Armature of Qing emperor Xuan (1661-1722)

Purpose. The article describes a piece of armor of the famous Qing Emperor Xuan, who ruled under the motto Kangxi in the years 1661-1722. Currently, this armored complex is stored in the funds of the Museum of the Imperial Palace Gugun (The Forbidden City) in Beijing. The protective arms of the emperor contained a helmet (Inv. Number SC-171130) and a shell (Inv. Number SC171 797). Results. According to our measurements, the total height of the helmet is 33.5 cm, with the diameter of 22.0 cm; the crown of the helmet riveted two black lacquer plates made of solid cowhide. Two narrow gold hoops divide the helmet into three layers. The lower and upper tiers are decorated with golden inscriptions representing Buddhist mantras. The central tier features Buddhist inscriptions are woven into the gold pattern in the form of a necklace with pendants characteristic for Manchurian helmets (Jin inlo). The visor (Wuqing) and the tiered pommel (cheng, Yuanjia, Pan), as well as overlays on the dome (Liang) and nalobnik (Hue), are made of gold and are decorated with pearls and precious stones. The plume consists of some narrow strips of sable fur on the red base. The helmet’s three-part fabric Barmitsa consists of a pair of headphones (huer) and a nazatylnik (husyan). The headphones are equipped with special blades to protect the throat. Apart from the helmet, the armor included a special suit. The emperor’s body and limbs were protected with quilted pads of the armored «vest» (75.5 cm long) supplemented with shoulder pads (hutszyan), gaiters (Shan), podmyshechniki (dick), an «apron» (shantszyan tsyandan), bracers (oo) and a plate covering the cut on the left side of the shell (Zuo dan). The carapace and helmet’s barmitsa are covered with bright yellow silk and have blue cloth as the backing. Their front side is decorated with images of dragons and rows of gold rivets. Conclusion. Comprehensive analysis of the sources allowed us to attribute the armored kit in question as grand imperial armor for the «great looking» of the troops. We estimate that the ceremonial complex of protective arms of Qing Emperor formed no later than the second half of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century and survived without significant changes until 1756. The Emperor Xuan armor is proved to have been made about 40-90 years before compiling the «Code Huanchao litsi carcasses» (1759), but almost exactly matches the description of the first embodiment of the imperial ceremonial armor for the «great looking» of troops in 1759. This confirms our earlier assumption that the phrase «in accordance with established current ruling dynasty (benchao dinchzhi 本朝定制 )», in relation to the text «Huanchao litsi carcass» should be understood as a reference to the earlier decisions of the Qing emperors, who ruled until the middle of the 18th century. The imperial ceremonial armor for the «great looking» of troops compared to the combat soldiers’ shells «Vosmiznamennoy army» of Qing Empire demonstrates that even though they have a similar cut, their structural differences are quite significant. In particular, the metal and iron plates on the shoulders and gaiters of soldiers’ shells were replaced by their imitations made of gold and silk for the imperial armored kit.