Why This Chainmail Shirt Is FASCINATING
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2023
- From its inscriptions on EVERY ring to its previous owner, this chainmail shirt is a VERY special piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. Sean Belair, associate conservator in the MET's Arms and Armor conservation lab, takes Adam on a tour of the artifact's many unique features and mysteries, and explains why its restoration took multiple months and ... needles.
The MET's Arms and Armor Department: www.metmuseum.org/about-the-m...
Adam Savage Meets Real Armored Gauntlets: • Adam Savage Meets Real...
Adam Savage Meets Real Ancient Swords: • Adam Savage Meets Real...
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching! 
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The MET's Arms and Armor Department: www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/arms-and-armor
Adam Savage Meets Real Armored Gauntlets: ruclips.net/video/59-9PlB-F1Y/видео.html
Adam Savage Meets Real Ancient Swords: ruclips.net/video/wJypHnsEn8o/видео.html
I know this series is going to have to end at some point but god i really don't want it to... LOVE it
Tell me about it.
Same
Same here
We have a few more to come from this visit! And we’re always game for going back.
@@testedPleeeease dont stop! Its such a great way for museums to show off the wealth of items they have tucked away. And having it explained in this way, with passion and clear explanations is priceless!
This chainmail's got some serious history. (I wasn't expecting a Taj Mahal connection). And the guy who cleaned it up became part of it as well.
During that time India was by far the most wealthy country on the planet
@@missourimongoose8858 it was the Mughal empire not India you think of today created by the British
When I saw each individual ring had inscriptions on it, I almost fell off my chair!! What an amazing series of videos. Thank you Adam & Tested ❤
And did they say the individual rings are riveted?? The amount of time that must have gone into making this is crazy.
@@FectacularSpail good chainmail was riveted in the past. Poor chainmail, the rings were simply bent into shape without any adhesion.
I've seen chainmail like this a few times, it's gorgeous. There's also a lovely set at the MET in NYC where the rings are two tone colors to reveal Arabic script in the weave.
I'm filing this video away as "+3 Chainmail. while attuned, the wearer is under the 'protection from evil and good' spell."
The names are stamped with a dye, easier than inscribing
Adam Savage inspecting arms and armor is my probably favorite aspect of Tested, unless he's meeting Apollo equipment or anything Indiana Jones. There's just something about Adam's deep appreciation for the beauty, craftsmanship, and functionality of these magnificent pieces that is such a delight to watch.
Thank you for this!
This piece is _astonishing._ Its every aspect; of appearance, significance, craftsmanship, symbolism, age, history, restoration, has me wondering if this is literally the most beautiful chainmail in existence? Bravo!
This team has restored a beautiful gift for the ages.
Humanity owes these guys a debt of gratitude for being such good stewards of our history.
Watching this series has really opened my eyes. Like many, I assume, my introduction to armour and weapons was what I saw in movies. Heavy, clunky and solid. Seeing this, I have been surprised in the advanced methods and knowledge . Spring loaded mechanisms for jousting, rotating plate armour for knights, lightweight balanced swords. Amazing
I always find it interesting to think about where these pieces of armor have gone throughout their existence. It was worn by, and then later passed around all the way until now where a legend(Adam) now shows us. It's creator could never even begin to imagine the journey his work would take.
insane piece of history right there glad its preserved now and not in a pile of rust. just imagine how much artifacts are hidden somewhere throughout this huge world! glad to see this pop up
A princely piece for sure & it would protect the wearer quite well. At least from cuts & most thrust. As an aside they also wore a linen shirt covered in prayers underneath their armour as well.
I made a chain mail vest once. Let's just say that's how far I got before I quit. The fact that each and every ring is stamped just blows my mind.
