Skip to main content

Gauntlet: HEN.M.144-1933

Object information

Awaiting location update

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Gauntlet, for the left hand, of fingered form, for field use. Formed of a fairly short, flared, tubular cuff, a wrist-plate, six metacarpal-plates, a knuckle-plate, a finger-plate, four scaled finger-defences and a scaled thumb-defence. The cuff is formed of an obtusely-pointed, medially-ridged outer plate and a considerably shorter inner plate. The latter is riveted within the former. The lower end of the sixth metacarpal-plate and the knuckle-plate are shaped to the knuckles. The finger-plate is shaped between the fingers. Attached by a leather hinge to the front end of the fifth metacarpal plate is a thumb-defence formed of a medially-ridged, lozenge-shaped main plate and five further scales, matching the finger scales. The rounded ends of the final finger and thumb-scales are decorated with incised chevrons, representing fingernails. The main edges of the cuff are decorated with plain inward turns. The secondary edges of the cuff, the metacarpal-plates, and the scales of the finger and thumb-defences are decorated with single incised lines. A single, transverse incised line also decorates the wrist-plate.
The gauntlet has a 'black from the hammer' finish which has been polished away around the upper border of the cuff and in a medial band extending down the cuff to the bottom of the fifth metacarpal, probably to make it match a 'black and white' armour with which it was later associated. Probably part of the same composite armour as HEN.M.138-1933, HEN.M.139-1933 and HEN.M.145-1933.

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: 14.6 cm
Height: 29.7 cm
Weight: 0.51 kg
Width: 15 cm

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

17th Century, Early#
Circa 1610 CE - 1620 CE

Note

South German

The bright bands show a light to medium patination with heavy scoring. The intervening blackened areas have been refreshed with black paint.

Components of the work

Decoration composed of paint ( black)
Hinge composed of leather
Bright Bands
Cuff, Outer Plate
Parts
Thumb-defence

Materials used in production

Steel

Techniques used in production

Hammered : Formed of a fairly short, flared, tubular cuff, a wrist-plate, six metacarpal-plates, a knuckle-plate, a finger-plate, four scaled finger-defences and a scaled thumb-defence; hammered, shaped, riveted, with incised decoration on a bright and blackened ground in the 'black and white' fashion
Formed

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: serial number

  • Text: 62
  • Location: Outer plate of the cuff
  • Method of creation: Incised
  • Type: Mark

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.144-1933
Primary reference Number: 18642
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 11 January 2023 Last processed: Thursday 7 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) "Gauntlet" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18642 Accessed: 2024-11-25 01:10:40

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/18642 |title=Gauntlet |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-25 01:10:40|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-18642

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...