A1|1|1|Mail (from the Latin macula, meaning ‘web’ or ‘net’) was one of the most important armour materials available in pre-modern Europe. It may have been known to the ancient Celts as early as the third century B.C., and was later adopted by the Romans. By the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D., mail was a standard form of armour throughout Europe, for those who could afford it. It remained an integral aspect of most forms of armour until the 17th century.
Contrary to popular belief, mail was never replaced by plate armour. Rather the protection it provided was augmented and built upon with layers of plate and padded textile. The comparatively large, heavy construction of the links that make up this mail shirt suggest that it is reasonably early in date, that is, not later than the beginning of the 15th century. Beyond that point, it appears that newly-made mail was increasingly constructed using smaller, finer links. However, it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that a late medieval mail shirt like this one might have remained in service for quite a long time. Mail was worn not just by fully armoured knights, but also by archers, gunners, and lower-ranking infantrymen. A good coat of mail could thus have been handed down from its original owner, changing hands many times and continuing to be worn as long as it was thought useful. A3|1|1|Mail shirts with long sleeves like this one were more difficult to construct than those with short or elbow-length sleeves. A long sleeve had to be tapered down to the wrist, so that the wearer was carrying no more weight than was absolutely necessary. Such a tapered sleeve also had to have a built-in, shaped elbow, without which the arm inside would not be able to bend.
This fine shirt demonstrates who such skilful tailoring was accomplished, by adding or dropping the number of links in a particular row, the mail could be made to expand or contract in its form. Also built into this example is a standing collar, closed with a metal hook, so that the garment also protects the vulnerable throat.
Long-sleeve mail shirts such as this one could be worn under the plate armour of the knight or man-at-arms, a practice more common through the first half of the fifteenth century, or on their own by more lightly armed troops. As late as the end of the sixteenth century, certain classes of light cavalrymen were still wearing mail shirts like this as a standard part of their equipment. While it could not protect its wearer from the firearms which had been becoming more and more common since the early fifteenth century, mail continued, as it always had done, to be an effective counter to attacks delivered with bladed weapons.
Interestingly, the maker of this mail shirt, built it using low-carbon steel links, which he then attempted to harden by heating and quenching the piece after construction. A8|1|1|The origins and precise purpose of this unusual cap of mail are uncertain. Although hood of mail were a standard part of knightly equipment up until the middle of the fourteenth century, this piece does not appear to be part of such a hood. It appears to be constructed of one or more scrap pieces of mail, cut into four triangular pieces which were then joined to create a semi-spherical form. While the links which make up the triangular sections are of a consistent form, those which form the ‘seams’ are different, being round in cross-section rather than flattened.
In its overall form this piece resembles the steel skull-caps often worn by infantrymen in the 15th and 16th centuries. Such skull caps were sometimes made out of other armour materials, such as hardened leather or scale armour. Perhaps this piece represents an attempt to make such a cap out of finely-woven mail. Alternatively it could have been made as a protective interlining for a hat. A10|1|1|As early as the middle of the 14th century, when body armour made up of solid plates was becoming more common, many fighting men began to realise that it might no longer be necessary to wear a full shirt of mail under their plate armour. The total weight of the armour could be reduced by wearing mail sleeves and a skirt under the plate armour, instead of a complete mail coat. These pieces served the continuing requirement for supplementary defences for the inner arms and groin, protecting the gaps or ‘chinks’ in the plates.

However, this pair of mail sleeves were probably intended only for parade or ceremonial use and not for war. Unusually, all of the links making up these pieces, in alternating rows of solid and riveted construction, are made of soft copper alloy rather than ferrous metal. While bare yellow copper alloy was used to decorate the borders, in the main body of each piece the links were once tinned so that they glittered like polished silver. Such mail would have been the perfect complement to a highly-decorated parade armour, which made a powerful visual impact but which offered little in the way of real protection. A11|1|1|See A10. A20|1|1|A20 COMPOSITE FIELD ARMOUR

This armour is typical of display composites put together in the nineteenth century by dealers for collectors who wished to possess a complete late medieval armour, when originals are rare in the extreme. Its components are very mixed. The sallet is Flemish, the sabatons Italian of the 15th century (both elements are very rare). The bevor, the breastplate, the right spaudler with integral upper cannon, and the right couter are all South German, of the same period; the other parts of the present arm and shoulder plates, including the besagews were made in the nineteenth century, as was the backplate, to complete the armour. The gauntlets carry the mark of the Treytz workshop at Innsbruck, and were probably made there in the 1480s. The leg defences are later, dating from the early years of the sixteenth century; the greaves have been modified by the nineteenth-century restorer to give them a fifteenth-century form at the ankles. The visor and mail valances below the knees, present until the early twentieth century, have been removed. A pair of fluted tassets once associated with this armour were later found to belong to the parts of an Italian jousting armour in the Collection (A 61), to which they have been restored.

The armour is composed of:

SALLET, with a strong central ridge of keel form cut with a key-hole slot for a helmet ornament and a row of flush-headed rivets for the lining; a pair of holes on either side for a chin strap and at the back. The lower edges have been turned inwards in the welted style typical of Flemish sallets made in the last two decades of the fifteenth century (see Capwell 2021). At the back is an armourer's mark of a crowned orb and cross, belonging to a Brussels master, probably Anthonis Ghindertaelen or his father Lancelot (see Terjanian 2019). This helmet was originally intended to be worn open-faced; the visor holes, and the associated visor (now removed) are modern. One of the soldiers in The Unjust Judge by Gerard David in the Groeningemuseum, Bruges, of about 1448, shows just such a sallet in wear without a visor, while, closer in date to the present sallet, a number are illustrated in the Beauchamp Pageant in the British Library, illustrated by a Flemish artist working in England in the early 1480s.

BEVOR, quite heavy, with one falling plate kept in position by a spring catch, the upper edge strongly turned; the lower part shaped to the chin with a single curved flute on either side below, and a row of round-headed rivets for the lining; stamped twice in front with an armourer's mark.

BREASTPLATE made in two parts, an upper breastplate and the lower plackart. The former has sliding gussets at the sides and these are accompanied by two curved flutes, the upper edge slightly ridged. Three large holes in the centre (arranged vertically) for fixing the plackart. The plackart, secured to the upper breastplate with a screw, has a slight central ridge, is doubly fluted on either side and rises to a shaped finial in the middle of the breast; a skirt of three lames hangs from the lower edge of the plackart.

BACKPLATE (modern), composed of six lames with deep rear skirt of four lames, the edges V-shaped and beveled, decorated with double rows of shallow fluting in the form of a cross.

ARM-DEFENCES consisting of SPAUDLERS with integral REREBRACES (upper cannons), each assembly composed of seven lames in total, the edges cusped; large COUTERS pierced with five holes for attachment by means of arming points, and VAMBRACES (lower cannons), each of one plate covering the dorsal side of the forearm only. The whole of the left arm and the lower vambrace of the right are modern.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs. Four metacarpal plates (the first embossed for the ulna); three ridged finger plates and thumb-piece of four scales. The thumb plates are modern restorations. The right gauntlet bears the clover-leaf mark of the Treytz family, armourers of Innsbruck, and there are traces of the same mark on the left gauntlet.

RONDELS or BESAGEWS of oval form decorated with hollow radiating fluting, both modern.

CUISSES built of five plates, the chief one having its upper edge strongly ridged to a triangular section, the top lames work on sliding rivets of unusual length; they are extended round the thigh by additional plates on the outer sides. POLEYNS of five lames, the top one has a sunk border running horizontally across the thigh, the side-wing is kidney-shaped. The lower lames have been pierced with small holes for the attachment of a fringe of mail in modern times (now removed).

GREAVES hinged and fastening on studs, dating from the early sixteenth century. They did not originally fully encircle the legs. They have been enlarged by the insertion of longitudinal additions down each side; they are fastened to the poleyns by turning pins.

SABATONS of twelve lames with pointed toes and stamped at the sides with the sacred monogram I H S and the word U R B A N, apparently an armourer’s mark. Two plates above the instep and a heel-plate (hinged), with a similar extension at the back. Italian sabatons of plate of this date are of great rarity; the only other known pair of Italian fifteenth-century sabatons to survive are those from the collection of Sir Edward Barry now in the Royal Armouries (III.1384).

For the MAIL exhibited with this armour, see A6.

Comprehensively 1470-1520.

Laking, European Armour vol. II, pp. 3, 216, 218, Fig. 77.
Edge and Williams, ‘A Suit of Armour Produced by Five Workshops’ (2014).

