The Problem of Plate Armor 277 



We do not know from the literary records how the armor credited 

 to Ma Sui was constructed in detail ; but it was doubtless the forerunner 

 of the armor-costumes, as we find them duly sanctioned by the emperors 

 of the Sung, Ming, and Manchu dynasties; those, in my opinion, go back 

 to types established in the T'ang period. Ma Sui's invention was a 

 coat of cotton or silk, the exterior or interior of which was covered with 

 rows of small iron or steel plates. Indeed, plate mail is well represented 

 on Chinese clay statuettes of the T'ang period, in accordance with what 

 we find in the art of Turkistan. The nearest approach to Ma Sui's 

 contrivance may be recognized in the clay figure of a soldier (five of 

 these are in our collection) on Plate XXX. These figures coming from 

 graves of Shen-si Province are clad with an ordinary long-sleeved coat; 

 in front and back, over the chest, and along the lower edge, we notice a 

 row of plates emerging. 1 Plates, accordingly, strengthen the front and 

 back of the coat, and are covered with the same material as the latter 

 consists of. The whole affair is tightly held together by two bands 

 adorned with bosses. 



The two clay figures on Plate XXXI represent two identical speci- 

 mens of the same type of warrior, coming from Shen-si Province. The 

 left hand, which is raised as if brandishing a weapon (spear), is unfor- 

 tunately broken off in both pieces. The expression of lively motion and 

 the quality of modelling are remarkable. In the grim faces slightly 

 bent and turned sideways, the demoniacal power of these armored 

 knights watching over the grave is well represented. The helmet- 

 mask is formed by a bird's head with a strong flavor of the Indian 

 Garuda; a horn or crest in the centre of the head is broken off. The 

 well-developed eyebrows of the bird's faces terminate in spirals arranged 

 on the foreheads; the beak is strongly curved; the interval between the 

 eyes is filled with a pigment of indigo. The helmet covers the back of 

 the head, nape and chin. A shawl is elegantly draped around the 

 shoulders, and tied in a knot over the chest, the two round iron breast- 

 plates being visible beneath it. An animal head is brought out in relief 

 in the middle, apparently a metal clasp holding the two sheets of the 

 armor together. 2 An apron, a sort of undivided braconniere, consisting 

 of three horizontal rows 3 of long, rectangular iron plates is worn over 



corselets from narrow strips of wood from half an inch to an inch in thickness or of 

 rods, going entirely around the body; the strips of wood were placed vertically, and 

 laced together with bark strings ; such vests were generally covered with one or two 

 thicknesses of elk-skin. 



1 Compare Plate XVIII. 



2 Sheet armor is discussed in Chapter VI. 



3 It is interesting to compare it with the clay statuette found by Grunwedel, 

 /. c, Fig. 460. 



