OIRAT WEAPONS AND ARMOR IN DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Abstract
The article presents the results of the study of the defensive and offensive weapons of the Oirats (Dzhungars, Kalmyks, “Chakars”, Khoshuts of the Kukunor Plain) of the 17th–18th centuries in museum collections of Russia, Kazakhstan, China, the USA and Great Britain. The main stages, features of the formation and composition of the largest specialized collections are characterized. It has been found out that the earliest of them is the collection of Oirat weapons in the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, the beginning of the formation of which dates back to the first half of the 17th century. A significant number of Dzhungar and Kalmyk helmets and armor are also stored in the museums of Kazakhstan, the eastern and southeastern regions of which were part of the Dzhungar state. Oirat weapons and armor in the collections of the PRC are represented mainly by Dzhungar military trophies, as well as elite examples of weapons presented as a gift to the Qing Emperor by Kalmyk noyons (princes) in 1771. A significant part of the richly decorated helmets and broadswords of Khoshuts and Dzhungars, stored in museums in Great Britain and the USA, were taken from Tibet during the military expedition of F. Younghusband in 1903–1904. The results of the study of the collected materials allow us to conclude that Oirat weapons are very widely represented in Russian and foreign museum collections. Its comprehensive study is an important area of research into the Oirat military and cultural heritage.
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References
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