Böheim's attribution (copied from Martinez del Romero's Cat. del Real Armeria de Madrid, 1849) of the mark of a crowned orb to one, Jacques de Voys of Brussels, is incorrect; the mark belongs to a different Brussels master, probably Anthonis Ghindertaelen or his father Lancelot (see Terjanian 2019). This mark occurs on a helm and arm-piece in the Musée de l’Armée, Brussels (II 39, 40); on the armour of Philip the Handsome at Madrid (A 11), which is known to have come from Flanders; on a sallet, ibid., D 16; on a left arm in the Czartoriski Museum in Cracow (Zygulski, Arsenal I, 1, 195); on the polder-mitten of a jousting armour in the Scott Collection (ex-Zouche), now in Glasgow Museums, and twice on one of the helms in St. George's Chapel at Windsor (Blair, The Connoisseur, May 1961).

The mark of crossed sceptres in a shield on the bevor occurs on a German breastplate in Brussels (II, 2), on the left gauntlet of a composite 'gothic' armour in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, and on the gauntlets of another composite German armour at Windsor Castle.

For the clover-leaf mark of the Treytz family working at Innsbruck in the 15th and early 16th centuries, which is stamped on the gauntlets, cf. the instances at Churburg (cat. nos. 24, 25, 27 and 30), Bern, and the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Catalogue of Innsbruck Armour, 1954, Nos. 1-4, Konrad Treytz, and 16, Jörg or Adrian Treytz).

The mark on the sabatons probably identifies them with a pair in a sale by George Robins on 10 June, 1833, lot 63, and there described as 'brought from Rome'. Furthermore, the mark also identifies these sabatons as the pair exhibited at the Oplotheca in both 1816 and 1817 as no. 199, and in 1818 as no. 1-6 1, and in the 'Gothic Hall', Pall Mall, in 1819, as no. 170, when they were first said to have come from Rome. At the exhibition known as ‘The Royal Armoury, Haymarket’ (after 1820), they were shown as no. 181. A21|1|1|A21 EQUESTRIAN ARMOUR

Assembled and partly restored in the nineteenth century, this impressive ensemble nevertheless expresses the splendour and elegance of the German ‘gothic’ style of armour, with fluted surfaces and boldly cusped borders. This armour for war, or some parts of it, is recorded as having come from the Castle of Hohenaschau in Bavaria, dynastic home of the von Freyberg family, whose armoury was dispersed in the 1850s. Fifteenth-century plate armour is of the greatest rarity; although in this case that for the man is heavily composite, the horse armour (bard) is relatively homogenous and in remarkably good condition.

The rider’s armour is composed of:

SALLET, the skull of which is quite heavy, made in one piece with a central ridge drawn up to a pierced quadrangular plume stalk at the apex. The pointed tail of the helmet has at some point (almost certainly in the nineteenth century) been cut back and the lower edge decorated with a wide band of brass, riveted in flush with the steel surface, the edge of the skull beneath having been re-forged and sunk to receive it. The edge of the skull is broken and repaired in several places, now concealed by the brass band. The skull is bordered with a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining band. Above these are four circular holes, and a deep slit has been cut in the forward edge on both sides. There are five holes on the right side and four on the left, but three of them which are roughly burred on the inside appear to be fairly recent. The VISOR, made in one piece, is pivoted on either side over the ears and projects beyond the lower edge of the skull. It is not original to the skull, and maybe be a nineteenth-century fabrication, at least in part. The sight is formed by the interval between skull and visor. It is strongly flanged on the upper edge. The extensions on which the visor is pivoted have clearly been restored in each case about two inches from the top, where they had probably been broken.

BEVOR, shaped to the chin and constructed of two plates, the upper held in place by a spring catch, the top edge is of triangular section flanged and strongly turned over. The lower plate is cusped at the bottom edge and bordered with brass. There is a hole in the centre for bolting to the breastplate. It has been repaired on the right side; both parts are decorated with rows of brass-headed rivets for the lining bands, parts of which remain.

BREASTPLATE, composed of two parts not originally belonging together, with a slight central ridge, and strongly ridged at the upper edge and round the arm-holes. On either shoulder are a pair of holes which formerly held the straps to the backplate, but these have since been replaced by brass buckles. On the chest there is a tapped hole for screwing on the bevor, another modern addition. At the bottom in the centre are three holes, one above the other (not now in use) and one through which the lower part of the breastplate is screwed. The three holes mentioned above could also be used if it was wished to raise the plackart. The latter rises to a finial in the centre with a cusped edge at either side. The finial is pierced with a floral pattern. This is a restoration; the original appears to have broken off about two inches from the top. The original finial was probably shorter than the replacement, as it would otherwise conflict with the lower edge of the bevor. The breastplate narrows at the waist and widens slightly at the bottom to receive the skirt. The SKIRT, of two lames set on sliding rivets, the upper edges bevelled and cusped. They appear to be modern. The integral TASSETS are also modern, composed of two lames, the lower and larger being acutely pointed; the upper ones cusped and bevelled. They are bordered at the bottom with four bands of fluting (cf. the rear skirt), the inner edges being turned outwards.

BACKPLATE, entirely original and of exceptional quality. At the top below the neck is a narrow V-shaped plate which is lightly punched with floral pointillé decoration. This ornament, which occurs on certain armours at Churburg and elsewhere, was the precursor of etched decoration. Overlapping this narrow V-shaped plate at the top is the main backplate, which covers the upper part of the back. It too is cut into a V-shape at the top with a finial rising in the centre. Below it are two articulated lames which overlap downwards to join the waist-plate. These plates are decorated with elegantly pleated flutings, and where they overlap are cusped and notched en suite with the fluting. The waistplate is shaped and curved fluted both vertically in groups of curves at the sides. The rear SKIRT is comprised of four articulated plates, relieved with radiating fluting like the back, the edge of the lowest lame is cusped and bevelled to correspond with the fluting, and bordered with four bands of fluting. The upper edges are notched to correspond with the fluting.

PAULDRONS, entirely modern but incorporating some old metal, built up of seven plates, comprising three narrow upper lames, a main plate, and three lower ones protecting the upper arm. The main plate in each case extends over the back of the shoulder where it is decorated with fan-like fluting ending in escalloped edges.

BESAGEWS, oval, fluted, the edges engrailed; in the centre a pyramidal spike of brass. Both are modern, and been removed.

ARM DEFENCES, made up of an original pair of upper cannons and left couter, which have been associated with recycled and restored lower cannons and right couter. The upper cannons fully enclose the upper arm. They are subtly shaped to the biceps and have been decorated with strong chevron flutes. The COUTERS are separate, of the ‘floating’ type, large and pointed, each made in one plate with a small extension at the back. The surface is boldly relieved with shell-like fluting. The left couter is original, the right was made in 1956 by the late Theodore Egli of the Tower Armouries, to replace a combination formed of part of a small couter and a poldermitton, which, although old, were inconsistent with the rest of the armour. Each couter is pierced at the centre with four holes for lacing. The LOWER CANNONS are old, but both made for the right arm, hinged on the lateral face and strapped on the medial surface. They are smooth and unfluted, shaped to the musculature of the forearm. The cannon presently mounted on the right arm of the figure is much heavier than the left, and appears to come from a jousting armour.

GAUNTLETS, entirely modern, with pointed cuffs edged with brass and fluted in the German style to match in with the rest of the armour. They are articulated at the wrist, with three metacarpal plates, pierced and notched. However, the wrist does not articulate correctly; it does not allow the hand to pitch down, but instead immobilises the hand level with the forearm. This is a stark contrast to almost any original German gauntlet of this period, which typically allow a much greater range of movement. Includes large brass knuckle-plates with gadlings, and scaled fingers, the final scale engraved with a finger-nail.

