Art Work’ Defending – Hauberk

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Table of Contents

Defining the Work Of Art within Historical Context
Understanding the Value of the Artistic Piece
Works Cited

The central piece of analysis is hauberk, a shirt of mail dating back to the beginning of the sixteenth century. Soldiers used the artistic piece as a part of their garment to protect their bodies from injuries and wounds. Made in Iran, the item is made of steel and brass interlocking loops interwoven into a shirt.

The sleeves of the hauberk are of elbow length or more. Apparently, woolen gloves equipped with metal as well covered the rest of the arm. The leading Shi’a imams’ names, those of Ali, Husayn, Husan, and Kazim, are stamped on the metal chains, which add up to the artistic value of the piece (Philadelphia Museum of Art n. p.). The hauberk is knee length with a split in the sides that permitted a soldier to ride a horse.

Functional qualities of the item enhance its artistic and historical value. Some features as length, size, form and texture of loops, as well as the materials the hauberk is made up, identify the cultural and economic peculiarities of the country this artistic piece originates from. For instance, it can be concluded that Iran has a certain level of economic and scientific development to be able to produce alloys of brass and steel.

The production of alloys required specific technologies and certain level of knowledge and experience. In addition, the stamped names on the metal chain indicate a historic and cultural importance of certain historic figures. Although hauberks were manufactured in many countries of the world, beginning from the 12^th century, the artistic piece shows that Medieval Asian military leaders had used these pieces of military garment for a long period.

Defining the Work Of Art within Historical Context

The piece belongs to an impressive collection of Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch exhibiting Iranian armor and armoring (Philadelphia Museum of Art n. p.). Within the historical context, the coat of mail in various countries was the main means of body defense. As the art of work shows, hauberks were usually created for riding. It was usually made of chain mail, manufacture of great antiquity (Meller 76).

Persian origin of the hauberk is explained by the tendencies of the Persian dynasties in using discs and rings sewn on tough chain textile arming their soldier (Meller 76). Though this type of armoring originates from Greeks and Romans, the Persian coats of mail possessed certain peculiarities. The hauberk production came from Europe and was spread around the Northern countries. Originally, coats of mail were made of steel rings.

However, as the artwork information reveals, the Persian hauberk has alloys of steel and brass. The Iranian use of hauberk refers to much later dates, as compared to the actual date of the armor appearance. The general use of shirts of mail refers to the beginning of 12^th century (Meller 76). However, the technical description of the artifacts proves that Persian manufacturers achieved the advanced level of production technology and designed hauberk that did not limit freedom of actions of the wearers.

Until 16^th century, the hauberk had also been presented in the Iranian fashions, which implies that the Muslim word was among the countries where coats of mail were quite popular. While tracing the characteristics of early hauberks, it is possible to highlight possible distinctions.

Hence, the first shirts of mails resembled tight-fitting tunic. Hence, the traditional hauberk had remained the basic form of body defense for a long period. Made in the form of a khaftan coat, the mail hauberk was hardly identifiable in pictorial resources (Nicolle and Hook 19).

Though the armoring had European origin, its structure looked more like lamellar cuirass, which was the most common texture in Persian culture (Nicolle and Hook 19). Because leather and iron were major materials used in armoring, the given art of work is relatively untypical of the Iranian armor manufacture. Apparently, it stipulates significant artistic and cultural interest in the hauberk from the identified collection.

Understanding the Value of the Artistic Piece

With regard to the above-presented evidence and rich history of hauberk production and development, as well as the identified peculiarities of the given piece of art, it can be stated that the Iranian shirt of mail from the von Kienbusch’s collection of armor and armoring connected different pieces of military culture in Europe and Middle East.

To begin with, the piece defines the technological and economical level of the country in which the coat mail was manufactured. Second, the work of art introduces specific trends and fashions pursued in Persian and Iranian cultures. Third, the shape and texture, as well as use of alloys, also signifies the level of technological knowledge among artisans.

In addition, the artistic piece represent a specific historic period – the sixteenth century. Regarding the starting and terminal date of hauberk usage, the country experienced as war period. Therefore, the audience should pay closer attention to such artistic evidences to have a greater picture of the historic events of that time.

Works Cited

Meller, Walter Clifford. A Knight’s Life in the Days of Chivalry. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 2005, Print.

Nicolle, David, and Adam Hook. Armies of the Caliphates 862-1098. US: Osprey Publishing, 1998. Print.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. Hauberk (shirt) of Mail, 1600. 2012. Web.

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Art Work’ Defending – Hauberk

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