Preface
Catalogues are the life-spring of any museum-they are the
cause and effect of the curatorial existence. It is a sad
commentary on Indian museums that they have, individually and
collectively, failed to accomplish their primary duty. Good
catalogues, are hard to find and arms catalogues are almost
unknown. The present catalogue may serve as a silver linning
amidst the dark cloud. Out of its about six thousand four
hundred assorted weapons of offence and defence about three
hundred pieces of armour have been included in this catalogue.
The study of Indian armour is interesting both for the part
they played in shaping history and, on the technical side, for
the way they involved applied arts. The subject has been
studied from the surviving examples of armour that have come
down to us and are preserved in the museums, armouries of the
erstwhile princes and private collections; from the
representation of them on coins, in paintings, in sculptures
and decorative arts; from the fragments unearthed from the
archaeological excavations; from the particulars of
manufacture and provenance available from inventories and
other documents preserved in the pothikhanas and from the few
armourers (sikligars) who have kept this tradition still alive
in this country.
The evolution of armour was governed by two factors. First,
there was a constant combat between the forces of offence and
defence in which new armour had to be devised for every new
weapon and still superior weapon had to be invented which
could have pierced that kind of armour. That tug of war
continues even today. Secondly, there was the contest between
the need for mobility and the desire for safety. Light and
handy armour provide better mobility but are not so sturdy as
the heavier armour are. Too much emphasis on safety would make
an armour heavy and its wearing tiresome. The there was the
question of price, which was beyond the reach of many people.
Only the princes, the knights and those who could afford it
wore armour; common soldiers had to be contended with stuffed
fabric coat and garments. The heat of India did not permit its
wearing for long and the monsoon did not allow an armour piece
to be preserved for long without being rusted and corroded.
A complete suit of armour weighted about fifty kilograms
but this heavy load was spread over the whole body and the
wearer could move with surprising ease and freedom. If on a
horse or on an elephant, the major weight was shared by the
animals.
With the development of fire arms into really useful
weapons, armour had to be made thicker to give the necessary
protection, which, in turn, made it heavier and uncomfortable
to wear. So, in time, the warrior found it necessary to
discard the armour for less vital parts. The leg pieces below
the knee were first to go which were replaced by long leather
boots. This eventually led to the total disappearance of
armour in the 19th century.
After an absence of almost one hundred years, the armour
reappeared in India, in World War I when troops on both sides
were issued steel helmets. The world “armour” took an
altogether difference meaning when in 1916 the “armoured
tanks” rumbled on the field. And so the modern soldier goes to
war, not encased in suit of shining armour, but carried in
armoured vehicles which can travel on any ground or even
“swim” in water.
CONTENTS
| Foreword |
v |
| Acknowledgements |
vi |
| Preface |
vii |
| Chapters |
|
| 1. |
Prologue |
1 |
| 2. |
Armour: Technical Details |
5 |
| 3. |
Helmet |
9 |
| 4. |
Shield |
15 |
| 5. |
Armour for Back and Breast |
21 |
| 6. |
Armour for other parts of the Body |
25 |
| 7. |
Animal Armour |
29 |
|
Catelogue |
35-180 |
|
Glossary |
181 |
|
Bibliography |
189 |
