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Tibetan llamelar
armor and helmet from the late 1700's.
Detail of armor.
Iron plates are linked together with strips of leather.
Detail of armor.
Lamellar
armor is made of horizontal rows of small overlapping
plates joined by leather lacing. The basic features
that distinguish this type of armor are that the lamellae,
or plates, are supported by being laced only to one
another, rather than to a lining or support material
of any kind, and that the rows of lamellae always overlap
upward. Lamellae were made of leather, bronze, and iron.
Lamellar
armor perhaps originated in the ancient Near East as
early as the eighth century b.c. Iron lamellar armor
was known in China as early as the third century B.C.,
in Central Asia probably around the same time, and in
Western Europe by the fifth or sixth century A.D. Given
this long period of use over such a widespread geographical
area, it is remarkable that the armors found in Tibet
constitute nearly all the examples in existence of lamellar
armor made of iron that do not come from an archaeological
context.
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Ceremonial
teapot
Tea ceremony
is an integral part of Tibetan and many Asian cultures.
Tea is used as an offering to Buddha.
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ARMS AND ARMOR
are not usually what comes to mind when we think of
the peacefull mountain-top monasteries of Tibet. However,
for centuries Tibet was the setting for intense and
extended periods of battle. Weapons and armor that had
become obsolete for many other countries [such as bow
and arrow, spear, and sword] remained useful to the
Tibetans due to the mountainous terrain and the fact
that much battling was done on horseback. Tibetan arms
and armor have survived a greater amount than many other
countries due to the long-standing and widespread tradition
of placing votive arms in monasteries and temples, where
they are kept in special chapels known as gonkhang (mgon
khang) and dedicated to the service of a guardian deity.
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Tibetan llamelar helmet early
1800's
| The two principal forms of helmets from
Tibet are the eight-plate lamellar helmet and a cavalry
helmet with a one-piece hemispherical bowl and upturned
fabric flaps, usually considered Bhutanese but adapted
for use in Tibet. |
Riding bridle early 1800's.
Leather, wood and silver details.
Engraved conch horn
| The conch horn symbolizes that Buddha
has a rich voice to teach Buddhism, and his voice can
reach far away. According to scriptures of Buddhism, when
Sakyamuni taught dharma, his voice reached far away like
the sound of a conch shell horn. There are left turning
conch shells and the right turning of conch shells. In
Tibetan, right turning conch shells are more popular.
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WICKER SHIELD
Shields appear to have
been widely used in Tibet. They were invariably round
and of two basic types: those of cane or wicker and
those of leather. The cane shields seem to have been
made in Tibet, while most, if not all, the leather examples
appear to come from India, Bhutan, Sikkim, and probably
Nepal. The cane shields have two principal forms: flat
and domed or convex.
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