AN OTTOMAN STEEL KNEE GUARD Ottoman Provinces, 15th...

AN OTTOMAN STEEL KNEE GUARD
Ottoman Provinces, 15th - 16th century

The knee guard of convex oval form surrounded with mail and incorporating a thigh guard consisting of six rows of rectangular overlapping plates, with incised decoration consisting of a stylised arabesque, once possibly inlaid with precious metals as evident from punched marks and traces of silver and gold wire, just above the decorative medallion the engraved mark (tamga) of the Ottoman Arsenal based in the church of Saint Irene in Istanbul, 79cm x 58.5cm including the frame.

The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection preserves a number of greaves and knee guards from the Timurid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods, all of which are stamped with St. Irene Arsenal mark (tamga). There is evidence to suggest that these knee and leg armours were produced concurrently both in Egypt and Syria and in Anatolia and Iran throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. Our lot seems to show a high degree of indebtedness in terms of shape, design and style to a knee guard in the Furusiyya collection (Inv. R-153, cat. 290) attributed to Egypt or Syria and dated to the Mamluk period, 15th century. For an in-depth and extended study of 15th-century knee guards and armorial suits, please read Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight, The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, SKIRA, Milan, 2007, pp. 291 - 357.