The items on display were actually much more plain (utilitarian) than I expected. Most of the helmets, for instance, were simple 8-plate helmets with a little pole on top. They gave the appearance of collapsable metal colanders -- an impression that was only heightened for the "multiplate" helmets. The armor was mostly small leather rectangles, stitched together with what looked like shoelaces. The Himalayan warriors may have been inspired by fish scales. The shields were woven, and looked more like fruit baskets than anything else. The swords and scabbards were often decorated nicely, however. I wasn't impressed with the inlaid stones - those were almost always bits of turquoise or coral (although presumably coral is exotic in the mountains) - but the metalwork was nice. I tried to get a picture of one hilt with a nice dragon carved (casted?) into it, but it came out a bit blurry:
The signs in the exhibition pointed out wavy lines on some of the sword blades. Supposedly, these were intentionally made for aesthetic appeal. I thought maybe it was an error in the casting/smelting process. It's fairly subtle, and I wonder if it affects the strength of the blade.
What struck me as somewhat odd, overall, was that the more finely crafted works tended to be a bit earlier than the more clumsily crafted works. I didn't take notes, unfortunately, but my impression is that they reached the height of their craft somewhere in (say) the 13th-15th centuries, and then the crummier works were maybe in the 17th-18th centuries. Did the artisans lose their touch or fail to pass on the secrets of their craft? Was there just a lucky streak of skilled one or two naturally giften artisans in the earlier period? Were the artisans diverted into other fields in the later period due to societal changes (e.g., maybe in a period of relative peace and prosperity, the best artisans were being asked to cast religious statutes rather than going into the arms & armor business)? Or maybe the best stuff from the later period is being kept by other museums who don't want to lend it out to the Met.
On the way out, we went through the exhibits of Latin American and African artifacts. This one was interesting, a relatively large and very detailed ear ornament. It looked like you are supposed to cup it over your ear (i.e., not for pierced ears):
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