gilt, include the standard Shia Muslim prayer, the Nadi ‘Ali, and verses from the Qur’an. The armguard is also incised with the date of its manufacture, 1146 of the Islamic Hegira era, which converts to 1733–1734 in the Gregorian calandar.
The V&A bought the armguard in 1904 from a Mr G.H. Thomas, who said he had acquired it in India ‘from the armoury of King Shuja-oddaolah of Afghanistan’. The date precedes the two periods of Shah Shuja’s rule in Afghanistan (1803–1809 and 1839–1842), but this does not necessarily rule out the stated provenance, since most royal armouries would contain earlier pieces, either received as presents or seized as booty. The 18th century was a period of great upheaval with frequent incursions by the Afghans into the Panjab, and it is impossible to know whether the armguard was made in a traditional weapon-making centre such as Lahore, or in Afghanistan.
The V&A bought the armguard in 1904 from a Mr G.H. Thomas, who said he had acquired it in India ‘from the armoury of King Shuja-oddaolah of Afghanistan’. The date precedes the two periods of Shah Shuja’s rule in Afghanistan (1803–1809 and 1839–1842), but this does not necessarily rule out the stated provenance, since most royal armouries would contain earlier pieces, either received as presents or seized as booty. The 18th century was a period of great upheaval with frequent incursions by the Afghans into the Panjab, and it is impossible to know whether the armguard was made in a traditional weapon-making centre such as Lahore, or in Afghanistan.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Steel, overlaid with gold and silver |
| Brief description | Arm guard; steel overlaid with sheet silver and gold wire; Afghanistan or Panjab, dated 1146 AH/1733-34 AD. |
| Physical description | The steel arm guard is of a standard form found in the Mughal empire from the 17th century onwards, though it has two shorter sections protecting the inner forearm rather than the more usual single piece. The sections are attached to each other by rivetted steel links. The outer surface is entirely covered with silver overlay, and further embellished with gold overlaid decoration applied over a chiselled and ring-matted ground. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | There is an incised date, 1146 AH, which converts to 1733-34 AD. The armguard also has religious inscriptions including the standard prayer of Shia Muslims, the Nadi 'Ali, and verses from the Koran.
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| Credit line | Purchased from Mr G.H.Thomas |
| Object history | The armguard was sold by Mr G. H. Thomas to the V&A in 1904 with the information that he had acquired it in India "from the armoury of King Shuja-oddaolah of Afghanistan". However, the date on the armguard, 1733-34, predates the two periods of Shah Shuja's rule in Afghanistan (1803-09 and 1839-42), but this does not necessarily rule out the stated provenance as most royal armouries would contain earlier pieces, either received as presents or seized as booty. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This steel armguard is finely decorated on the outer surfaces with chiselled decorative motifs and calligraphy, all covered with silver or gilt silver. The Arabic inscriptions, which are gilt, include the standard Shia Muslim prayer, the Nadi ‘Ali, and verses from the Qur’an. The armguard is also incised with the date of its manufacture, 1146 of the Islamic Hegira era, which converts to 1733–1734 in the Gregorian calandar. The V&A bought the armguard in 1904 from a Mr G.H. Thomas, who said he had acquired it in India ‘from the armoury of King Shuja-oddaolah of Afghanistan’. The date precedes the two periods of Shah Shuja’s rule in Afghanistan (1803–1809 and 1839–1842), but this does not necessarily rule out the stated provenance, since most royal armouries would contain earlier pieces, either received as presents or seized as booty. The 18th century was a period of great upheaval with frequent incursions by the Afghans into the Panjab, and it is impossible to know whether the armguard was made in a traditional weapon-making centre such as Lahore, or in Afghanistan. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 190-1904 |
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| Record created | January 2, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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