Scale Armor
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Not only is this extraordinary armor the best-preserved scale armor from antiquity, but it is also one of only a few examples entirely of leather that survive from such an early period. It consists of a sleeveless garment made of fifty-six rows of hard scales, which are secured by rawhide laces to a soft leather lining. The armor reaches from the shoulders to the upper thighs, with a wide band at the waist. It wraps around the torso and overlaps on the right side. Leather laces, by which the armor would have been tied closed, are found at the side of the chest and at the small of the back. A subsidiary skirt, consisting of several layers of soft leather (not visible in the photograph), is stitched to the interior lining at the bottom edge of the armor. This skirt would have reached to just below the wearer's knees. The positioning and extent of the skirt were only revealed during the conservation treatment of the armor, which is ongoing. Historically scale armor, usually of bronze or iron, was among the most long-lived and widely used forms of protection. It first appeared in Egypt and the Near East about the middle of the second millennium B.C. and continued to be worn in Europe as late as the seventeenth century A.D. Based on the style and construction of the Museum's example, it seems most likely that the armor was made by one of the nomadic cultures of Eurasia, who dominated the steppes from the sixth to the second century B.C.
Arms and Armor
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.