Absolutely fascinating piece of history and meticulous attention to detail. It would be a huge disrespect to it to clean in any other way that it was. Thanks for sharing this with us Adam 👊
Adam,
Thank you so much for these interviews with the conservatores. Hearing the process they have to go through to clean and what the original builder went through to create such a beautiful piece. I know it was for use in battle. But, the original blacksmith went to a lot of extra work and time to also make it beautiful and give it great meaning. It is so fascinating. Thank you again! Listening to the conservator gives the piece so much more feeling. It's so great!
That is SO COOL! Sean was right on the money when he said he wants this mail to be on a ship leaving Earth when the sun is at the end of its life (in 4.5 billion years). That really should be the goal for preserving historical artifacts!
This has been an amazing series. This piece in particular is stunning.
More to come, too!
The googly eyes on the drill press is a nice touch.
I'd prefer if additions are made to a historic piece for structural reasons, or a more complete silhouette, that those additions be something like bright red. So we can clearly see what is original and what isn't.
I’ve been blasting through all of these MET armor videos and I absolutely love them. This should honestly be just a full time series 😂 I’d love to watch an ongoing of them getting new pieces in and the processes they use to conserve them
The MET Armour people need to keep this going in their own RUclips Series. ❤
Yeah, like the British museum. Get on that Met armor people.
Nothing better than an interview with someone passionate about their work with someone asking the questions almost equally passionate in curiosity of it.
I enjoyed watching Mythbusters and thought 'that would be fun to do' ... but Adams Arms and Armour visits ... im really envious of.
Thank you, Adam, for again giving a glimpse behind the scene at a museum. The mail is fantastic, but I love that the hard work that goes on in the rest of the day in the life of a museum, is being showcased. Most folks don't give the process behind an exhibit a second thought, and really at the end of the day, not everyone wants, and/or needs to know how the sausage is made. But I'm still glad that you gave a peak behind the curtain.
"What's a few hundred hours to make this right?".
I absolutely agree with him.
May this piece survive us all.
Absolutely one of my favorite series! Constantly waiting for more
So glad to hear! We have a couple more to go from this last visit!
When he mentioned the pliers i could see the "gotta find a pair for the workshop" idea forming in Adam's head xD. This is a fantastic piece o.o
Mr Savage, you’ve done and seen all the things you have and for sure have a big name, but you still come across as humble and curious. You are inspirational.
All the work that goes into cleaning and preserving beautiful pieces like this isreally a conservationist's love letter to the original artisans who laboured to make it in the first place, I have so much appreciation for the folks in this field and the work they do to preserve world heritage like this
I love the end comments about the pieces they work on becoming part of their lives. And their lives, too, become part of the piece; they are become that piece. Just lovely.
Thanks Adam and the Tested team, another really interesting episode.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting!
For anyone wondering the Arabic inscription is a well known verse from the Quran called Ayat Al-Kursi on the left plate and the right plate has the next verse 2:256
Here is this amazing piece of history, art and conservation... can't stop looking at the googly eyes on the drill in the background when the camera pans to Adam
in 1 word: _appreciation_
Fabulous work. Thanks for the history, Sean, and for everything you guys do! (And thanks Adam, for letting us all know about it in such an engaging format.)
Keep these historical style videos coming, im in my element
A few more to come!
"whats a few hundred hours against *that*?"
Well said, that man, and thankyou on behalf of that objects rich past and future.
Making Chainmail seems like such a Zen experience.
Well, that guy had one of the most powerful men of the time breathing on his neck, expecting only the highest quality. I don't know how zen that would be!
The "making of" extras on the Lord of the Ring movies has a bit where the Weta people talk about making all the mail for the movies. It's plastic but the concept is the same. They definitely got into a certain mindset for the months it took them.
It’s like knitting, just in metal.
This series has really been great, thanks for making these videos. I have a lot of respect for the restorer, too, I appreciate his commitment to truly preserving this relic for as long as possible.
I have to wonder if this was refit over time if the lettering /script changes over a period could be an indicator. Very beautifully done and thankful for the care in preservation.
