Thomas Del Mar - Arms & Armour

260
A COMPOSITE EUROPEAN CUIRASSIER’S ARMOUR,
EARLY 17TH CENTURY
comprising close helmet formed of a rounded one-piece
skull from an early 16th century armet, rising to a low roped
medial comb pierced, and fitted at the nape fitted with a
brass plume-holder (replaced) and two rear gorget-plates,
peak and bevor attached by common pivots (replaced), the
peak fitted within its brow with a barred face-defence cut
with a pair of large rectangular vision-slits and later etched
with bands of foliate interlace and guilloche, the bevor
fitted with a falling buff of three lames, each pierced with
numerous circular ventilation-holes, and three front gorgetplates,
collar formed of a single deep plate front and rear,
heavy breastplate of vestigial ‘peascod’ fashion formed of a
main plate with an internal reinforce, the former flanged
outwards at it lower edge to receive a pair of long tassets
each formed of ten upward overlapping lames divisible
between the seventh and eighth and terminating in winged
poleyns of five lames, heavy backplate with outwardflanged
lower edge, the breastplate and backplate each
bearing the proof-mark of a bullet, large symmetrical
pauldrons each formed of nine lames overlapping outwards
from the fifth and connected by a turner to a vambrace
formed of a tubular upper and lower cannon articulated to
one another by a winged bracelet couter of three lames,
the main edges of the armour decorated with inward turns
in part roped and accompanied by recessed borders, its
surfaces variously decorated with bands of incised lines
and roped ribs (the armour showing pitting and wear
overall with some cracking, bruising, patching and
disarticulation, particularly in the pauldrons and
vambraces), stand not included
Inv. no. A090.
£8000-10000
260
115