iron cuirass

nKante · 30th October 2013, 08:35 PM

I have always been interested in this West African cuirass. I have seen a few illustrations of them, and photos of 3 different pieces. Conrad Cairns briefly mentions this kind of defense in his book 'The African Knights'. Most of what I have seen is either padded garments, chain mail, or the combination of them both. My question is, were they worn on the outside of the padded garment or underneath. Outside would have provided cushion from the heavy iron against the skin. But I think the big iron plate would heat up rather quick in the African sun. I have looking through a lot of early photos of Sudanic warriors. I came across 2 that might show metal plates.

Iain · 31st October 2013, 12:33 PM

Sadly, a few years ago when one of these was on the market I did not purchase it. I have been kicking myself ever since.

These are associated with Bornu, Denham illustrated one as I recall.

I'd be interested to see the couple of photos you mentioned. It's an intriguing question. I'll have a look through my files and see if I can turn anything up.

nKante · 31st October 2013, 07:53 PM

Now remember I said 'might' be an iron plate. To my eye, the dark area around the one warrior's torso seems to be an armored belly band. It could be part of the pattern on the robe, but I think I see a shadow underneath. It could be wishful thinking, but the shape, shadow and edging make me think that it is a separate rigid object and not fabric like his partners.

Iain · 31st October 2013, 09:17 PM

Certainly possible, but as you say, hard to see in that particular image. At a guess, it's actually leather banded armour (kutufi). Although your image depicts Sudanese rather than Bornu or western Sahel troops I'm more familiar with.

My own personal opinion, and this only applies for the actual cuirass you posted, is that it was worn under the lifida, as was maille.

The lifida itself is not a single element. But can be made up of several garments. Usually these consist of at least the long out jacket (bantan lifidi) and a wide band around the waist (the kumakumi).

Underneath additional padding could be worn as well. The main purpose was defense against arrows, which were typically poisoned.

nKante · 1st November 2013, 12:28 AM

Ok! It would make sense to wear the cuirass over a padded under garment, and under a padded over garment. And after I looked again you are correct, they are Sudanese warriors. Know I have to reseach kutufi armor.

Thanks Ian

Iain · 1st November 2013, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKante

Ok! It would make sense to wear the cuirass over a padded under garment, and under a padded over garment. And after I looked again you are correct, they are Sudanese warriors. Know I have to reseach kutufi armor.

Thanks Ian

No problem, just a note though on the terminology, what I listed above is Hausa, in a Sudanese context it will be something else.

Iain · 8th November 2013, 10:50 AM

Just to add a little more photographic material here, I'm not necessarily right about maille under the lifida. It's not always easy to determine if maille wearers are also wearing full lifida.

But here's at least one case of maille over what looks like quite a lot of bulky cloth. Still, I don't see the full quilted garment here.

colin henshaw · 8th November 2013, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iain

Just to add a little more photographic material here, I'm not necessarily right about maille under the lifida. It's not always easy to determine if maille wearers are also wearing full lifida.

But here's at least one case of maille over what looks like quite a lot of bulky cloth. Still, I don't see the full quilted garment here.

Great image Iain. He won't run out of weapons in a hurry !

Iain · 8th November 2013, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Great image Iain. He won't run out of weapons in a hurry !

Thanks Colin, he's a chief from Foumban in Cameroon. With the number of knives he's packing, makes you wonder if these were thrown?

nKante · 11th November 2013, 09:57 PM

Wow! That is an awesome pic. I would think that many daggers would be used as missiles. I wonder how his sleeves behave if they are for throwing!? By the way it gathers at his neck it looks like the chain shirt has a hood. Plus I think I see rings going up the side of his face. Thanx!

Iain · 11th November 2013, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKante

Wow! That is an awesome pic. I would think that many daggers would be used as missiles. I wonder how his sleeves behave if they are for throwing!? By the way it gathers at his neck it looks like the chain shirt has a hood. Plus I think I see rings going up the side of his face. Thanx!

Yes I would agree, that's a hood. I've attached an image showing a similar maille set.

nKante · 15th November 2013, 01:47 AM

His chain is definitely over some thick garment.

