A rare Cuirass armour from Hyderabad Golconda circa 1600

A rare wootz steel armour cuirass from Hyderabad. This armour is engraved deeply in nashi script to the top corver of the front plate with the inscription ‘Sarkar Mir Nizam Ali Khan Bahadur’ dated 1163 Hijri ( 1749 C.E). This inscription shows that the armour was in the armoury of the Nizam of Hyderbad during the 2nd Nizams rule, although the armour itself is considerably older than this and must have seen service in the first Nizams rule and probably as far back as the Qutub Shahi dybasty. This piece has some old wear and loss but is an interesting example and a rare survival in itself. Circa 1500-1600. A similar example recently sold at Christies for £25,000, prior to this one of the few examples known was known from the Khalili Collection (inv. MTW 1157, David Alexander, The Arts of War, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Oxford, 1992, no. 108, p. 175).