LEG HARNESS incorporating long CUISSES reaching to the hips. The main plate is embossed with chevron fluting and is strongly flanged at the upper edge to a triangular section, to act as a stop-rib. Above this are two narrow cusped lames working on sliding rivets, and a third reaching to the forks which renders tassets unnecessary. The top edge is turned over and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining. To the outer side of each cuisse are attached two oblong hinged plates, boxed and joined together by sliding rivets, designed to protect the side and back of the thigh. The topmost of these subsidiary lames bears two armourers' marks, one of them being the guild mark of Landshut. The POLEYNS each have a sharp midline ridge, articulated once above and twice below the middle knee-piece and extending over the greave in a long, pointed demi-greave. Forged in one with each kneepiece is an elegantly shaped side-wing embossed with curved ridges. It is stamped with similar marks to those on the cuisses. In the lowermost plate there is a circular hole and key-slot for fastening over the greaves. The brass decoration on the poleyns is modern, presumably executed at the same time as that on the helmet. The GREAVES are each made in two pieces hinged together and fastening at the top and bottom over a stud with two holes for adjustment. There are two holes at the top to connect with the cuisses. The upper edges of the rear plate in each case are turned over. The lower edges have been cut down by the nineteenth-century restorer to allow for the (historically inaccurate) integration of the SABATONS. The sabatons are each of nine overlapping lames, and appear to date from the fifteenth century, although their lower edges have been severely trimmed down. The toe-plates, which are probably modern, are acutely pointed and turned under, with the point curving downwards.

The rider’s armour is displayed with a hood of modern butted mail.

The HORSE ARMOUR consists of:

SHAFFRON, partially restored and composed of fourteen pieces in all; the large frontal plate is fluted on either side of the central ridge and reinforced with a vertical band of steel (modern), shaped and riveted on. To this are affixed a salient nose-guard embossed with a grotesque face outlined in brass; eye-guards, with the inner edges invected and the outer roped; tubular, pointed ear-guards (old, but with modern insertions), the outer edges bordered with brass and the inner pierced with small holes for the lining. They are extended under the shaffron by having two small lames riveted to the inner side. In the centre of the forehead of the fine frontal plate, which retains its original leather lining, to it is fixed, over the area of the forehead, a large rondel of three circular plates, one over the other, carrying a large, projecting spike. At the edge of the rondel are two armourers' marks. One of these, representing a war hat, is the mark of the Bavarian city of Landshut. Attached to the sides of the frontal plate are two cheek-pieces strongly hinged. They are embossed like the frontal plate with sprays of fluting in the German manner. On the poll is a single plate, formerly hinged, and pierced in the centre with three holes for the stud of the first lame of the crinet, and furnished with F-shaped hooks to attach the crinet. The lining is of coarse felt and canvas. (Viollet-le-Duc VI, pp. 70-71, Fig. 34.)

CRINET of fourteen overlapping plates relieved with sprays of fluting on either side and embossed with a series of rounded ridges down the middle. They are connected by modern interior straps, but two fragments of the original straps remain. The upper lame is fitted with a stud at the centre and two hooks at the side to engage with the poll-plate on the shaffron, and the lowermost lame has a strap, buckle and stud on either side; the third, fourth and fifth lames from the top are restorations. The throat below the crinet is protected by mail, mostly of flat, single-riveted links of uncertain date.

PEYTRAL of five large plates, joined to each other by strong brass hinges (modern) each pierced with two hearts. Each plate is decorated with a spray of fluting, and the central lame is shaped to the horse's chest with bosses for the horse's shoulders. The outer ones are each pierced with a small hole and furnished with a short bolt and winged nut at the top on either side; the upper edges are partly flanged and the lower ones cusped and bevelled. They are pierced with round-headed steel rivets for the lining bands.

CRUPPER, consisting of two large plates protecting the hindquarters of the horse, each built up of six lames overlapping and riveted to each other. They are curved to the shape of the horse's body, with the lower edges cusped and bevelled and the whole embossed with a large spray of fluting carried across all six lames. There are two steel buckles at the top and one at the inner edge. The right side is slightly heavier than the left.

SADDLE, dating from c. 1510 and thus later than the other original parts of the ensemble. The tree is of wood, the underside lined with birch bark; the seat covered with leather. The front arçon is armoured with three steel plates secured by five large-headed screws, the central plate being cut square at the top, the edges flanged and boldly roped. The entire surface of the front saddle steel is decorated with vertical and horizontal, parallel fluting. The cantle is composed of two arched arms designed to embrace the rider’s seat, and also covered in armour plates, fluted, and supported by strong stays, spirally-twisted and fastened with screws (see Viollet-le-Duc VI, pp. 68-9, fig. 33). The left rear arçon plate and the strut on that side are modern replacements. The STIRRUPS are arch-shaped, the sides triple-fluted and widening towards the base where each flute is pierced with a circular hole. The tread consists of two inner parallel bars of diamond section, and two outer curved ones, oblong in section, the upper edges serrated and notched. Oblong buckles for the leathers are pivoted on top of the hollow, box-shaped crowns. The stirrups are probably later than the rest of the armour, and differ from those reproduced by Viollet-le-Duc (VI, p. 67, fig. 32).

The feet of the figure carry SPURS with very long necks (25 cm long), of flattened diamond section, slightly upward curving and chiselled towards the end with a herring-bone pattern, terminating in six-pointed rowels of brass. These last were probably substituted for the original iron rowels, when the other brass enrichments were added to the harness. The heel-plates each carry a brass buckle and lockets for the straps. These are reproduced by Viollet-le-Duc (VI, p. 67, fig. 32).

The BIT, BRIDLE, and all the leather-work are modern restorations. The leopard's skin edging added by Joubert in 1908 has since been removed.

South German, some parts made in Landshut, c. 1485.

Viollet-le-Duc, V, p. 141, pls. 3 and 4; VI, pp. 56, 67-71, Figs. 32-4, 294: Laking, European Armour III, pp. 178-9, fig. 988; II, fig. 580: de Lacy.

The marks on the shaffron, the only part of this armour which was definitely made in Landshut, also occur on the upper cannon of an arm and a right spaudler in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 3792 and 3910 respectively; S. Pyhrr, letter of 23 July 1975; confirmed bby Mario Scalini, letter of 3 June 1983). It was suggested in the exhibition catalogue ‘Landshuter Plattnerkunst’ (1975; p. 15, no. 4, cat. no. 38, pls. 1-2) that this maker’s mark is possibly that of Ulrich Rämbs.

The mark on the leg armour of A21 occurs also on the poleyn wings of a very similar pair of legharness associated with other pieces of ‘gothic’ armour in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin.

This armour is not identifiable in the 1567 inventory of Schloss Hohenaschau (G. Schiedlausky, Waffen -und Kostümkunde, 1962, pp. 25-24). Presumably, if it was in the castle at that time, it was lying about in fragments and being so out of date was not considered worth recording. A22|1|1|A22 FIELD ARMOUR

Very few of the full armours in modern museum collections are complete. Either they are missing key elements, or they are ‘composite’ in their construction, meaning they have been made up, often in the 19th or 20th centuries, using parts which once belonged to several different armours. It is extremely unusual to encounter an armour which retains its original appearance, and which thus remains faithful to the artistic and technical intensions of the maker.

Apart from the greaves and sabatons and some pieces of the gauntlets, which are 19th-century restorations, the rest of the armour is complete and homogeneous. It is also in remarkably good condition. It is a field armour, for war rather than jousts or tournaments, representing very well the kind of armour worn by knights and men-at-arms during the Italian Wars, especially the second, third and fourth (1499-1526), and in conflicts between the Renaissance rulers of Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

The armour is composed of:

ARMET, having a ridged SKULL with single crest hole, rondel (modern) at the back; VISOR in one piece, two horizontal slits for sights, twenty-six holes and four horizontal slits on each side for breathing, fastened by a spring-catch to the right cheek-piece. The two CHEEK-PIECES are hinged to the skull and secured at the chin by means of a turning-pin, pierced on each side with a circle of ear-holes; the lower edge, like the lower edge of the skull, is hollowed to fit over the top plate of the gorget; border of round-headed rivets for the lining band.

GORGET of three plates in front and three at the rear, fastening at the side with a stud and key-hole slot; the upper edge of the top plate is turned over to form a sharp circular flange, the edges of the plates are shaped and bevelled; spring pins (hinged and pivoted) on either side are provided for the attachment of the pauldrons.

BREASTPLATE of a deeply rounded or ‘globose’ form, with gussets at the arm-pits strongly ridged at the top by a very strong turn; the flange is hollow and of triangular section; lance-rest hinged to turn upwards; separate waist-plate at the bottom to support the skirt. The breast is etched with leaves and intertwined branches winding around the arm-holes, and prominently in the centre with a crowned W monogram, with a hand pointing inwards and a scroll bearing the letters:–

G . I . G . M . E

Beneath, the inscription:

. I H E S V S . N A Z A R E N V S . R E X . I V D E O RV

BACKPLATE, with a rear skirt of two plates, the edges shaped and bevelled. The sunken borders are etched with scrolled foliage; the letters and inscription on the breastplate are repeated with two variations– the Z in NAZARENVS is replaced by an S, and the word IVDEORVM is given in full. Two steel shoulder straps (modern) join breastplate and backplate.

