Moro armour: A Coat of Mail and Plate

Sentrad · 23rd October 2014, 08:50 PM

thanks very much for your interest, comments and questions.

I bought this armour from the late Baron von Hochstetter from Duesseldorf, Germany. He had a very nice collection of Indonesian and Moro weapons and has got this Moro coat of mail as a present to his 15th birthday in 1955. His father bought it in an Amsterdam (?) gallery and they told him the geographical provenience. The von Hochstetter collection has been sold at a Munich auction house in several tranches shortly befor he died, and though I knew him pretty well, I had to bid at the auction as well.

Just some details: The metall applications are of copper or an alloy rich of copper, the silver layer is very thin and worn out. The plates of buffalo horn are bent oblong, the convex side to the outside of the coat, smooth and bright. The concave, inner side is more rough. Yes, the rings of the network are in 4:1 ration, larger ones holding the plates together, smaller ones forming the plaiting at neck, shoulders and waist. The brass of the chain darkend during the time, horn and brass are alike. I add some pics from the collar, the inside and the closure. The surface is difficult to photograph, but I tried my best. Literature: Baradas 1995: 81, plate 35;
Casino 1981: 166, illstr. 156

Udo

estcrh · 23rd October 2014, 10:12 PM

Thanks for the additional images, I was wondering if the makers of this type of armor just followed the natural curves of the horn or if they had some method to bend it.

23rd October 2014, 08:50 PM	#1
Sentrad Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 20	Hi all, thanks very much for your interest, comments and questions. I bought this armour from the late Baron von Hochstetter from Duesseldorf, Germany. He had a very nice collection of Indonesian and Moro weapons and has got this Moro coat of mail as a present to his 15th birthday in 1955. His father bought it in an Amsterdam (?) gallery and they told him the geographical provenience. The von Hochstetter collection has been sold at a Munich auction house in several tranches shortly befor he died, and though I knew him pretty well, I had to bid at the auction as well. Just some details: The metall applications are of copper or an alloy rich of copper, the silver layer is very thin and worn out. The plates of buffalo horn are bent oblong, the convex side to the outside of the coat, smooth and bright. The concave, inner side is more rough. Yes, the rings of the network are in 4:1 ration, larger ones holding the plates together, smaller ones forming the plaiting at neck, shoulders and waist. The brass of the chain darkend during the time, horn and brass are alike. I add some pics from the collar, the inside and the closure. The surface is difficult to photograph, but I tried my best. Literature: Baradas 1995: 81, plate 35; Casino 1981: 166, illstr. 156 Udo Attached Images

23rd October 2014, 10:12 PM	#2
estcrh Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: USA Posts: 1,497	Thanks for the additional images, I was wondering if the makers of this type of armor just followed the natural curves of the horn or if they had some method to bend it.