**A MAIL SHIRT, PROBABLY OTTOMAN 18TH/19TH CENTURY, LATER ADAPTED FOR USE IN NORTH AFRICA formed of alternating rows of welded and riveted rings of circular-section wire, with a centrally-divided neck-opening, a pair of short sleeves and a short skirt centrally divided at both its front and rear, the upper edge of the neck-opening extended upwards during working life with a strip of mail of similarly-sized but differently formed rings attached to it by a leather thong and stiffened with further such thongs of a greater width (lightly patinated overall; the leather thongs decayed at points) Provenance Kahlert & Sohn, Berlin, 1930 George F. Harding Jr, Chicago, purchased August 1930 Transferred to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1982, Acc. No. 1982.3007