Iain · 15th November 2013, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKante

His chain is definitely over some thick garment.

Yes the maille is certainly over thick cloth, the question is, is it actually lifida? Hard to tell really.

nKante · 16th November 2013, 02:09 AM

This is my take on the piece. I still have to attach the shoulder straps and edge it with leather. I made it out of aluminum, not iron. I plan to put a nice dark patina on it when it is completed. I changed the design a little from the originals. I decided to leave both side open, so as not to compromise the aluminum by repeated opening and closing. I made it for an internet friend who practices traditional African martial arts at his studio in Texas. He is carving me two wooden swords from Benin.

colin henshaw · 19th November 2013, 11:32 AM

Here is an image of a postcard issued by the excellent Powell-Cotton Museum, Birchington, Kent that may interest...

nKante · 22nd November 2013, 09:51 PM

Awesome. Thank you!

nKante · 5th May 2014, 08:34 PM

OK. Finally finished it. I took some liberties with it but I am very pleased with the overall product. I used street sign aluminum in place of iron plates. I replaced the iron rivets with brass screws peened over square nuts, which I think gives it visual weight. I made a set of rigid shoulder straps but they were very uncomfortable to move in. I tried a few things, including chains, but I settled on rawhide straps with attached plates. The worst part was sewing the edging on, which is made of strips I cut from a West African mud clothe I had. The pictures don't show but there are 2 set of 8 grommets on the top of the front plate. Since I was unable to physically measure the person that I made the armor for, I wanted some adjustability when attaching the shoulder straps. That is also the reason I decided to open both sides. I tucked a strip of the mud clothe into the bindings of the shoulder plate to give it some padding.

Iain · 5th May 2014, 09:02 PM

I'm glad to see this thread coming back to life.

The finished product, if not exactly like the originals, is an interesting take on a little known subject and a visually pleasing result.

I am adding here a couple more originals. One that was on auction some years ago, another from the MET.

In the next post I will add some interesting text from Robinson's "Oriental Armour".

Iain · 5th May 2014, 09:06 PM

The book excerpt. It deals in part with an earlier topic on this thread of mail over or under cloth components.

LJ · 6th May 2014, 08:50 PM

I came across this reference last year:
MacLeod, O., 1912 Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa. Across Lake Chad by way of British, French, and German territories. Pp 14 + 322. Edinburgh & London: Blackwood & sons.

A ‘Native-made iron cuirass” is illustrated on p.269, in a section describing the visit to the town of Fika (northern Nigeria) during March 1911. The armour is not described, only figured. Apparently, this piece of armour, together with a hide cuirass from Musgum collected during the same voyage, is in the Pitt Rivers museum.

Iain · 7th May 2014, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LJ

I came across this reference last year:
MacLeod, O., 1912 Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa. Across Lake Chad by way of British, French, and German territories. Pp 14 + 322. Edinburgh & London: Blackwood & sons.

A ‘Native-made iron cuirass” is illustrated on p.269, in a section describing the visit to the town of Fika (northern Nigeria) during March 1911. The armour is not described, only figured. Apparently, this piece of armour, together with a hide cuirass from Musgum collected during the same voyage, is in the Pitt Rivers museum.

The image in the first post of this thread is the Pitt Rivers example.

I'm attaching some additional views of another museum example, can't recall off the top of my head which one! But it shows the full construction nicely.

nKante · 8th May 2014, 12:39 AM

WOW. Those art the best pictures I have ever seen of one. Some of those long, 'nail' looking rivets are just plain scary.

Iain · 8th May 2014, 10:44 AM

They are a serious piece of kit and quite effective I'd imagine combined with the quilted armour. Couple this with a lance and a hefty takouba and you've got a picture quite a bit different than what most people would expect to find south of the Sahara.

nKante · 10th June 2014, 09:57 PM

Figured I post myself wearing it with the rest of my panoply.

KraVseR · 11th June 2014, 03:06 PM

nKante, what a warrior you have reconstructed?

estcrh · 11th June 2014, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iain

Just to add a little more photographic material here, I'm not necessarily right about maille under the lifida. It's not always easy to determine if maille wearers are also wearing full lifida.

