Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria - Thomas Del Mar

Armour
233
A COMPOSITE GERMAN FLUTED FIELD ARMOUR IN THE
SO-CALLED MAXIMILIAN FASHION, CIRCA 1515-1530
comprising close helmet formed of a rounded one-piece
skull rising to a boldly cabled medial comb and cut away at
the nape to to receive a neck-guard (missing), bellows visor
and bevor attached by later common pivots, the former
pierced with a centrally-divided vision-slit and ten
horizontal ventilation-slits, the latter formed with a
pronounced chin, flanged outwards at the base to form a
short front neck-guard, fitted at the right side with a springcatch
to engage the visor and secured to the skull at the
right of the neck by a hook and pierced stud, collar of four
lames front and rear, the top lames boldly roped, the
lowest front plate stamped on the outside with the quality
control mark of the city of Nuremberg, and on the inside
with the pearled N mark of the same city, globose
breastplate struck at the neck with the former mark and
pierced at the right of the chest with two later holes for a
lance-rest, movable gussets at the arm-openings, waistlame,
and fauld of four lames (the lowest three restored),
and tassets each of four lames, matching backplate formed
of a main plate (one small hole), fitted with a pair of side
plates and a waist-lame flanged outwards to receive a short
culet of three lames, the main plate struck at its upper edge
with the quality-control mark of the city of Nuremberg,
large assymetrical pauldrons (partly restored) each of
seven lames overlapping outwards from the third, which
bears an haute-piece, articulated vambraces (the right
restored) formed of a tubular upper and lower cannons, the
former fitted at its upper end with a turner and at the inside
of the elbow with a narrow lame, and a couter of three
lames, the central lame projecting inwards at the front as a
large flat centrally-puckered oval wing, mitten gauntlets
each formed of a short straight-ended cuff, four
metacarpal-plates, two finger-plates and hinged thumbdefences
terminating in a pair of scales (the entire right
gauntlet and the finger lames of the left restored), cuisses
each formed of a gutter-shaped main plate fitted at its
lower edge with a winged poleyn of six lames (the right
restored), a pair of tubular full-length greaves each cut with
a slot at the heel to accommodate a spur and an arch at the
front to accommodate a sabaton of eight lames attached to
it by a turning-pin at each side (the right greave and
sabaton with patched repairs), the armour decorated
throughout with boldly fluted ornament emphasised by
pairs of incised lines, and at its main edges with boldly
roped inward turns accompanied by recessed borders
(areas of pitting and wear throughout): on a wooden stand
applied with an early collection label
PROVENANCE
Alphons Meyer, Zürich 1930
The Renne Collection, Constance
The same combination of marks is shown on two
Nuremberg armours in the Royal Armouries Leeds, dating
to 1510 and 1530 respectively. See A. R. Dufty and W. Reid
1968, pl. XVI and XVII.
‡ £40000-60000
100