9th Sep, 2026 11:00
Fine Antique Arms and Armour from the Philippe Missillier Collection
44
AN OTTOMAN SHAFFRON, POSSIBLY TURKEY, 16TH/EARLY 17TH CENTURY
formed from a single piece of bright steel (some old pitting overall), boxed-in and pierced with a pair of holes over each side of the muzzle, widening over the forehead and with a narrow flange around the eyes, embossed with a T-shape between oblique lozenge shapes at the top and running down the nose, the top of the T pierced with two rectangular slots, blunt pate extension, and the edges pierced with small holes for a lining, 49.0 cm long
Provenance
Philippe Missillier Collection, no. 178C
The identifying characteristics of this shaffron are the cut-away curved sides of the muzzle and the ‘T’ shaped embossed relief decoration in the centre. These appear on an otherwise plain shaffron made for the Ottoman grand vizier Murad Pasha (1520-1611), now in the Louvre, which provides the basis for dating the shaffron to the late 16th or early 17th century (inv. no. MAO 1223, Makariou 2002, pp. 135-7, no. 81). Comparison between this shaffron and with a similar shaffron in the Metropolitan Museum (possibly made for a camel) shows that the blank drilled holes on the curved sides of the muzzle and at the top were originally filled with brass-topped rivets, and the two rectangular slots at the top of the ‘T’ originally secured a perpendicular cusped sheet of steel. (inv. no. 36.25.508, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/31874 accessed 8 July 2026) A group of similar pieces includes another shaffron in the Metropolitan Museum which has more complex decoration based on the same principal motifs (inv. no. 21.102.4, Alexander 2015, pp. 132-133, no. 40). This is close to a piece in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (inv. no. 6708, Civita 2014, p. 120, no. 19). A significant group is in the Askeri Museum, Istanbul, and another example is published in Hales 2013, p. 331, fig. 799.
For two very similar examples see Bonhams Knightsbridge, 25 November 2015, lot 44.
Sold for £4,500
formed from a single piece of bright steel (some old pitting overall), boxed-in and pierced with a pair of holes over each side of the muzzle, widening over the forehead and with a narrow flange around the eyes, embossed with a T-shape between oblique lozenge shapes at the top and running down the nose, the top of the T pierced with two rectangular slots, blunt pate extension, and the edges pierced with small holes for a lining, 49.0 cm long
Provenance
Philippe Missillier Collection, no. 178C
The identifying characteristics of this shaffron are the cut-away curved sides of the muzzle and the ‘T’ shaped embossed relief decoration in the centre. These appear on an otherwise plain shaffron made for the Ottoman grand vizier Murad Pasha (1520-1611), now in the Louvre, which provides the basis for dating the shaffron to the late 16th or early 17th century (inv. no. MAO 1223, Makariou 2002, pp. 135-7, no. 81). Comparison between this shaffron and with a similar shaffron in the Metropolitan Museum (possibly made for a camel) shows that the blank drilled holes on the curved sides of the muzzle and at the top were originally filled with brass-topped rivets, and the two rectangular slots at the top of the ‘T’ originally secured a perpendicular cusped sheet of steel. (inv. no. 36.25.508, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/31874 accessed 8 July 2026) A group of similar pieces includes another shaffron in the Metropolitan Museum which has more complex decoration based on the same principal motifs (inv. no. 21.102.4, Alexander 2015, pp. 132-133, no. 40). This is close to a piece in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (inv. no. 6708, Civita 2014, p. 120, no. 19). A significant group is in the Askeri Museum, Istanbul, and another example is published in Hales 2013, p. 331, fig. 799.
For two very similar examples see Bonhams Knightsbridge, 25 November 2015, lot 44.
Auction: Fine Antique Arms and Armour from the Philippe Missillier Collection, 9th Sep, 2026
Over a period of half a century, Philippe became one of the leading connoisseurs and independent scholars in the field of antique arms and armour from Europe, India and the Islamic world. Consulted by the world’s leading museums and collectors, Philippe possessed a remarkable eye for quality and rarity which is reflected in the objects offered in this sale.
His company was enjoyed at countless exhibitions and sales around the world, where he would greet colleagues with a hummed fanfare, invariably followed by a profound observation imbued with wit and scholarship in equal measure. Philippe belonged to a generation that truly mastered its subject, visiting every museum and attending as many auctions as he could while simultaneously assembling an important library.
A number of the pieces offered here were published in ‘Splendeur des Armes Orientales’, a landmark exhibition catalogue co-authored in collaboration with Howard Ricketts in 1988, and remains a standard reference today. Philippe wore his immense knowledge lightly, balancing academic rigour with good humour, listening generously to the opinions of colleagues, and invariably raising a smile.
Viewing
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 6th September June: 12pm - 4pm
Monday 7th September: 10am - 7pm (Drinks 6-7pm)
Tuesday 8th September: 10am - 5pm
CONTACT:
For further information please contact us | armsandarmour@olympiaauctions.com | + 44 (0) 20 7806 5541