FRONT SKIRT of four lames with TASSETS of the same number; the edges shaped and bevelled, the sliding rivets giving great freedom of movement; the lower borders turned under to a plain triangular section; the skirt is fastened to the breastplate with turning pins.

The breast and back, which overlap the waist-plates, are held together by a small steel pin at each side of the backplate which fits into one of the three holes on each side of the breastplate, thus allowing for growth or for various, thicknesses of arming jackets.

PAULDRONS encircling the shoulders, each with a vertical haute-piece (upright neck-guard) forged from one of the upper lames, comprising six plates in all, the upper plate pierced to fit over the spring-pin on the gorget, the upper and lower borders turned under to a plain triangular section.

VAMBRACES comprised of enclosed upper cannons of two lames each with a turning joint, large COUTERS, with side-wings, the borders sunken, and enclosed lower cannons of two parts each, hinged and fastening over a stud.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS, each with a ridged cuff embossed for the ulna, five metacarpal and five finger plates with knuckle-guard and thumb-piece of three scales; all the edges are shaped and bevelled. The right gauntlet shows traces of roping on the cuff, which precludes its having belonged to this armour which otherwise has plain borders, and part of the left-hand gauntlet has been restored.

Right BESAGEW, circular, the centre raised into a blunt spike (modern).

CUISSES of simple form, with slits for the strap-ends, and ridged upper borders. POLEYNS articulated with one lame above and two below, and large kidney-shaped side-wings. GREAVES, (modern) slightly embossed for the ankle bone. Square-toed SABATONS (modern) of six lames and a toe-cap.

South German (probably Nuremberg), c. 1510.

Provenance: comte de Belleval – there is a photograph of a line drawing of this armour in the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, p. 187, where it is annotated 'anc. collect de I'auteur'; E. Juste (Armure maximilienne avec armoirie et inscription gravées sur la cuirasse, 7,750 fr.; Receipted Bill, 1 October, 1869); comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The late Dr. Walther Rose has suggested that the initials G. I. G. M. E. may indicate one of the following mottoes: Gott Ist Ganz Mein Eigen ('God is wholly mine'), Gott Ist Gnaedig Mir Elenden ('God is merciful to me, poor sinner') or Gott Ist Gewisslich Mein Erloeser ('God is surely my Redeemer'). However, the ‘Gs’ may in fact be reversed letter Ds; see also A449.

The crowned W monogram is that of King Wladislas II of Bohemia, Croatia and Hungary (d. 1516). His daughter, Anna, married the Emperor Ferdinand I in 1521. This armour may thus have belonged to a nobleman in his service.

This armour was in the collection of the comte (later marquis) de Belleval, and is described in his book La Panoplie, 1873, no. 1, and referred to on p. 125, ibid. It must have left his hands some time before the date of publication, as the description in the comte de Nieuwerkerke's receipt of 1869 can refer only to this armour in the collection.

A22 bears no marks, but its style and construction suggest that it was made in the great armour-making city of Nuremberg. It has been compared with the armour of Obers von Barfus, formerly in the Morgan-Williams and Kienbusch collections, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (see Terjanian 2011).

This armour has received a number of small but skilful restorations, and has been completed below the knees by a modem pair of greaves and sabatons. A23|1|1|A23 JOUSTING ARMOUR

Designed for the German joust of peace (Deutsches Gestech), run in the open field without a tilt, in heavy armour characterised by a distinctive form of ‘frog-mouthed’ helm. The object of the course was to strike the opponent accurately, but most importantly, as strongly and powerfully as possible. Leg armour was not worn, the legs being instead protected by enlarged bow-plates on the saddle. Riders were frequently unhorsed, and it was not unknown for rider and horse to be thrown to the ground together by a powerful impact. The German joust of peace was run with lances tipped with multi-pointed coronels; the deep cuts and grooves visible on this armour were caused by the coronel striking at an angle, so that only one or two of the tynes made contact.

The apparent violence of this version of the joust did not however bring with it an equally high level of risk to the participants. Here injury or death was to be avoided at all costs. The design of the armour therefore strongly prioritised protection over mobility. The protection was also directed entirely against one threat only- the single oncoming lance of the individual opponent, whereas a war armour had to account for a multiplicity of possible dangers and balance that against the need for good mobility. In the joust, the lance almost always struck the left side of the head or body, so these areas have been very heavily reinforced. Even though it does not protect the legs (in this form of the joust the rider’s legs were protected by the saddle and the thickly padded horse armour, which extended around the sides of the horse’s chest), this armour is still twice the weight of a complete armour for war. The face plate of the helm is an impressive 6mm thick, with most of the the other elements being between 2 and 5mm thick, all contributing to a massive total weight of nearly 41 kg. Inside, the jouster would have found his mobility, and his senses of sight, hearing and touch, to be significantly limited. But he was safe. In an armour like this, accidental injury was almost impossible.

This particular armour for the Deutsches Gestech belongs to a large series of armours from the old civic armoury (Zeughaus) of the city of Nuremberg. This group of Gestech armours were maintained in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries for the annual Gesellenstechen, or ‘bachelors jousts’, in which the older sons of the rich merchant families of the city competed against each other in the manner of knights, even though they were not nobles themselves. As a free city ruled by the middle classes, Nuremberg was often in conflict with the aristocratic rulers of neighbouring regions. The bachelors jousts were one way in which the affluent, upwardly mobile middle classes in Germany appropriated the trappings of nobility, much to the annoyance of the real knightly class.

The armour (or ‘Stechzeug’) consists of:

HELM, composed of three main plates: (1) the SKULL, centrally ridged, the rear fluted; a domed screw is provided for the attachment of the crest in the centre; three pairs of large holes for the cords or leather laces used to keep the torse (a wreath or twisted scarf beneath the crest) in position. The edge is bevelled and bordered with half-round, brass-capped rivets which secure it to the other plates; average thickness about 4mm, at the peak 6mm. (2) REAR PLATE with flat central ridge and splayed fluting in the upper part above a ridge curving in a point; descending to the neck and extending over the back, the lower edge being slightly scalloped and furnished with a large hinge (or ‘charnel’) pierced for screwing to the backplate. Above this, a little to the left, is a buckle to which the small shield (Stechtarsche) was attached. On either side are four vertical apertures, barred, with four circular holes (fitted with brass eyelets) which were used for securing the quilted and padded lining worn inside. It is engraved with a foliated cinquefoil decoration on either side, a row of brass-capped rivets for the attachment of the lining and four holes on the border, average thickness 3mm. (3) FRONT- or FACE-PLATE strongly ridged down the middle, the upper edge boldly turned over; at the sides it is flanged and riveted to the skull, in front the turn serves to reinforce the edge; the space between this and the skull plate forms the sight. This has a width in front of 50mm. Shaped and bevelled lower edge pierced with three pairs of large, round holes (diam. 15mm) for screwing the helm to the breastplate. The edges of the sides are slightly scalloped, overlapping and riveted to the back-piece with brass-headed rivets. Three holes on the left border. The lining band is not riveted through, but is attached to a steel plate fastened at the ends. The surface is deeply cut and marked by lance impacts, many of which are square in shape. Average thickness about 4mm, at the sight aperture 13mm.

BREASTPLATE, prominently boxed on the right side, the edges at the arm-holes are turned to a triangular section; a heavy lance-rest is fixed in the most prominent area. It takes the form of a bracket forged in one piece and is secured by a large screw and two studs; the arm of the lance-rest is supported by a moulded brace. The breast is attached to the backplate over the shoulders by means of heavy steel shoulder-straps, pierced with five holes and a slot to fit over the bolts of the backplate; broad steel straps provide the side fastenings under the arms. These are also pierced with five holes for similar fastenings. On the left of the breastplate are two large circular holes, through which passed the plaited cord of flax, provided for securing the shield. The lower edge is pierced with one hole for the attachment of the small plackart, and four large, round holes, tapped for screws, probably provided for the attachment of the original waistplate. The surface, like that of the helm, is pitted with several square lance-marks. The interior shows traces of adaptation, including blocked holes in the centre, probably made when the armour was in use. The thickness of the plate varies from 3mm to 7mm.