But here's at least one case of maille over what looks like quite a lot of bulky cloth. Still, I don't see the full quilted garment here.

This is the image description. "Bamum chief, in Cameroon, Portrait of a Bamum chief of Foumban", Postcard of the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris (Paris evangelical missionary society). 1910/1920

nKante · 3rd October 2014, 08:52 PM

I found what I believe to be an illustrated photo showing a warrior wearing an iron cuirass under his robes. The saddle horn, helmet and circle designs of the horses armor remind me of the set up in Colin's picture.

A Fulbe warrior wearing a much embellished iron helmet (the plates visible just above his right ear) and iron chest armor (plates visible just beneath his right forearm) beneath his robe; the horse wears quilted armor. The object topping his helmet might have been intended to hold feathers.

estcrh · 3rd October 2014, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iain

I'm attaching some additional views of another museum example, can't recall off the top of my head which one! But it shows the full construction nicely.

The images are from The British Museum.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/researc...bjectid=621141

Iain · 10th February 2015, 07:27 AM

I just realized I have an incredibly clear image of one of these cuirass being worn from 1905 I never posted. It is from northern Cameroon.

nKante · 18th February 2015, 01:22 AM

NICE. I love the high collar on the quilted robe. This might be my new profile picture.

30th October 2013, 08:35 PM	#1
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	iron cuirass I have always been interested in this West African cuirass. I have seen a few illustrations of them, and photos of 3 different pieces. Conrad Cairns briefly mentions this kind of defense in his book 'The African Knights'. Most of what I have seen is either padded garments, chain mail, or the combination of them both. My question is, were they worn on the outside of the padded garment or underneath. Outside would have provided cushion from the heavy iron against the skin. But I think the big iron plate would heat up rather quick in the African sun. I have looking through a lot of early photos of Sudanic warriors. I came across 2 that might show metal plates. Attached Images

31st October 2013, 07:53 PM	#3
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	Now remember I said 'might' be an iron plate. To my eye, the dark area around the one warrior's torso seems to be an armored belly band. It could be part of the pattern on the robe, but I think I see a shadow underneath. It could be wishful thinking, but the shape, shadow and edging make me think that it is a separate rigid object and not fabric like his partners. Attached Images

1st November 2013, 12:28 AM	#5
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	Ok! It would make sense to wear the cuirass over a padded under garment, and under a padded over garment. And after I looked again you are correct, they are Sudanese warriors. Know I have to reseach kutufi armor. Thanks Ian Last edited by nKante; 1st November 2013 at 01:08 AM.

8th November 2013, 10:50 AM	#7
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Just to add a little more photographic material here, I'm not necessarily right about maille under the lifida. It's not always easy to determine if maille wearers are also wearing full lifida. But here's at least one case of maille over what looks like quite a lot of bulky cloth. Still, I don't see the full quilted garment here. Attached Images

16th November 2013, 02:09 AM	#14
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	This is my take on the piece. I still have to attach the shoulder straps and edge it with leather. I made it out of aluminum, not iron. I plan to put a nice dark patina on it when it is completed. I changed the design a little from the originals. I decided to leave both side open, so as not to compromise the aluminum by repeated opening and closing. I made it for an internet friend who practices traditional African martial arts at his studio in Texas. He is carving me two wooden swords from Benin. Attached Images

31st October 2013, 12:33 PM	#2
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Sadly, a few years ago when one of these was on the market I did not purchase it. I have been kicking myself ever since. These are associated with Bornu, Denham illustrated one as I recall. I'd be interested to see the couple of photos you mentioned. It's an intriguing question. I'll have a look through my files and see if I can turn anything up.

31st October 2013, 09:17 PM	#4
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Certainly possible, but as you say, hard to see in that particular image. At a guess, it's actually leather banded armour (kutufi). Although your image depicts Sudanese rather than Bornu or western Sahel troops I'm more familiar with. My own personal opinion, and this only applies for the actual cuirass you posted, is that it was worn under the lifida, as was maille. The lifida itself is not a single element. But can be made up of several garments. Usually these consist of at least the long out jacket (bantan lifidi) and a wide band around the waist (the kumakumi). Underneath additional padding could be worn as well. The main purpose was defense against arrows, which were typically poisoned.

