Sassanian release.

I am guessing you are referring to this reference:

Overlaet, Bruno (1998). Regalia of the Ruling Classes in Late Sassanian Times: The Riggisberg Strap Mountings, Swords and Archer?s Fingercaps. In Riggisberger Berichte - Entlang der Seidenstrasse - Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg, pp.267-297

There are several surviving sets of finger protectors from the Middle East. They are not specific to the Sassanians. Their dates are spread out over a large number of centuries. They usually look like thimbles with holes around the opening to allow them to be sewn to a glove.

There are later bronze items that may be finger stalls or thimbles. They are often mis-described as thumb rings.

Silk Road Museum Seoul

Thank you.
This is nothing like I thought. From the descriptions in one of the Osprey books, I imagined metal thimbles for the two fingers. They were kept from loss by loosely chaining them to the wrist (Osprey again). My real issue was whether or not only the terminal joint was covered or was there a part over the first knuckle for holding the string, like the groove on some thumb rings.

Kuchean

Kuchean; I do not know the meaning of these objects; I just took the picture. But Dusan once posted a similar image of Taras with such a thimble. I wondered at that time if his was old or a reproduction.

The SRMS image seems to be associated with a Scythian bow and arrows, points. -j-

Very interesting you can see why they have been mistaken for thumb rings. They look almost identicalto some of the thumb ring "finds".

The use of thimble like objects as finger protectors for archery is ancient. None of the photographs I have seen would suggest they were big enough to cover the joint.

I made a finger tab based on what was shown in the Sassanian silver dishes that have preserved images of archers. Whether it is an accurate representation of what they used or not I don't know. It did not require finger tip protectors and made handling other weapons and objects like reins very easy. The tab made it possible to draw either with the finger tips or the distal joints of the middle fingers.

I agree with Jack that the objects in the Silk Road Museum were not thumb rings. I think they were thimbles. The bronze one seems to be quite specialised. The leather work from Pazyryk shows that really delicate stitching of skins was practised. Thimbles would have made this easier.

I have read comments by some authors of Osprey books that the illustrations did not always match what they intended. It should also be remembered that these books were intended for war gamers and model figure makers and not for archers or other researchers.

In a trip to Alaska I bought an Eskimo thimble for sewing which was quite like the bronze one on the right. Made of seal rawhide, it was gathered together where the fingernail touched and had a small strap over the top to keep it in place. Being of sealskin, it was quite rough which is a necessary trait of a sewing thimble. Unfortunately I gave it away and can't remember to who.

I wonder if these objects are roughened on the working surface, The one on the right does not appear so. The entire surface is used for pushing a needle, not just the tip.

Excellent mystery. -j-

I feel like an idiot!
There seeme to be many traditional bow-hunter's gloves that are made like
what I think is being described as Sassanian-type finger caps (confused sentence). I am going to order the Neet Cordovan traditional bow hunting glove and see how it serves.
Anything has to be better than my thumb ring.

Kuchean

Hi Kuchean

How come you don't like your thumb ring?

My thumb ring is made from the tip of a cow horn. I didn't leave enough material to spread the force of the string against my thumb so it hurts quite a bit in use, I also initially left the face smooth and the string keeps slipping. Eventually I filed a groove in the face, but it wasn't much better.

Kuchean

I have a friend looking for the entire Overlaet paper, but I found on a German language web site called the Fletcher's Corner pictures of several Sassanian archer's finger caps (see attached)

Kuchean