Production: Unknown
Breastplate and tassets for use by a pikeman. The breastplate is medially-ridged and dips to the centre of the waist. Its arm-openings and deep, narrow neck-opening have plain, inward turns bordered by single incised lines. Riveted at each side of the chest is a modern pierced stud and swivel-hook to engage the shoulder-straps of the backplate. The lower edge of the breastplate is flanged outwards to receive a fairly deep, transversely-boxed skirt formed in two halves joined medially by an overlapped and riveted join. The lateral and lower edges of the skirt have plain inward turns accompanied, in the case of the former, by recessed borders embossed with simulated rivets. Riveted at each side of the skirt are a pair of pierced rectangular studs that serve to attach the tassets which are suspended from them on scaled straps. The L-shaped top scale is in each case pierced with a rectangular slot and furnished with a swivel-hook at its upper, inner corner. The rectangular tassets are each formed in one piece and embossed to simulate seven lames. Each 'lame' is decorated at its upper with a single incised line. The lateral and lower edges of each tasset have plain inward turns accompanied by a recessed border containing lining-rivets. Those of the right tasset retain substantial portions of a buff-leather lining. The right tasset, which shows some small rust-perforations, is decorated with three vertical lines of round-headed rivets, one of which is replaced. The left tasset is decorated with three vertical lines of simulated round-headed rivets, produced by embossing. A number of later holes in the left tasset, just to the inside of its inner connecting-strap, have been plugged with externally-flush rivets. Part of the composite pikeman's armour HEN.M.23A-D-1933.
History note: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex.
J.S. Henderson Bequest
Weight: 3.94 kg
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart
17th Century#
Circa
1630
CE
-
1640
CE
The breastplate and tassets are heavily pitted and patinated overall.
The tassets do not form an exact pair. It is possible that one tasset is original to the breastplate, but that the other is associated.
Lining
composed of
leather
Breastplate
Depth 15.5 cm
Height 44.5 cm
Width 44.2 cm
Right Tasset
Depth 5.5 cm
Height 21.8 cm
Width 35.0 cm
Left Tasset
Depth 5.7 cm
Height 21.8 cm
Width 32.5 cm
Parts
Skirt Borders
Tasset 'lames'
Tassets Decoration
Tassets
Hammering
: The breastplate is medially-ridged and dips to the centre of the waist, the rectangular tassets are each formed in one piece and embossed to simulate seven lames; hammered, shaped, riveted, decorated with recessed borders, embossing, incised lines and rivets
Patinating
Forming
Accession number: HEN.M.23C-1933
Primary reference Number: 18101
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://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18101 Accessed: 2024-12-19 00:22:36
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18101
|title=Breastplate (body armour)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-19 00:22:36|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://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-18101
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...