Production: Unknown
Shaffron, for field use, with fluted decoration in 'Gothic' fashion. Formed of a single plate closely shaped to the horse's face and narrowing towards its lower end. Its upper corners are cut away in shallow, concave curves. Its sides have large, semi-circular cut-outs for the eyes with strongly flanged edges. Its centrally-cusped lower edge is also flanged outwards and decorated with a recessed border that widens towards its centre. Its upper edge is boxed inwards in an inverted, u-shaped curve. A pair of rivet-holes is pierced at the centre of the upper edge for the attachment of a missing, hinged poll-plate. A further pair of holes is pierced at each side, just above the eye-openings. A series of nineteen rivet-holes border the lower edge of the shaffron and the flanges of the eye-opening to half way up the latter. Three rivet-holes, arranged in a horizontal line, are pierced across the brow, while another, filled with an externally-flush rivet, is pierced a short distance above the central one. These various rivet-holes mostly served to secure a lining, but may also in several instances have served to secure separate side-plates and perhaps also an escutcheon or plume-holder.
History note: From the collection of the Hon. Robert Curzon, later Baron Zouche, at Parham, Sussex, sold by Sotheby's, London, 10-11 November, 1920, lot 94, for £42. It may conceivably have been acquired by him as part of a large quantity of early European armour deriving from the Imperial Arsenal at Istanbul that he purchased about 1840.
Given by Mr F.H. Cripps-Day
Depth: 8.4 cm
Height: 50.7 cm
Weight: 0.642 kg
Width: 21.8 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1945-10-16) by Cripps-Day, Francis Henry
15th Century, Late
Circa
1480
CE
-
1490
CE
South German
The shaffron fitted to the front of the horses head and was held in place by leather straps and buckles. It would have been connected to the armour covering the top of the horse’s neck, the crinet, as part of a whole horse armour for use in battle. The fluted decoration, in ‘Gothic’ fashion, helped to strengthen the plate.
The shaffron is bright with light patination and some pitting. It shows evidence of heavy cleaning in the form of grinding marks.
Border
Decoration
Parts
Hammered
: Formed of a single plate closely shaped to the horse's face and narrowing towards its lower end; hammered, shaped, riveted, with fluted decoration, and a recessed border decorating the centrally-cusped lower edge
Patinating
Formed
Inscription present: 118 over the intials C.D.
Inscription present: parchment tag
Accession number: M.11-1945
Primary reference Number: 18664
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) "Shaffron" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18664 Accessed: 2024-11-22 03:53:45
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18664
|title=Shaffron
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 03:53:45|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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