4th-6th century AD. A very important and nearplete specimen of ring armour (lorica) made from interlocking iron wire links in the basic pattern of four-through-one formation (one solid ring interlocking with four rivetted), forming alternate sections of welded and unwelded rings. Cf. the Eastern Roman chainmail of Gammertingen in Gröbbels, I.W., Der Reihengräberfund von Gammertingen. Auf höchsten Befehl seiner königlichen Hoheit des Fürsten von Hohenzollern beschrieben, Munchen, 1905; Riemer, E., Heinrich, P., 'Zur Restaurierung der funde a dem 'Furstengrab' von Gammertingen' in Denkmalpflege in Baden-Wurttemberg, 26 (2), 1997, pp.54-60. 4.5 kg total, 1.1-29.5cm (1 1/4 - 11 1/2"). Acquired 1971-1972. Property of a London, UK, collector; from his father's collection. Apanied by an archaeological report by military specialist Dr. Raffaele D’Amato. Apanied by a positive metal test number HM1467 from an Oxford specialist. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is apanied by AIAD certificate number no.11087-183794. The chainmail of Gammertingen (570 AD), originally made from approx. 45,000 individual iron rings, is unique in its state of preservation, and represents a splendid product of the loricarii (craftsmen of cuirasses) of the Eastern Roman Empire. Its striking similarity to our armour suggests that the specimen offered here for sale also originates from the area of Byzantium. [No Reserve]