Plate Armour
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(reportedly from T'oerae-ri, Kimhae. c 4th century C.E., Height: 64.8cm)
* Kimhae National Museum Collection
Armour, a kind of arms, is worn by soldiers for protection in battle, and has two types: scale armour made by weaving scales like fish scales, and plate armour made by connecting plates. The plate armour was made of lacquered wooden plate or leather at first, but later was made of iron as people became able to deal with iron. The plate armour has several types. By manufacturing technique, there are two types of plate armours: one is made by binding iron plates with leather straps, and the other is made by connecting iron plates with nails. Additionally, iron plate has various shapes such as square plate, rectangular plate, triangular plate, etc.
The plate armour in the picture was reportedly from T'oerae-ri, Kimhae. This plate armour was made connecting vertical rectangular plates with nails, and has swirl-patterned plates on the chest and back pieces. It is speculated that bird feathers might have been placed between the plates for decorative purposes.
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