QUEUE for supporting the rear end of the lance, consisting of a straight, flat bar, turned over at the end in a curve to hold down the butt-end of the lance. It is fixed to the breastplate beneath the lance-rest, and passed under the arm; it has a longitudinal groove on one side, possibly to lessen its weight, and is attached to the breastplate by a stud and two heavy screws; there are three holes for the front screw, thus allowing three alternative positions. Entirely a nineteenth-century reconstruction.

PLACKART and FRONT SKIRT; the upper edge of the pointed and cusped plackart is bevelled and toothed at the top. Skirt of four bevelled plates (with V-shaped nicks in the centre) and four straps for the tassets.

TASSETS, each comprised of a single plate, almost certainly later additions. The inner edges curved and turned under to a strong hollow flange of triangular section; embossed ridge down the middle, incised obliquely as a roped pattern. Each tasset carries two buckles secured by brass, rosette-headed rivets.

The present waistplate and skirt which do not fit accurately may come from another armour of the series, but the large shield-shaped tassets are almost certainly later additions. None of the Nuremberg series is fitted with them, although tassets of this type were worn with German joust armour occasionally, as in the Gestech im Beinharnisch. Two Stechzeuge with comparable tassets are in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (nos. G. 162-3; Niox, 1917, pI. 3).

BACKPLATE, a later association, from an armour for the Rennen (Rennzeug), rather than for the Deutsches Gestech. It is built in three parts: the upper divides into two V-shaped branches and is secured by two screws to the middle plate, which is also of V-shape but reversed (the two parts together thus taking the form of a saltire); there are four holes for each screw and by this means the length of the backplate could be varied, to adapt the armour to different users. At the ends of both Vs are bolts for the attachment of the breastplate. The lowest plate (almost wholly concealed behind the upper plates and the rear skirt) is wedge-shaped at the top and there attached to the middle V-plate by five flush-headed rivets and a screw; it widens towards the base, the lower edge being pierced with a row of small countersunk holes. Riveted to the sides are portions of the original leathers pierced for lacing.

This style of X-shaped backplate is found only on armours for the Rennen. They appear to derive from the crossed leather straps of the fifteenth-century light-cavalry breastplate as used in the German Lands. In this case, the top plate is of quite a different colour and has a different internal surface to the lower one and may be a later replacement. Both are stamped inside with the figure 8.

REAR SKIRT of three plates decorated with fan-shaped fluting, entirely a nineteenth-century restoration. In this area there should be a vertical plate to which were riveted the leathers which were laced tightly round the hips to prevent a heavy fall from breaking the pelvis.

On the waist-plate this is continued as engraved lines, the lowest plate is the largest; the upper edges are scalloped and bevelled. It covers almost the whole of the lowest plate of the backplate, to which it is attached by a single screw.

ARM DEFENCES, the left arm genuine throughout, the right arm is a restoration except for one genuine part of the poldermitton.

PAULDRONS, each built of five plates in all, the main one decorated at the back with radiating fluting and ending in an escalloped edge; the edge of the narrow topmost plate is strongly flanged, and fitted on the inside with a small stud for which a hole is provided in the steel shoulder-strap; the main shoulder-plate bears a turning-pin for the besagews, and a projecting sprocket of diamond section with square bevelled top (round which the tails of the lambrequin or mantling could be twisted). The scalloped borders at the back are pierced with small holes for the lining. The left COUTER of four lames, the middle one, which covers the cubitus, is articulated with one upper and two lower lames and is brought to a point; upper cannon for the arm of one gutter-shaped plate.

The left pauldron is a nineteenth-century reconstruction to match the right one. The top lame of the right pauldron has been much altered and extended by means of a patch on its top edge. The projecting peg on the top lame of each pauldron should only be fitted on the right-shoulder. This is shown, for instance, by a glass painting of St. George by Hans Baldung Grien (H. Mohle 'Hans Baldung Grien zur 450. Wiederkehr seines Geburtsjahres', Pantheon, XV, 1935, p. 6). In the Imperial Armoury in Vienna are two joust armours of this type attributed to Konrad Poler of Nuremberg, each of which has a peg on the right shoulder only (inv. nos. S XVIII, BI 9, and S XVII, B90). The peg was presumably to prevent the lance from sliding off the shoulder when carried at the slope, as shown on several pages of The Triumph of Maximilian.

MANIFER, protecting the bridle hand and forearm, extends from the left elbow to the fingers, where it is grooved; it has been lengthened by an addition. A reinforcing piece for the elbow, decorated with radiating fluting, protects the bend of the arm; the upper edge turned over and roped, the lower one escalloped, it is fastened to the manifer by two screws. The finger plate bears the Augsburg guild mark, and five other armourers' marks (the first of which being the Imperial Bindenschild (cf. gorget of tilt armour, A46). The reinforcing plate bears an S fermée and another mark (?Augsburg). Compare the manifer A279.

VAMBRACE for the right arm has an upper demi-cannon above the elbow, of two lames, COUTER of three, the central plate over the cubitus being brought to a point like the left and is articulated with one upper and two lower lames, the last with dentated edge. Lower (double) cannon hinged and fastening with a buckle and strap. To this is riveted the POLDER-MITTON (a defence for the inner band of the right arm), which is decorated with elegant fluting, the inner edge is slightly roped, it bears the Augsburg guild mark and another (? the S fermée). There is no gauntlet for the right hand, which would be protected by the vamplate on the lance, and no other armourers' marks except those appearing upon the manifer.

The manifer is genuine but the hole on the fore-arm for the ring by which it was supported from the lower part of the breast has been blocked. The wing of the left elbow is considerably later if not actually of the nineteenth century. It has three holes for bolts to attach it, but the manifer has only two. Of the right arm only the poldermitton wing is genuine.

BESAGEWS, large and circular. That for the right shoulder is flat with a protrusion in the centre. It has a piece cut from the lower part of the circumference to accommodate the lance. That on the left has the rim slightly raised giving it a saucer-shaped section. They are each hung on leather straps from sprockets on the pauldrons. These are fastened inside the besagews by lynch-pins which engage with the shank of the bolt through the centre. At this point on the inner side each besagew has attached to it a metal tongue which is designed to act as a spring and ease the contact of the besagew with the breastplate when struck. Both besagews are scarred by many lance-blows.

SHIELD (Stechtarsche) of oak about 28mm thick; covered with leather, coated with gesso and painted in oils. In the centre is a shield of arms argent, an eagle displayed or, within a border gobony of or and gules, surmounted by a helm with a crest of peacock's feathers and mantling; a broad band painted with conventional foliage runs around the edge. It is pierced with two holes for the plaited cord of flax for attachment to the breastplate, and is furnished with a strap for attachment to the helm. CT scanning has revealed an older coat of arms, with the device of a chevron surmounted by a fleur du lys, beneath the external paint layer.

The arms on the shield appear to be a variant of Schlanderspach of Nuremberg: azure, an eagle displayed or, within a border gobony gules and argent; crest: a Peacock's tail.

The original arms on the targe, which are just visible under the present crudely painted arms, were a fleur-de-lys or, with the same as a crest. At the Nuremberg tournament of 1561 Balthasar Christoph Gugel wore 'Blau mit gelben Lilien eingemalet, vnnd führet auff dem Helm eine Lilien', which he took from his family arms. Unfortunately the painting by Jost Amman illustrating this tournament shows Gugel's shield charged with a single lily but with no helm painted on it (K. Pilz, Z.H. W.K., XIII, pp. 74-80.)

South German (Nuremberg with some Augsburg additions), c. 1500-1520.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 9; Laking, European Armour II, pp. 119-26, fig. 461; Clephan, Tournament, pl. IX, pp. 94-5; Gazette des Beaux-Arts, l' ère, XXV, 1868, pl. facing p. 382.

Provenance: Louis Carrand (?) (une armure de Joûte dite de plançon, 12,000 fr. [with sword A711] and two other pieces]; receipted bill, 16 July, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The largest group of these sturdy jousting armours designed for the German joust of peace, is in Vienna, where there are fifteen made for the Imperial court of the Emperor Maximilian I. At Nuremberg there is another group of seven (nos. WI 312, 1313, 1314, 1315, 1316, 1317, and 1318), reacquired by the Germanisches Nationalmuseum after the dispersal of the Nuremberg Zeughaus. These are in many respects closely similar in construction to A23. There are four at Paris (Robert, G 162-5; Musée de I' Armée, P. III), one in Brussels, and one, formerly in the collection of the Duc de Dino, is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. A very similar one was in the Erbach collection, afterwards in that of Clarence Mackay, and now in the J. W. Higgins collection at Worcester, Massachusetts; one in the Army Museum at Warsaw by V. Siebenberger; one in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg; one is in the Schulthess collection at Zurich, formerly in the Berlin Zeughaus, another is in the collection of Viscount Astor at Hever; and an incomplete one is in the Scott Collection, now Glasgow Museums. The helm closely resembles those drawn with great detail by Albrecht Dürer about 1498. Three sketches of helms by that artist, now in the Louvre, Paris, probably represent two of the Nuremberg series (F. Winkler, Die Zeichnungen Albrecht Dürers, 4 vols., 1936-39, no. 177; A. V. B. Norman, Apollo, 1971, pp. 36-37).

