Elephants played a role in warfare from the first millennium BC until the 19th century. They were used mainly in India and Southeast Asia but also occasionally in western Asia, north Africa, Spain and Italy.
During battles trained war elephants were able to trample men and horses or pick them up and throw them. They also performed an important function as intimidating vantage platforms from which rulers and high-ranking officials could direct their forces.
Elephants were prominent targets on the battlefield and their protections was important. From at least the 11th century AD until well into the Mughal period, sources from across the Indian subcontinent describe or illustrate war elephants equipped with different types of bargustavan-i-pil (elephant armour).
The reputation of war elephants was so fearsome that their true military value is difficult to assess. *
This example of elephant armour (bargustavan-i-pil) is from India and probably dated late 16th – 17th century.
This is the only known surviving example of a near-complete mail and plate elephant armour in any public collection in the world. It was probably made in an Indian arsenal in the late 16th or 17th century, but it is difficult to be certain exactly where or for whom.
The mail and plate structure for body armour was used mostly in northern and central India during this time, and is often associated more with the equipment of Muslim states. Yet this armour is decorated with peacocks, lotus blooms and fish, perhaps suggesting it was produced in an area which retained elements of Hindu culture.
The armour would originally have been formed of eight panels, three at either side of the body and one each for the head and the throat. Two of the main sections from the right side of the elephant are missing. *
The armour also has a pair of tusk swords that attached to the sawn-off tusks of the elephant.
When wielded by a charging elephant, these tusk swords would have been fearsome weapons. They are extremely robust with massive reinforced points and rings which presumably allowed the sockets to be strapped firmly over the shortened tusks.
Accounts from the 15th and 16th centuries mention South Asian war elephants wearing tusk swords whilst ravaging enemies on the battlefield or battering fort defences. However, contemporary references to tusk swords become less frequent from the time of the Mughal era. This implies that they dropped out of frequent practical use. Surviving tusk swords are extremely rare.*
*from information boards next to the exhibit
