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Breastplate (body armour): HEN.M.20B-1933

Object information

Awaiting location update

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown (Possibly)

Entities

Categories

Description

Breastplate, for field use, of great weight. Formed in one piece in the late 'peascod' fashion, with a flange at the waist. The arm-openings, the neck-opening and the waist-flange have file-roped inward turns bordered by single incised lines. The incised line at the neck-opening projects downwards as a narrow chevron at its centre. Riveted at each shoulder is a modern, single-ended tongued brass buckle with a roller to receive the shoulder-straps of the backplate. The buckle is located just below a vacant hole that may represent its original attachment-point. Incorrectly riveted beneath each armpit is a modern buff leather strap to connect the breastplate to a backplate. Riveted midway along each side of the waist, just above the angle of the flange, is a large hinge which is fitted at its distal end with a bolt and wing-nut for the attachment of tassets. The hinges may represent a later modification. Part of the composite armour HEN.M.20A-H-1933.

Notes

History note: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex.

Legal notes

J.S. Henderson Bequest

Measurements and weight

Depth: 16.0 cm
Height: 43.5 cm
Weight: 4.8 kg
Width: 33.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart

Dating

17th Century, Early#
19th Century
Circa 1610 - 1900

Note

The breastplate is bright with a partly mottled light to medium patination. Its surface is heavily scarred by mechanical cleaning.

Components of the work

Straps composed of leather ( modern)
Buckles composed of brass (alloy)
Decoration
Parts
Side Of Waist

Materials used in production

Steel

Techniques used in production

Hammering : Formed in one piece in the late 'peascod' fashion, with a flange at the waist; hammered, shaped, riveted, hinged, with file-roping and incised line decoration
Forming

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: tag with number

  • Text: PB/29
  • Type: Label

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.20B-1933
Primary reference Number: 18042
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 8 January 2016 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Breastplate (body armour)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18042 Accessed: 2024-11-08 18:56:43

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18042 |title=Breastplate (body armour) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-08 18:56:43|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-18042

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