Conference: "Arms and Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World" at the Wallace Collection, London, March 13-14, 2026.

The Wallace Collection is home to one of the finest assemblages of arms and armour in a public collection. Our newly published Catalogue of Arms and Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World and our free display, Swords of Lucknow, highlight this previously understudied part of the museum’s collections.

Discussions will centre around courtly culture and diplomacy, making and decorating, cross-cultural interactions and colonial collecting histories.
Leading scholars and specialists will share their insights and latest research.

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PROGRAMME:

FRIDAY, March 13, 2026

10.30 - 10.35
Welcome and Introduction

10.35 - 11.00
Opening Keynote – Davinder Toor

11.00 - 11.15 Q & A

11.15 - 11.35
‘His insignia of Chiefship, I captured’: The construction and taking of British colonial war trophies in India
Nicole Hartwell

11.35 - 11.55
The Epistemology and Anatomy of Loot in the Clive Collection
Rhea Tuli Partridge

11.55 - 12.15 Q & A

12.15 - 12.30 Tea Break

12:30 - 12:50
Abyssinia 1868
Eyob Derillo

12.50 - 13.10
Punitive Expeditions and Victorian Plunder: Britain in Asante and Benin
Barnaby Phillips

13:10 - 13.30 Q & A

13:30 - 14:30
Lunch [not provided]

"Beyond the Battlefield: Courtly Culture & Diplomacy"

14.30 - 14.50
Forging Friendship: Japanese Arms and Armour for the British Court, 1613-1952
Rachel Peat Underhill

14.50 - 15.10
The keris: The many lives of a Southeast Asian weapon
Fiona Asokacitta

15.10 - 15.30 Q&A

15.30 - 15.45
Short Break

15.45 - 16.05
A Cloak and Dagger Mystery: The Multiple Meanings of the Mughal Khapwa
Jean-Baptiste Clais & Ali Gibran Siddiqui

16.05 - 16.25
Sharply Dressed: Edged Weapons and the Fashioning of Court Identity in Mughal India
Rachel Parikh [delivered online]

16:25 - 16:45
Swords of Lucknow at the Wallace Collection
Nicole Ioffredi

16:45 - 17:05 Q & A

17:05 - 19:00
Reception and private view of Swords of Lucknow and the Arms & Armour Galleries

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10.30 - 10.35
Welcome and Introduction

"Translocations & Cross-Cultural Interactions"

10.35 - 10.55
Early Modern Islamic daggers in the Venetian imaginary
Robert Brennan and Peyvand Firouzeh

10.55 - 11.15
Henry VIII’s Lost Dagger: The Many Lives of an Ottoman Blade from the Tudor Court to Victorian Theatre
Silvia Davoli

11.15 - 11.35
Approaching Islamic arts through arms and armour: a few historic vignettes
Mercedes Volait [delivered online]

11.35 - 11.55 Q & A

11.55 - 12.10 Tea Break

"Making and Decorating"

12.10 - 12.30
Scale by Scale: Military Innovation and Technology Transfer Across Eurasia
Patrick Wertmann

12.30 - 12.50
The Imperial Treasure of Emperor Qianlong: Decoding the Gold Cups of Sir Richard Wallace
Shichun Lei

12.50 - 13.10 Q & A

13.10 - 14.10
Lunch [not provided]

"Making and Decorating"

14.10 - 14.30
Pretty Useful: a practical appraisal of the materials and construction of ornate arms and armour
Francesca Levey

14.30 - 14.50
Watered steel
Allan Williams

14.50 - 15.10
Blades of ‘bloomery’ steel or blades of ‘watered’ steel… customer’s choice?
David Edge

15.10 - 15.30 Q & A

15.30 - 15.45 Short Break

15.45 - 16.05
Closing remarks

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Registration: https://www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/events/conference-on-arms-and-armour-from-asia-africa-and-the-ottoman-world-2/

Online: This event will also be broadcast live from the museum on Zoom. All ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the event, which will be available for two weeks only.

This event will take place in the theatre, lower ground floor at the museum. An evening drinks reception and private view of Swords of Lucknow and the Arms and Armour Galleries will follow the presentations on the Friday.