Archery at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto

Not far from the Toronto Archery Range is the Aga Khan Museum. For the price of admission you get to explore the history of the Muslim world stretching from Spain to Indonesia, covering ceramics, stonework and metal works, and historical documents / artwork spanning approx. 1500 years.

Amongst the collection of artifacts is a variety of depictions of archery, which as an archer, I took the time to photograph (flash photography is not allowed in the museum, but it only takes a moment to turn the flash off).

I was disappointed there was no examples of antique bows, arrows, swords at the museum. There was however a very nice dagger, and the ceremonial helmet and matching shield shown below at the bottom of the images.

Note - I am afraid I did not write down the context of many of these images, so my descriptions will be somewhat generic.

A group of men discussing something while an archer waves his bow in the air.

A half-man / centaur(?) shooting at his own dragon-like tail.

Three archers on horseback battling a dragon. One of the archers carries a sword while another appears to be talking to the dragon.

Larger detail of the archer who seems to be talking to the dragon.

Larger detail of the archer who is backing away from the dragon.

Two important looking men discuss with onlookers, while a quiver of arrows appears to float in midair.

An archer on horseback stabs a lion in the neck with his sword.

An archer and a white demon wrestle in a cave, the archer is stabbing the demon with a dagger.

An archer and a swordsman talking.

The ceremonial helmet and shield of a 18th century sultan.

Overall, a very enjoyable a trip. In the future I hope to take more photographs at museums (those that allow photography, that is) showing a variety of archery artifacts.