11th November 2013, 09:57 PM	#10
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	Wow! That is an awesome pic. I would think that many daggers would be used as missiles. I wonder how his sleeves behave if they are for throwing!? By the way it gathers at his neck it looks like the chain shirt has a hood. Plus I think I see rings going up the side of his face. Thanx!

15th November 2013, 01:47 AM	#12
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	His chain is definitely over some thick garment.

19th November 2013, 11:32 AM	#15
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,430	Here is an image of a postcard issued by the excellent Powell-Cotton Museum, Birchington, Kent that may interest... Attached Images

22nd November 2013, 09:51 PM	#16
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	Awesome. Thank you!

5th May 2014, 08:34 PM	#17
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	OK. Finally finished it. I took some liberties with it but I am very pleased with the overall product. I used street sign aluminum in place of iron plates. I replaced the iron rivets with brass screws peened over square nuts, which I think gives it visual weight. I made a set of rigid shoulder straps but they were very uncomfortable to move in. I tried a few things, including chains, but I settled on rawhide straps with attached plates. The worst part was sewing the edging on, which is made of strips I cut from a West African mud clothe I had. The pictures don't show but there are 2 set of 8 grommets on the top of the front plate. Since I was unable to physically measure the person that I made the armor for, I wanted some adjustability when attaching the shoulder straps. That is also the reason I decided to open both sides. I tucked a strip of the mud clothe into the bindings of the shoulder plate to give it some padding. Attached Images

5th May 2014, 09:02 PM	#18
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	I'm glad to see this thread coming back to life. The finished product, if not exactly like the originals, is an interesting take on a little known subject and a visually pleasing result. I am adding here a couple more originals. One that was on auction some years ago, another from the MET. In the next post I will add some interesting text from Robinson's "Oriental Armour". Attached Images

5th May 2014, 09:06 PM	#19
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	The book excerpt. It deals in part with an earlier topic on this thread of mail over or under cloth components. Attached Images

6th May 2014, 08:50 PM	#20
LJ Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 93	I came across this reference last year: MacLeod, O., 1912 Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa. Across Lake Chad by way of British, French, and German territories. Pp 14 + 322. Edinburgh & London: Blackwood & sons. A ‘Native-made iron cuirass” is illustrated on p.269, in a section describing the visit to the town of Fika (northern Nigeria) during March 1911. The armour is not described, only figured. Apparently, this piece of armour, together with a hide cuirass from Musgum collected during the same voyage, is in the Pitt Rivers museum. Attached Images

8th May 2014, 12:39 AM	#22
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	WOW. Those art the best pictures I have ever seen of one. Some of those long, 'nail' looking rivets are just plain scary.

8th May 2014, 10:44 AM	#23
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	They are a serious piece of kit and quite effective I'd imagine combined with the quilted armour. Couple this with a lance and a hefty takouba and you've got a picture quite a bit different than what most people would expect to find south of the Sahara.

10th June 2014, 09:57 PM	#24
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	Figured I post myself wearing it with the rest of my panoply. Attached Images

11th June 2014, 03:06 PM	#25
KraVseR Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Ukraine Posts: 128	nKante, what a warrior you have reconstructed?

3rd October 2014, 08:52 PM	#27
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	I found what I believe to be an illustrated photo showing a warrior wearing an iron cuirass under his robes. The saddle horn, helmet and circle designs of the horses armor remind me of the set up in Colin's picture. A Fulbe warrior wearing a much embellished iron helmet (the plates visible just above his right ear) and iron chest armor (plates visible just beneath his right forearm) beneath his robe; the horse wears quilted armor. The object topping his helmet might have been intended to hold feathers. Attached Images

10th February 2015, 07:27 AM	#29
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	I just realized I have an incredibly clear image of one of these cuirass being worn from 1905 I never posted. It is from northern Cameroon. Attached Images

18th February 2015, 01:22 AM	#30
nKante Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 72	NICE. I love the high collar on the quilted robe. This might be my new profile picture.