These are the absolute best please keep them coming!! More Asian armor would be cool 🎉
What an amazing piece of craftsmansship. Huge props to the people who restored this precious artifact
One of the few things I really disagree with about the restoration of pieces like this is the "Hiding without hiding" part.
I feel that, just like OTHER repairs in regular life, close-but-not-the-same makes something look confusing and TERRIBLE.
I think alterations should be OBVIOUS. They should tell their own story. They SHOULDN'T hide.
And, especially for a museum piece, I would take this to the extreme.
I'm talking about doing the repairs with magenta or lime-green nylon rings.
The kind of repair that REALLY tells you "I'm here to help you see what the overall shape might be like. But there is NO mistaking that I'm original."
Pieces being missing can often tell a story. Or they might just cause one to ponder about their existence.
"Why are these joining rings all missing? Do they wear out faster? Were they a poor design and frequently broke?"
"Is that missing patch the result of a battle? Was this part repaired with a different material while on a campaign, and that material was poor quality and rotted away?"
Further; keeping something TOO close to the original can twist people's idea of a thing.
Many things dealing with arms & armor were practically (or actually) disposable.
(Example: Leather scabbards were for field-use, and rarely lasted a few seasons)
Showing something remade to look "whole" can cause some serious misconceptions about how durable something is, or how long it was expected to last.
I might not go full-on magenta or lime... but otherwise totally agreed. Or at the least, provide a super clear diagram delineating which portions are replica. Always hate having to track down a docent to figure this out.
I don't agree at all, this clearly wasn't a disposable item, and when you say "Many things dealing with arms & armor were practically (or actually) disposable." That's also not really true, just the sheer amount of rehilted swords, mismatching and adapted armor show this. There aren't to many metal tools and weaponry or armor that were disposable in general until very recently. Where do you even draw the line, is medieval armor repaired and restored in the 16th to 19th century fine?
If it's battle damage, or things that were destroyed on purpose like the weaponry and jewelry at Illerup adal, no museum is going to hide that. But you're talking about damage from a couple of centuries of corrosion and neglect.
Also, just imagine if art museums would do what you say, there wouldn't be a single painting made before the 20th century that wouldn't be either nearly completely black, or a mess of flashy colors.
With buildings there is also discussion on a similar subject, on the one hand you had architects like Viollet-le-Duc, who did full restorations, often filling in the blanks with his own creation. This gives historic buildings (or city in the case of carcasonne) a purpose, gets tourists in, and gives a new lease of life. On the other hand you had Charles Reed Peers, who's school of thought was to leave ruins like they are, and not to restore them.
The problem is that we have always been rebuilding and restoring buildings, For example, there are very, very few gothic cathedrals with their original timber roof structure, the vast majority of those burned down, and were replaced, from the 19th century onwards often with cast iron or steel structures. You could never tell that from the outside, so we still get to know and enjoy what a gothic cathedral looks like.
@@slome815 Obviously the chain fabric isn't disposable. Metal parts rarely are. That wasn't the point of my second argument.
My point is that replacing everything that is missing and attempting to make it look "whole" gives people the wrong idea about how durable/long-lasting these items were on average, since everybody wants to display a "whole" piece.
The painting argument? Well yes that does sort of break mine. That stuff is so fragile that it slowly dissappears over the ages without constant maintenance.
Surely there must be a middle ground though. I have seen too many objects that, upon close inspection, are 95% rebuilt.
And that has always felt disingenuous.
I love that Adam has been going on this historical arms and armor binge, it's been a lot of fun watching him nerd out over this stuff.
Hey Adam and Tested team. I just wanted to say thank you for all the work and content you put it. It's always such a joy and peaceful experience. I watch you while I work on things and it always manages to bring focus and still be informative.
Thank you.
So cool. Love thay there's people so dedicated to preserving artifacts
The inscriptions on each ring is amazing
The smile Adam releases at 9-minute mark, is a true testament that you can teach and old dog a new trick! Ego less craftsmen right there
That is an amazing piece! Fantastic ... can't imagine the effort and time put into restoring that and cleaning it but... wow amazing.
