The Orient – Persian, Indo-Persian and Turkish arms

The second military collection apart from the one devoted to European arms, displays oriental weapons from Persia, Turkey and India from the 17th to the 20th century, the typical features of which are rich decorative elements and precise workmanship. It displays dozens of oriental swords, yatagans and talwars, as well as Middle and Near Eastern shields and armour. A particularly noteworthy exhibit is a Persian sabre from the early 17th century with a gilded hilt in the shape of an eagle’s head, two reflex bows with quiver and arrows from the 17th century, an 18th century Persian backsword, similar to the one which Matejko used as a model for Witold’s sword in the painting “The Battle of Grunwald”, and Persian armour from the 17th-18th centuries made from several thousand circles of an extremely small diameter of 3 mm.