All of the Nuremberg Zeughaus armours were modernised to a greater or lesser degree by Valentin Siebenbürger and others about 1535, when they also added several more complete armours to the series. An example of one of the additional armours is in the Army Museum, Warsaw (Zlygulski, 1982, pl. 131). At that time, they were all given fluted pauldrons and arms in the so-called 'Maximilian' style. These armours were used throughout the sixteenth century for burgher jousts, like that illustrated by Jost Amman in his Das Gesellenstechen in Nürnberg am 3. März 1561, now in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (no. 49.43).

Only one of the series still has a pair of what are probably the original arms. This is the armour now in the John Woodman Higgins Armory, Worcester, Massachusetts (no. 2580), which is said to have come from the Nuremberg Zeughaus via the collection of Graf Conrad zu Erbach (Grancsay, Catalogue, 1961, p. 59). Another helm of the series in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, also came from the Erbach collection (no. 29.156.67).
It is possible that Wallace Collection A279 is a manifer made for one of these armours in their first form.

For a list of surviving armours of this type see F. Sciballo, Studia do Dziejów Wawelu, III, Cracow 1968, pp. 335-61. C. Blair (April 1970) reported yet another in the Museum at Sibiu (formerly Hermannstadt) in Romania, stamped with the arms of the town of Sibiu. A24|1|1|A24 FIELD ARMOUR

Comprised of:

CLOSE HELMET, comprised of: SKULL with a low roped comb pierced with a pair of holes for the crest; three squared neck-lames; one-piece VISOR of bellows type, with two horizontal sights and five slits for breathing between the ridges; on the right lower edge is a hole coinciding with another in the chin-piece, but no fastening for the visor remains; BEVOR, pivoted at the same points as the visor, and held by a spring catch.

GORGET, composed of front and rear assemblies each composed of four plates, circular upper edge of the neck turned over and boldly roped; spring-pins (sprockets), working on hinges, for attaching the shoulder defences; the two main plates fluted, and the edges shaped.

BREASTPLATE of deep, rounded form, the fluting close and channelled, with the upper edge and gussets strongly flanged and roped, and with roped lower edge; flanged lame at the base for the skirt; the sides pierced with a pair of holes to engage the studs on the backplate; two buckles for the shoulder straps; on the right side a folding lance-rest; FRONT SKIRT of four lames and

TASSETS each of five lames with shaped edges to the lames.

BACKPLATE, associated, lengthened by an additional lame (a restoration) and furnished with a flanged waist-plate to receive the REAR SKIRT of three lames. Marked on the inside at the centre top with an incised B.

ARM DEFENCES, each composed of a: SPAUDLER with INTEGRAL REREBRACE, made up of seven lames in total, on which is hung a pointed BESAGEW (modern); the two upper lames are secured to the others by turning-pins and the lower lame is shaped as a turning-joint engaging the rerebrace; COUTER, with a detachable side-wing secured by a stud and turning-pin; hinged lower cannon or VAMBRACE; the inner side of the elbow protected by an articulated ‘voider of plate’ comprised of fourteen narrow lames.

The two upper lames of each shoulder-defence (spaudler) can be removed by means of three turning-pins working in key-hole slots; the front pin is mounted on the third lame, the other two are attached to the top of the articulating leathers, all three pass through slots pierced in the lower edge of the second lame. This construction allows the top two lames to be removed and replaced by longer lames forming a wing at the front and back, and possibly supporting a standing-guard for the neck (the haute-piece). Pauldrons of this type fitted with their larger set of lames are on a fluted armour in the Imperial Armoury at Vienna (inv. no. A186). A complete pair of pauldrons of this type is also in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 29.151.3; Grancsay and Kienbusch, 1933, no. 10, pls. 6 and 30). In this case the flange of the main wing covering the area where the ends of the lames for the upper arm pass under the wing is made as a separate piece pivoting at its top. This feature is depicted on the armour of St. Maurice in The Disputation of Saints Erasmus and Maurice by Matthias Grünewald of about 1525 in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (inv. no. 1044). A similar pivoting plate occurs on the pauldrons of a fluted armour of large proportions in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 26.92.1).

What are presumably pauldrons of this type with the little lames hung beside the armour are illustrated in a water-colour drawing of an armoury in the Kupferstichkabinett of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (No.H.B.2536/Kapsel 1254). The armour in this painting is for the field but also has a reinforcing breastplate and a grandguard to adapt it for the Freiturnier (free tourney), the formal mêlée fought in the open field with lance and sword (Norman, J.A.A.S., VII, Pl. XLV).

MITTEN GAUNTLETS, each with short hinged cuff, five metacarpal plates, roped knuckle-guard and five mitten lames; scaled thumb piece (modern).

CUISSES, each of one main plate with a narrower one at the top; small POLEYNS with roped side-wings, articulated with two lames above, and one below. They have closely converging flutes.

GREAVES slotted at the back for spurs and fastening over a stud with a hook-and-eye at the bottom; they are secured to the poleyns with a pair of turning-pins. Integral SABATONS of eight lames, the toe-plates square (restored).
All the borders are roped, the ends of the tassets, mitten gauntlets and vambraces have doubly sunk borders. The helmet may not belong, but is contemporary.

German, about 1515-25.

Provenance: E. Juste (Une armure Maximilienne finement cannelée, 7,000 fr.; receipted bill, 18 April, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The ‘Maximilian’ style, which quickly gained popularity throughout the German Lands during the first decade of the sixteenth century. It was characterised by tight, regular groups of flutes hammered painstakingly into almost all of the surfaces of every part of a complete armour. This striking visual effect became synonymous with the Northern Renaissance in Germany, the dense fluting recalling the groups of tight folds and pleats of male and female clothing of the time. The link with fashionable civilian dress is further emphasised by the fact that the only parts of the armour always left plain were the greaves –the plates encasing the lower legs– the contrasting smoothness of which was almost certainly intended to evoke closely-fitted silk stockings. Each flute was emphasised with strong file-cut lines on either side, making a Maximilian armour even more time-consuming and difficult to create. The style is also known for its typically narrow waist which expands rapidly into a very broad chest and shoulders. A26|1|1|A26 ARMOUR IN IMITATION MAXIMILIAN STYLE

Composed of:

CLOSE-HELMET, made up of: SKULL, fluted and further enhanced by three roped combs. The skull is pierced by six pairs of lining holes; VISOR of bellows type, with two horizontal sights, the five ridges-broadly roped, with pairs of narrow slits for breathing between them; visor-peg for raising and lowering, on the right side, and two notches in the upper and lower edges for securing it; BEVOR, pivoted at the same points as the visor, spring-catch on the right side. The bottom edge of skull and bevor is boldly roped and fits onto its own small gorget-plates, these number two (front and back), fluted, the lowest edge with doubly sunk border and roped.

The visor of the close-helmet is locked into the closed position by a spring-loaded stud which projects through the right side of the brow and acts in a notch in the upper edge of the visor. When the visor is raised it is supported by this stud acting in a similar notch on the lower edge of the visor. This feature is also to be found on the helmet sometimes ascribed to the Elector Frederick of Saxony, possibly by Lorenz Helmschmid, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 04.3.286), and on a helmet formerly thought to be a piece of exchange for this armour also in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 29.150.6; Kienbusch and Grancsay, 1933, no. 7, pI. XVl).

Large GORGET of four plates in front and four at the rear, the two assemblies hinged and fastened with a stud and key-hole slot; the upper edge of the neck hollowed and roped; it is extended on each side by two lames covering the shoulders, fluted and roped; hinged sprockets for the pauldrons. The principal lame bears on its lower edge the Nuremberg guild mark (but with the dexter and sinister sides of the shield reversed like those upon the cuisses); the left shoulder lame is stamped with another mark of a cross between four indistinct charges. This mark and the manner of the fluting suggest that this gorget does not belong to the rest. Inside the front plate of the gorget, near the lower edge, is struck a small Gothic n within a circle with a pearled edge. A similar n, but without the pearled circle, is struck on the inside of the top lame of each cuisse. The same mark occurs inside a Nuremberg armour of about 1500, formerly in the possession of R. T. Gwynn (C. Blair, European armour, 1958, pI. 39). The plates on the points of each shoulder of the gorget are associated and the plates connecting them to the gorget are nineteenth-century.