Gave me chills remembering my visit to Agra and learning about the history. Great artifact.
I've been fascinated by mail since I was a kid looking at old illustrations (I've still never seen any 'in the flesh' [which would be so very painful in its literal sense]). I still try to wrap my head around how it was not just made for the elite, but for lesser warriors as well, even though the work to make it had to be so time-consuming.
These videos are wonderful, not only in what they discuss, but in what they show us of the folks who work on this history. The conservators you find are clearly passionate and knowledgeable, but also approachable and down-to-earth. I loved how, here, I was watching and listening to the detailed discussion, and then noticed the googly eyes on the drill press behind Adam. Well-placed!
They mentioned in the video how often mail was repurposed, repaired and reused.
Once weapons and armor were made reusing and recycling were the way to go. It was much easier to start with steel already mined, refined, and forged into something than it was to mine and create steel from nothing so it was done regularly.
That was awsome. I've made chain, but that is way beyond.
Amazing piece of work.
There is the saying "there is never enough time to do it right, but there is always time to do it over." Which is true, but also a terrible way to go about things. I very much appreciate that folks like yourself and others who work in preservation just "do it right". This truly is a fascinating shirt. I also love that you have googly eyes on your drill press.
Love the adventures you take us on. Thanks.
What a remarkable piece! So thankful you brought it to our attention!
Beautiful piece of history and craftmanship.
I love these interviews so much!
Royal Armorers Museum in Leeds Uk would make Adam pass out with excitement !!!
I lived a few block from that mueseum as a kid. been there more times than i can count. The arms and armor section was my favorite.
The amount of hours and skilled craftsmanship that must have gone into creating such an intricate, beautiful piece, especially taking into account the technology available during its creation, is truly unfathomable. Just awe inspiring work!!
Now I'm imaging how some Arabic armor historian in the 16th century added the later parts and thought to himself "Hm, I'l really make them different so that future historians can see that it was added later."
I was so surprised at the intricacy of this piece, and the enthusiasm that Adam brings to the exposition.
Heck yeah more Arms and Armor videos! I love these so much :)
"I want this, when the sun is about to die to be on the ship; space colony", That moved me more than I care to admit, just imagine.
Fun to watch you are still learning every day even with your knowledge and experience, keeps it interseting doesn't it Adam ?
It's fascinating how far back mass production actually goes. Americans are quick to cite Henry Ford, but many societies mass produced military hardware all the way back to the bronze age.
This series has been so good omg!!!
These amazing museum episodes remind me so much of an Antique Roadshow vibe, but for ultra rare stunning one of a kind historical artifacts. I cant get enough
A few hundred hours of cleaning. I'm glad that there are people that can sit there and do that every day and feel fulfilled. I am unqualified for that job by temperament.
In a natural history museum I watched some volunteers removing the plaster protective layer from a shipment of dinosaur fossilizes. With dental picks. One small scratch at a time. Good lighting and lots of magnification. The people in that room were all over 70 - they had l;earned patience in their lives.
As someone who makes chainmaille and is utterly fascinated by everything to do with it, this is such a fantastic video!
It is just amazing that piece has survived in such great condition, amazing work conservationists!
Amazing! I'm familiar with this mail but I never knew the rings were individually stamped thank you for this information
Omg the satisfaction Knauer must've felt when he completed that cleaning ☺️
My silat school has found a way to remove surface rust on old pieces with shop-pencil-graphite. We are still testing, but it is MUCH less destructive than grinding & may be comparible or even better than the wirebrush work mentioned.
i cant imagine how much work it took to create this incredible armor
This series is amazing. Never stop.
The craftsmanship is breathtaking.
So much history in one exhibit! And plenty more to discover yet.
People forget back in the day they legitimately buffed their gear with enchantments.
This shirt provided +10 holy armour at the price of +20% repair costs.
