Breastplate (body armour): HEN.M.114-1933

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown (Probably)

Entities

• Breastplate (body armour)

Categories

• Armour

Description

Breastplate, for light field use, decorated in the 'black and white' fashion. Formed of a medially-ridged main plate projecting forward to a point over the belly and fitted with movable gussets at the arm-openings. The broad, slightly concave neck-opening and the gussets have file-roped inward turns. The gussets at the arm-openings are secured to the main plate by a pair of round-headed rivets with octagonal internal washers at their upper and lower ends. The upper ones move within diagonal slots cut within the gussets. The top right rivet and its washer are modern replacements. Attached within the upper end of each gusset by an externally-flush rivet is a double-ended, tongued, rectangular, iron buckle with simple incised decoration and a plain hasp with cropped corner. The left buckle lacks its tongue. The lower edge of the main plate is flanged outwards to receive a skirt. Each end of the flange is pierced with a rivet-hole for the attachment of the missing skirt. Later wiring-holes are pierced at the lower end of each gusset and at each side of the waist.
The main plate is decorated with a recessed border of ogee form at the neck, a recessed band at the waist, and eight narrow, recessed bands between them. In addition, the upper part of the main plate is decorated between the central two vertical bands with a recessed chevron.

Notes

History note: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex

Legal notes

J.S. Henderson Bequest

Place(s) associated

• Nuremburg

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

16th Century, Mid#
Production date: circa AD 1560

Note

South German, Nuremberg

The breastplate has a ' black from the hammer' finish, now partly oxidised to a russet colour, with bright bands, borders and gussets showing medium pitting and patination.

This breastplate was made in the fashionable shape of the middle of the 16th century and is decorated in a style which has become known as the ‘black and white’ fashion with alternate bright and dark areas.