BREASTPLATE with sharply pointed central ridge, the upper edge and gussets strongly ridged and finely roped; pierced and etched at the top with the Imperial double-headed eagle and is flanged on its lower edge for the skirt; the plackart is secured to the breastplate at the centre by a rivet with a heart-shaped head. At the top is a strong staple for the attachment of a buff. There is no lance-rest or holes for one. Brass buckles for the shoulder straps; below the flanged upper edge is stamped the Nuremberg guild mark; FRONT SKIRT of three and rounded; spreading TASSETS of four lames, the latter are attached by four hinges of steel. The tassets are associated. Originally, they were attached to the lowest lame of their skirt by rivets and articulating leathers. The lowest lame of each poleyn is a later replacement. The sunk borders of the poleyn wings bear traces of trios of transverse lines left in relief by etching.

BACKPLATE, sculpted to accommodate the shoulder blades; at the base a circular panel pierced and etched with a fleur-de-lys, the flanged lame at the base extending upwards to cover the aperture so formed; the shoulder straps are attached by steel hinges stamped with a circular punch of trefoils enclosed within a pearled border; at the top the Nuremberg guild mark; REAR SKIRT of two lames.

PAULDRONS composed of six plates, the principal one of the right pauldron cut away in front to allow for the couched lance; the uppermost lame of both is holed to take the sprockets on the gorget, and is stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark.

VAMBRACES, each consisting of an upper cannon of three lames with a cylindrical turning-joint; couter of three lames with a small heart-shaped side-wing stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark, the inner side of the joint is protected by a voider of plate made up of fourteenth articulated plates. The inside edge of the vambraces and all the edges of the voider lames are cut in 'castellated' notches; hinged lower cannon.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS with hinged bell-shaped cuffs, six metacarpal and five mitten lames with a roped knuckle-guard; the principal lame for the thumb is not hinged, but formed by the extension of one of the metacarpal-plates.

These gauntlets, although of the period, do not belong to the rest.
CUISSES with strongly ridged and roped upper edge, to which has been added a lame with a smaller roping on sliding rivets, the uppermost bearing the Nuremberg guild mark, but, as on the gorget, having the dexter and sinister sides of the shield reversed. These cuisses possess the unusual feature of having ten laminated plates hinged to the inner side of the thigh, the top and lowest edges being roped; POLEYNS, each of four lames with large side-wing, the lowest lame pierced with a key-hole slot for the turning-pin on the greaves.

The plate voiders at the back of the legs are nineteenth-century additions. A drawing by R. P. Bonington (1802-28) in the British Museum (inv. no. 1939,10-14,9) shows this armour before these plates were added, and with plain mid sixteenth-century sabatons.

GREAVES, sculpted to the calves and each fastening in two places with a stud and hook-and-eye; the upper edge extended well under the poleyn; square staples at the back; integral SABATONS (restored) of eight lames, the toe-plates of the bear-paw type, square at the front and embossed at the centre to a roped ridge; eight-pointed rowel spurs. The greaves are associated and the spurs nineteenth-century.

German (Nuremberg), c. 1612.

Skelton I, pI. XXII; the besagew represented in fig. 7 is probably the nineteenth-century one now in store, but until 1962 exhibited on A49; Meyrick Catalogue, p. x and no. 355; Laking: European Armour III, fig. 1038.

Provenance: General Amielle; Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer; helmet: comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 11), S. Kensington, 1869 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, p. 288, no. 11). Helmet: De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 7.

Compare with the half-armour A27.

This is a late example of the fluted style. The flutes are rigidly parallel and have not the hollow section of earlier fluting (cf. nos. A24-5). All borders are heavily roped, and doubly sunk. For a note on other armours with plackarts pierced with a double eagle and with similar, large, rounded tassets, see A27, which belongs to the same group. The piercing of the backplate with a fleur-de-lys can be compared with one formerly in the Hearst Collection, pierced with the sea-lion of Imhof of Nuremberg, and now in the Royal Armouries. Note the laminations at the back of the thigh and knee, which overlap both downwards and upwards.

Other details suggest that the reversed Nuremberg marks on gorget and cuisses are genuine; it is an easy mistake to forget to reverse the design when engraving a punch. The second mark on the gorget occurs on a fluted armour from the Stead Collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv. no. inv. no. 1/1-1936) and on a breastplate of the early sixteenth century once in the possession of Mr. Douglas Ash. The same mark also occurs on a fluted breastplate in a private collection in Florence (M. Scalini, letter of 28 June 1983).

A trefoil, not an armourer's mark but an ornamental motif, is found on the shoulder straps, which are probably restorations.

The fluted helmet now associated with this armour was formerly separate. It takes the place of the plain Helmschmied close-helmet which was already on it in Meyrick's time (A163), but was quite incongruous.

‘Voiders of plate’ inside the joints of the limbs are usually found on late armours of c. 1600, but there are examples from the first half of the sixteenth century, e.g. of King Henry VIII in the Royal Armouries, and Wallace Collection A24; they are also present on A27, another example of the Maximilian style revival in Nuremberg, c. 1612. Voiders of plate at the back of the leg, as here, are much rarer than inside the elbow.

Meyrick states (Skelton I, pI. XXII) that this armour 'was brought from Vienna by the French General, Amielle, who was afterwards killed at Waterloo, and tradition assigns it to Ferdinand, King of the Romans'. This would be Ferdinand I (1503-64), brother of Charles V. The suit itself affords no specific evidence in support of the tradition, but it may well have been in the Imperial Armoury at Vienna when that collection was looted by Napoleon's army in 1805 and 1810.

The cuirasses of both A 26 and A 27 have in common the very unusual two-piece construction of their breastplates, with a lower plate overlapping the upper plate, rather in the manner of a German 'gothic' breastplate, as well as the decorative piercing and etching of both breast and back, the unusual flat areas between the ridges, and the very finely roped turns of their edges. Each of these features is also found on all the cuirasses listed in the comparative material in the 1962 Catalogue under A27, with the exception of the Stuyvesant one now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 49.163.1). This last has concave flutes between the ridges and thick, very heavily roped turned edges above the waist, and flat areas between the ridges and finely roped edges on the skirt and tassets only. The armour listed in the 1962 Catalogue as being in the National Museum, Copenhagen, is now deposited in the Tøjhusmuseum (Cat. No. D14). As pointed out by J. F. Hayward (J.A.A.S., I, pp. 41-2) the Hebray and Baron armours are one and the same, as stated in the catalogue of the Baron sale, Roussel, Paris, 21 January 1846, lot 217 (Cripps Day, Armour Sales, p. XL, n. 2), but this cannot be the Tøjhus one because that is apparently identifiable in an inventory of 1775 (K. Nielsen, letter of 19th November 1982). The breastplate at Turin (No. C22) is pierced with the figures of the Virgin and Child, and St. Christopher.

A breast and separate backplate in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (inv. nos. W1342 and W2111 respectively), also of this type, are both pierced with a two-tailed mermaid, probably referring to the arms of the Nuremberg patrician family of Reiter von Kornburg. They also have a backplate of this type pierced by a fleur-de-lys (inv. no. W 1024). In the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, is another cuirass of this type also pierced by a two-tailed mermaid (inv. no. G.292). Both Wallace Collection breastplates, of A26 and A27, have their central point drawn out in the German fashion of the 1540s, while others are of late peascod form, for example that at Paris and the cuirass from the Hearst Collection, now in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. III. 1288-9). The last is dated on its back-plate 1612, and pierced with a heraldic sea-lion which may refer to the arms of the Nuremberg patrician family of Imhof (Dufty and Reid, 1968, pls. CXIV, and CXV top left).

