Breastplate (body armour): HEN.M.23C-1933

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

• Breastplate (body armour)
• Tassets

Categories

• Armour

Description

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.

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

17th Century#
Circa 1630 CE - 1640 CE

Note

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.