Frontal Plate from a Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Most of the surviving Tibetan shaffrons are purely functional pieces of armor with minimal, if any, decoration. This outstanding example is one of the few exceptions to that rule. It is made up of two plates from the center of a shaffron, or head defense, that must originally have been part of an extremely elaborate set of horse armor belonging to a high-ranking Tibetan or Mongolian nobleman. It is the only known shaffron decorated in this style, with dragons amid scrollwork pierced, chiseled, and engraved on the thick iron ground and damascened in gold and silver. The same materials, techniques, and motifs are often seen (although usually on a thinner iron ground) on Tibetan saddle plates, ritual objects such as censers, and luxury items such as pen and cup cases and the reinforcing straps found on the entrance doors of important temples and monasteries. The only other known Tibetan shaffron with truly notable decoration (2004.402) is also in the Museum. That piece is worked in a completely different manner, however, with a textile-like pattern in gold and silver damascening on its flat iron plates.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art