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Gauntlets: HEN.M.148-1933

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 31 (Armoury)

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown (Possibly)

Entities

Categories

Description

Two elbow gauntlets, nearly forming a pair, for light field use, decorated with bands in the 'black and white' fashion. Each formed of an elbow-length, slightly flared, tubular cuff, five metacarpal plates, a shaped knuckle-plate, four scaled finger-defences, and the main plate of a hinged thumb-defence. The cuff, which is slightly shaped to the point of the elbow, is formed of an outer plate and a considerably shorter inner plate, connected to one another by rivets. The lower rear corner of the outer plate of the right gauntlet is repaired with a riveted internal patch. The cuff of the left gauntlet is split at the rear join. The main edges of the cuff have plain inward turns decorated with filed pairs of perpendicular notches. Each cuff is decorated with a raised medial band and a raised upper border polished bright against a blackened ground in the 'black and white' fashion. The metacarpal-plates, the knuckle-plates, finger-scales and thumb-defences are restored. It is possible that the restorations include reworked original plates as, for example, in the case of the first four metacarpal plates of the left gauntlet.

Notes

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

Legal notes

J.S. Henderson Bequest

Place(s) associated

  • Augsburg ⪼ Germany

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

17th Century, Early#
Production date: circa AD 1600

Note

Slight differences in the dimensions and details of the cuffs show that they do not form an exact pair.

South German, possibly Augsburg

The bright bands of the gauntlets show a medium to fairly heavy pitting and patination. The intervening spaces show a 'black from the hammer' finish that has been pitted, worn through to bright metal at some points, and been refreshed with black paint.

Components of the work

Decoration composed of paint ( black)
Left Gauntlet Depth 12.8 cm Height 48 cm Weight 0.65 kg Width 13 cm
Right Gauntlet Depth 13.2 cm Height 50 cm Weight 0.77 kg Width 12 cm
Bright Bands
Ground
Medial Band
Parts
Thumb-defence
Upper Border

Materials used in production

Steel

Techniques used in production

Hammered : Each formed of an elbow-length, slightly flared, tubular cuff, five metacarpal plates, a shaped knuckle-plate, four scaled finger-defences, and the main plate of a hinged thumb-defence; hammered, shaped, riveted, decorated with bands in the 'black and white' fashion
Formed

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: indistinct mark

  • Location: Cuff of the right gauntlet, upper edge
  • Type: Mark

Inscription present: green tag

  • Text: 298/2
  • Location: Each gauntlet
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: white tag

  • Text: PB/50a
  • Location: Right gauntlet
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: white tag

  • Text: PB/50b
  • Location: Left gauntlet
  • Type: Label

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.148-1933
Primary reference Number: 18648
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 30 November 2020 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) "Gauntlets" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18648 Accessed: 2024-11-02 19:24:35

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/18648 |title=Gauntlets |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 19:24:35|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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