I love the videos and am so jealous! I used to read every arms and armor book I could find when I was a kid and I would give so much for these back stage views
Aha! Adam, while you are at the Met Armor department, have them show you the hand made prototype of the US Army helmet! Fascinating story.
Mail shirts would be cleaned from rust by rolling it in a barrel filled with sand. It was pretty effective. The sand would not get to all the minute ring in the shirt, but it didn't have to.
Oh man you are awesome 😊great work sir thanks for sharing
Breathtaking piece
This is incredible. The Apotropaic protection of the inscription is truly fascinating.
Mail is prone to damage from wearing alone and needs constant repair if worn in the field. Wouldn't it be sacrilegious to not immediately repair any damage in a good as new quality? Seems like a huge religious liability.
@@waynebimmel6784 that's not how maille works at all. Maille is self cleaning and incredibly easy to maintain. The only reason you would even think it wasn't is because Indian-made maille hauberks are really badly made and are what are used by the overwhelming majority of reenactors.
This type of armor, IIRC, is called three mirrors, because the front, sides and back have interwoven plate that were polished or gilded to a high degree.
But this one is interesting, it's made like a t-shirt. Most Mughal mail coats were full sleeve with retaining rings at the ends meant to put your thumbs through so the coat doesn't ride up.
More!!! I need more, Love these videos
The definition of the Max Power way sums up internet "expert" opinion perfectly.
Amazing detail, both in the construction and restoration of that piece.
I also have that same drill press. 70ish years old, and better than nearly anything you can get these days. Just goes to show that when purpose and craftsmanship take the priority over profit, amazing and long lived things can be made
I see all this stuff online to be depressed about and then there is Adam just getting psyched on cool shit and it brings me back to earth. Focus on the fun stuff people, there is so much too be excited about.
Love your comment. Thank you for taking the time to make it; it really means a lot to us.
That's one beautiful piece of armor.
On a related note, about the conservation and restoration of History, here in my home city of Corpus Christi, we have our Science and History Museum and it has the entire collection of photographs taken by John F. "Doc" McGregor, who worked as a chiropractor and part-time photographer from the 1920s to the late 70s, who took over 500,000 photos of a wide variety of places and things in and around Corpus. I did a research paper on McGregor and two other photographers during the 30s and 40s, how their photos were proof that the Corpus area didn't suffer as much during the Great Depression as the rest of the country, for one of my college courses majoring in Social Studies and Teaching. And part of the reason I chose to do that topic for my paper was because my own father, Ron Randolf, a photographer himself, spent almost two decades working part-time at the museum, painstakingly restoring and copying McGregor's photos, both for museum use and for display at local businesses. He started in 1987, a year after McGregor passed away in fact, well before the modern digital photo restoration technology, so he would have to take the old negatives, often damaged and deteriorating, develop them, then go back and delicately paint in the lost details from the damaged portions, and then I think make a new negative and develop it, making a fully restored copy. And as a nice little personal surprise, he found a photo of his own parents who posed for a portrait taken by McGregor; it is one of the few photos we have of my grandparents together. 😁
People back were truly artists
Everytime Adam gets excited and starts swinging his arms around my anxiety skyrockets! Those delicate leather straps look like they are about to crumble if someone breathes on them wrong, and Adam is flailing his arms around like Stan from Monkey Island lol. It reminds me of when Destin let Linus hold that early Apollo module on Smarter Everyday.
That's absolutely beautiful
If it was given out as a gift, you would keep it until you expire, change it to fit your new growing body as you age and gain a belly and add a few links to the center. its like going to your grandmothers for dinner you wear the shirt she got you.
Could tell it was mughal straight away. They had some incredible chainmail
Please continue the content from the METs collection!
Dang good work! Can't imagine working months on end to clean the thing. Though it must've felt like unraveling a gift or something. Totally worth it
Truly, a beautifully crafted item. 😮
Adam really starting us off with "You got (a) mail"