Production: Unknown (Probably)
Breastplate, for light field use, decorated in the 'black and white' fashion. Formed of a medially-ridged main plate projecting forward to a point over the belly and fitted with movable gussets at the arm-openings. The broad, slightly concave neck-opening and the gussets have file-roped inward turns. The gussets at the arm-openings are secured to the main plate by a pair of round-headed rivets with octagonal internal washers at their upper and lower ends. The upper ones move within diagonal slots cut within the gussets. The top right rivet and its washer are modern replacements. Attached within the upper end of each gusset by an externally-flush rivet is a double-ended, tongued, rectangular, iron buckle with simple incised decoration and a plain hasp with cropped corner. The left buckle lacks its tongue. The lower edge of the main plate is flanged outwards to receive a skirt. Each end of the flange is pierced with a rivet-hole for the attachment of the missing skirt. Later wiring-holes are pierced at the lower end of each gusset and at each side of the waist.
The main plate is decorated with a recessed border of ogee form at the neck, a recessed band at the waist, and eight narrow, recessed bands between them. In addition, the upper part of the main plate is decorated between the central two vertical bands with a recessed chevron.
History note: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex
J.S. Henderson Bequest
Depth: 18.7 cm
Height: 29.7 cm
Weight: 2.21 kg
Width: 37.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart
16th Century, Mid#
Production date:
circa
AD 1560
South German, Nuremberg
The breastplate has a ' black from the hammer' finish, now partly oxidised to a russet colour, with bright bands, borders and gussets showing medium pitting and patination.
This breastplate was made in the fashionable shape of the middle of the 16th century and is decorated in a style which has become known as the ‘black and white’ fashion with alternate bright and dark areas.
Buckles
composed of
iron (metal)
Bands
Border
Main Plate
Parts
Hammered
: Formed of a medially-ridged main plate projecting forward to a point over the belly with moveable gussets at the arm-openings; hammered, shaped, riveted, the main plate is decorated with recessed bands and border in the 'black and white' fashion
Formed
Accession number: HEN.M.114-1933
Primary reference Number: 18591
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
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/18591 Accessed: 2024-11-08 16:30:45
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18591
|title=Breastplate (body armour)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-08 16:30:45|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-18591
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...