Backplate (body armour): HEN.M.11D-1933

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

• Backplate (body armour)
• Skirt

Categories

• Armour

Description

Backplate with skirt, for field use. Formed of a main plate, weakly shaped to the shoulder-blades, and a skirt of one lame. The nearly straight neck-opening and the arm-openings of the main plate have file-roped inward turns accompanied by a recessed border. Attached by a pair of externally-flush rivets within each of the upper corners of the main plate is a modern, buff leather shoulder-strap with a bifurcated proximal end. Attached by a round-headed rivet with a circular external rosette washer and a circular, internal washer at each side of the waist is a modern leather strap that serves as a waist-belt. The rosette washers are decorated with punched hatching. The left strap terminates in a modern double-ended, tongued, iron buckle with a rounded hasp secured by a single round-headed rivet. The buckle has a rectangular distal loop and a D-shaped proximal loop decorated with file-roping. A later hole pierced at the centre of the upper border of the main plate has subsequently been plugged with an externally-flush rivet. Later wiring-holes are pierced at the centre of the waist and the lower end of each arm-opening. The lower edge of the main plate is flanged outwards to receive the skirt of one lame. The upper edge of the lame is decorated with a pair of modern incised lines. Its nearly straight lower edge is decorated with a file-roped inward turn accompanied by a recessed border. Each end of the border is pierced with a later large, circular hole, possibly for wiring-purposes. The skirt-lame is attached to the flange of the main plate at each side by a single, modern round-headed rivet with an octagonal internal washer. Part of the composite three-quarter armour HEN.M.11A-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

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

16th Century, Mid#
Production date: circa AD 1550

Note

South Germany

The backplate and skirt are bright with a medium and partly mottled patination overall. Their surfaces show extensive scoring resulting from mechanical cleaning.

The incised lines that decorate the upper edge of the skirt-lame have been added in modern times to make the backplate match other elements of the composite armour into which it was incorporated.