Research on the Manufacturing Process and Restoration of a Brigandine of the Ming Dynasty – A Case Study of the Brigandine Exhibited in Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum

Abstract

The Ming brigandine was a suit of armour with riveted plates concealed inside the cloth cover, which is different from the armour of previous dynasties, which strung the plates with one plate overlapping another. With the Ming brigandine in Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum as an example, the author explored the manufacturing process of the Ming brigandine and conducted a restoration study of it, from which the superiority of the brigandine’s manufacturing process and the scale production of Ming armour were summarised and discussed.