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Breast Defense (Peytral) from a Horse Armor
Tibetan or Mongolian, 15th–17th century
Leather, iron, brass or copper alloy, silver, gold, shellac, pigments, textile, yak hair
H. 22½ in. (57.2 cm), W. 25 5/8 in. (65.1 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors,
by exchange, 1999 (1999.36)
cat. no. 31

Detail: Close up

In terms of its decoration, this peytral displays a far greater variety of motifs, executed in a more fluid and accomplished style, than any other example. At the center of the upper section there is a Wish-Fulfilling Jewel on a lotus throne flanked by symmetrical sprays of lush leafy stems and blossoms; there is a Right-Turning Conch Shell in the center of the lower section. The borders of the central sections are edged with silver wire, while the other sections have copper wire, both sewn in a fine chain stitch. Carbon-14 testing resulted in a date range of 1402 to 1626.

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all text & images © Metropolitan Museum of Art


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