Fighting, Hunting, Impressing

What characterizes Islamic arms and armour from 1500 to 1850, and what role did they play on the battlefield, in connection with hunting and as decorative objects? Such topics are addressed in this richly illustrated book, which also contains articles on ‘Fighting and Arms in the Koran’, ‘The Teaching of Chivalry in the Islamic World’, ‘Inscriptions on Islamic Weapons’ and ‘Collecting Islamic Arms and Armour’.The catalogue section analyses 151 examples of arms and armour as well as relevant miniature paintings. Originally made in the region extending from North Africa to India, these objects have found their way into Danish collections from the seventeenth century onwards. At the back of the book an appendix contains translations of the weapons’ numerous Arabic, Persian and Turkish inscriptions.

The book’s authors and editors are museum director Kjeld von Folsach, curator Joachim Meyer and curator Peter Wandel – all three from the David Collection. The book also contains contributions by professor Thomas Hoffmann, University of Copenhagen, and Will Kwiatkowski, an international scholar specialised in Islamic inscriptions.