Extravagance in Arms and Armaments
From bejeweled weaponry, to long extant military architecture, and golden chain plates, we explore extravagance throughout ancient Islamic empires in the 8th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Starting in the 8th century, we delve into ancient Abbasid architecture in Tunisia with the Ribat of Sousse. This structure and the accompanying guard tower were built with both religious and coastal military defense in mind.
Following the 16th century, Süleyman the Magnificent who ruled the Ottoman empire, commissioned three swords called yatagans. Each sword included precious materials, extreme ornamentation, and diverse cultural motifs.
As a gift from Saif Khan, the shirt of mail and plate belonging to emperor Shah Jahan is considered one of the most beautiful surviving mughal armor pieces. This 17th century armor piece contains gold plating with Qur’anic verses and references to the ninety-nine names of God.
The jeweled musket comes from a gun set in the collection of Sultan Mahmud I. He commissioned the gold and diamond encrusted gun set in the 18th century, participating in his courts’ tradition of marksmanship. The musket, however, only played a symbolic role in royal ceremonies.
The jeweled dagger comes from the region surrounding Jaipur in India. In the 18th century and through to present day, ornate daggers were used to communicate anything from status to fighting ability, and were often worn as accessories for daily use. The method of inlaid gems used to decorate the ram’s head has been passed down through generations to the present day. This method, called kundan, is used today to set jewelry.
Arms and armaments link to extravagance in the way that luxurious pieces demonstrate power and wealth of a ruler and their empire.