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Couter: HEN.M.134-1933

Object information

Awaiting location update

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Couter, from a type of arm-defence known as a 'splint', worn with a type of infantry armour known as an 'almain rivet'. Formed of a single, shell-like plate, open at the rear and slightly shaped to the point of the elbow. Its outer edge is straight. Its upper and lower edges diverge from the outside to the inside of the elbow where they curve in markedly to a medial pucker. The upper and lower edges have partial inward turns. The inner end of the lower turn is damaged. Secured by a modern round-headed rivet with an octagonal internal washer within the centre of the front face of the couter is a short, vertical, modern strap cut with a slit. The strap, which served to connect the couter to the upper and lower cannons of the vambrace, lacks its matching opposite half. Secured by a modern, externally-flush rivet within the inner end of the pucker is a short, modern, buff-leather strap that terminates in a modern single-ended iron buckle with tongue, roller and centrally pointed hasp. The buckle engages a bifurcated, modern, buff-leather strap that is secured by single externally-flush rivets within the upper and lower ends of the outer edge of the couter. A later hole lying between these rivets is plugged with a smaller externally-flush rivet. Together with the lower cannon of a vambrace HEN.M.133-1933

Notes

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

Legal notes

J.S. Henderson Bequest

Measurements and weight

Depth: 8.9 cm
Height: 19.3 cm
Weight: 0.36 kg
Width: 16 cm

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

16th Century, Early#
Production date: circa AD 1510

Note

The couter is bright with a patchy light patina overall. Its metal shows evidence of delamination at many points.

Components of the work

Strap composed of leather ( modern)
Buckle composed of iron (metal)
Parts

Materials used in production

Steel

Techniques used in production

Hammered : Formed of a single, shell-like plate, open at the rear and slightly shaped to the point of the elbow; hammered, shaped, riveted
Patinating
Formed

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.134-1933
Primary reference Number: 18616
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 11 January 2023 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Couter" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18616 Accessed: 2024-11-15 15:57:58

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18616 |title=Couter |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-15 15:57:58|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-18616

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