A RARE OTTOMAN FOREARM DEFENCE, TURKEY, 17TH CENTURY

A RARE OTTOMAN FOREARM DEFENCE, TURKEY, 17TH CENTURY formed of a tapering gutter-shaped main plate and a smaller inner plate joined by rivetted mail links of rounded wire, the plates engraved with scrolling foliage on a punched ground over the greater part of their surfaces and brief inscriptions, and traces of early gilding (the main plate with an early patched repair and small holes, the edges with small chips, patinated) 39.8 cm; 15 3/8 in The inscriptions are Arabic: 'ala niyyat al-ghuza wa fi'l-jihad' (with the intention of the holy warriors and by way of holy war).