Mail Shirt
Western European; probably German
1550/75
- Medium
- Steel, iron, and brass
- Classification
- Armor
- Dimensions
- At shoulders: W.: 67.3 cm (26 1/2 in.); H.: 91.4 cm (36 in.)
- Culture
- Germany
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- George F. Harding Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Tailored to fit a sizable man, this mail shirt has heavier rings placed strategically to protect the neck and chest. The form-fitting sleeves billow out over the elbow to increase mobility. Shirts like this could have been used for fencing practice or worn for protection from bandits or assassins while traveling.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
