Mail Shirt 16th-17th c.
It appears that this may be a piece that is constructed of European material, but it is tailored to eastern or middle eastern tastes. Export of mail is documented. Formed of riveted rings of round section swelling at the rivet alternating in rows with round section solid rings. Collar all riveted. Each rivet in the collar with a nice point on the outside. Inside collar rings flush with the ring material. Body rings with swells at the overlap. Smooth inside and out. Slightly more beveled on the outside. Where I can discern, the rivets are wedge rivets. I have found obvious wedges near the collar, in the middle of one side and near the top of the slits. Short sleeves. Flaps extending over the legs. Integral standing collar. Various thickness of rings in different parts of the shirt. The heaviest and tightest in the collar, then the main body. Lighter in the sleeves and in the skirt flaps. The rings are relatively large overall. No obvious tailoring in the back of the body. Some losses, some significant areas of loss esp. under the arms. I have found one repair ring that is riveted with a pin rivet near the collar. There are a few butted repair links.
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This site last updated Sat Jun 07 17:20:00 EDT 2025