Bijapur Chainmail “bikaner”

Chainmail was worn in many cultures from Europe to East Asia and was found to be effective against sword blows. The basic form of chainmail is made of iron rings, often riveted in an interlocking pattern to create an entire shirt, trousers or aventail. The Indian word for chainmail is called "zirah" or "zirah bagtar" and was widely adopted by Persian, Ottoman, Eastern European and Indian armies from the 15th to the late 19th centuries. The type of construction varies across most cultures, but Islamic and Eastern European designs were often forged in molds, pierced and riveted. Sometimes, armor plates were attached to the front and back of the armor to provide additional protection, as in our example here.

This chainmail is part of a series known as the Anup Sing from the Spoils of Bikaner. Anup Sing was the Mughal ruler of the Kingdom of Bikaner from 1669 to 1698. During the Battle of Adoni in 1689, a large quantity of chainmail and weapons were looted and preserved in the Bikaner armoury, where they were given their typical Bikaner markings. The plate armour has a Devanagari script on the inside that reads "Si Maharajah Anup Singh 1689 Adoni" and a lower cartouche is numbered "No. 199". The front of the shirt has two steel plates to ensure effective coverage of the vital organs. The steel plates are connected to several side plates. The back has three lines of horizontal lamellar plates to ensure coverage of the back and maximum freedom of movement on the battlefield. The neck is padded with a thick cotton collar to ensure comfort and protection.

DELIVERED WITHOUT STAND!