The arms and pauldrons of A26, with their unusual flat areas between the ridges and their finely roped edges, are clearly related to all these cuirasses, while the plates covering the back of the hands on a pair of gauntlets in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (unnumbered) which also have these features, also have castellated edges like those of the inner lames of the arms of A26. Unusually long and flaring cuffs occur on two related pairs of gauntlets, in the Musée de I' Armée, Paris (inv. no G.18), and Glasgow Museums (inv. no E.1939.65.j). The long cuffs of these gauntlets and the finely roped edges confirm a seventeenth-century date for this group of armours. B. Thomas (1964) pointed out that the date 1612 on the Royal Armouries cuirass coincides with that of the state visit to Nuremberg of the Emperor Matthias, after his coronation, and he therefore suggested that these armours might have been made for a guard of burghers dressed in what was then thought to be the style of Albrecht Dürer's time. In this case the remarkable width of the arms of A26 may be because they were intended to be worn over a buff coat in the seventeenth-century fashion. The Stuyvesant breastplate, which is undoubtedly early, may have formed a model for the construction of the later breastplate with which it is certainly connected in having tassets of the same type. A25|1|1|A25 FIELD ARMOUR

Comprised of:

CLOSE HELMET, composed of: rounded SKULL (without a comb) with shallow fluting, three pairs of holes for the lining (one pair has an extra hole pierced separately) and a row of round-headed rivets at the base for the same purpose; NECK-GUARD of three narrow lames: VISOR of the so-called 'monkey-face' type, with a peg for raising and lowering, two horizontal sights and twelve vertical slits for breathing cut in the boxed projection, and other holes pierced above. No spring-catch or other fastening. BEVOR pivoted at the same points as the visor and secured by a spring-catch.

GORGET (modern, but well-made) fluted, made up of front and rear assemblies of four neck-plates each and four shoulder pieces (two and two), hinged at the sides and locking through keyhole slots. The edge of the upper lame is worked to a circular hollow roping.

BREASTPLATE of deep, rounded ‘globose’ form, fluted, strongly ridged and roped along the top, with gussets working on sliding rivets boldly turned over to a hollow section and roped; lance-rest of V-shaped section hinged to turn upwards, flanged waist plate with scalloped upper edge; two buckles for the shoulder straps; FRONT SKIRT of three fluted lames; TASSETS of five fluted lames attached to the skirt with two pairs of steel hinges (modern), the bottom edges boldly turned under and roped, the edge of the lower lame hollowed and strongly roped. The lance-rest and its securing bolts are all 19th-century. The tassets were originally riveted and leathered to the lowest lame of the skirt.

BACKPLATE fluted, the edges turned under and roped; it has been extended at the sides by additional plates riveted on, the lower edge bevelled, flanged waist plate; REAR SKIRT of three lames, the edge of the lower lame slightly roped; it is a restoration of later date.

SPAUDLERS of five fluted lames; BESAGEWS (modern) fluted, with a cone-shaped spike in the centre; VAMBRACES, the upper cannons with turning-joints, COUTERS with heart-shaped side-wings, articulated with one lame above and one below, hinged lower cannons fastening with a stud (that for the right forearm is a restoration, and there is a patch on the edge of the left one). The fluting passes over the couters in vertical parallel lines. The turning-joints of the left arm and the whole of the right arm are nineteenthth-century. The left lower cannon has been made fatter at some time.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS with short cuffs, four metacarpal plates (one embossed for the ulna bone), knuckle-plates and roped knuckleguards, four finger-plates and scaled thumb-piece, the chief scale embossed with a cone and triply fluted. The end lame of the right gauntlet (and possibly others) are restored.

CUISSES, each consisting of a main thigh plate, with an additional plate attached by sliding rivets to the top. Both parts have boldly embossed defensive upper borders, roped, with double cuts. To each is fitted a POLEYN, articulated by two lames above and below, and furnished with a heart-shaped side-wing made in the same piece. The edges of these lames are invected to match the roping. On each side are keyhole slots for attachment of greaves. Fluted throughout, the upper part of the main thigh plates and the top plates are also fluted horizontally. The lowest lame in each case has a sunk border, roped with double cuts like the side-wings. The top articulating lame of each poleyn is nineteenth-century.

No greaves.

All the borders are roped except on the helmet and vambraces which have plain turned-over borders and do not belong to the rest. It has undergone some skilful restoration.

German (Nuremberg), about 1530.

The gorget at one time exhibited with this armour is now shown independently as A231.

Maximilian-style armours were produced in very large numbers throughout the first half of the sixteenth century. All of the master armourers working in central Europe were fluent in the style, with fine, densely fluted armours being produced in Augsburg, Innsbruck and many other places thoughout the German Lands as well as in Northern Italy. However it was Nuremburg, the beating heart of the German Renaissance, which became perhaps most closely associated with this distinctive fashion. Although several great artist-armourers called Nuremberg their home, the city’s armour-making industry was geared much more heavily towards the rapid mass-production of military equipment. During the Middle Ages, Nuremberg had become famous as a centre for the fabrication of mail armour, a process requiring large numbers of specialist workers and production-line organisation. It is clear that by the sixteenth century Nuremberg’s high-output manufacturing culture had taken on the production of complete and partial plate armours in huge quantities.

This armour is a typical example of a simple, practical field armour of the first half of the sixteenth century. Its uncomplicated design means that there is little that can go wrong with it, and with an original weight of 20 kg (including the missing greaves and sabatons), it is light and comfortable to wear. The construction of the shoulder and arm defenses maximise flexibility and range of movement, while at the same time offering few gaps to enemy weapons. The thinness of the medium-carbon steel not only kept the total weight of the armour down, it also increased economic efficiency, with less valuable steel being required to cover the whole body, and with lighter plate being easier for the craftsmen to work for long periods. At the same time, the quality of the steel meant that the armour could be made thinner and lighter, while still providing good protection. A27|1|1|A27 COMPOSITE ARMOUR

Partial field armour in the ‘Maximilian’ style, composite, made up in the nineteenth century by combining sixteenth- and seventeenth-century elements, with some restoration.

CLOSE-HELMET with fluted SKULL and low roped comb, South German, c. 1530. Pierced with eight pairs of holes for the lining; VISOR of rounded, so-called 'monkey-face' type with two horizontal sights, and vertical slits in the flutes of the projecting part in the centre; salient CHIN-PIECE, or lower bevor, pivoted at the same points as the visor and fastening with a spring-catch, the lower edge turned under and roped; TAILPIECE of three thin lames fluted.

GORGET, fluted, of four plates (front and back) extended by two additional lames on the shoulders; the top plate being secured by a stud; the upper edge is strongly turned over to a hollow triangular section to fit into the circular rim of a helmet, but the lower edge of the present helmet has no corresponding hollow. The shoulder pieces are modern restorations, while the main part is genuine – made in Nuremberg, c. 1530. The latter is marked inside the front plate, near the lower edge, with a Roman capital N within a circle with a pearled edge. The main section is closed on the right by means of a stud and key-hole slot.

BREASTPLATE, the upper edge strongly ridged and closely roped, with laminated gussets similarly roped; strong PLACKART with salient central ridge pierced at the top with a double-headed eagle and engraved (as that of A26). It is secured to the breastplate with a heart-headed bolt. FRONT SKIRT of three lames (the lower lame pierced for attachment of the missing cod-piece) and spreading TASSETS of four, the edges of the lower plate strongly ridged and closely roped like the breast and backplate; the breastplate bears the Nuremberg guild mark near the neck.

BACKPLATE, with waist-plate, and REAR SKIRT of two lames. The backplate is pierced with a fleur-de-lys at the bottom and engraved; it carries the Nuremberg guild mark at the top, is fluted, roped and riveted like the breastplate.

This cuirass, like most of A26, appears to have been made in the early 1600s, in imitation of the true Maximilian style of the previous century.

SPAUDLERS of five lames; mounted to the upper cannons of the VAMBRACES by means of a turning joint over the top of the biceps; the COUTERS are mounted with heart-shaped side-wings made as separate pieces and attached by turning-pins. The inner elbow is protected by eight laminated plates comprising a ‘voider of plate’. The fluted BESAGEWS are modern.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS with short cuffs, five metacarpal plates, five finger plates, knuckle-guard and scaled thumb-pieces. Both gauntlets are probably restorations.

Compare with A26 for the cuirass and tassets. Fluted armours with the plackarts pierced in the same way with a double-headed imperial eagle are found in the Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum at Zurich; in the National Museum at Copenhagen; and one pierced with the sea-lion of Imhof of Nuremberg on the back, where the present backplate has a fleur-de-lys, was in the Hearst Collection, purchased at Sotheby's, 9 July, 1931, lot 75, and is now in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. III. 1288). Others were, in the Hebray and Baron collections (Asselineau, pl. 91). This last was said to have been the armour of Ferdinand, King of Hungary, taken by the French from Schönbrunn in 1809. Compare also the fluted armour in the Stuyvesant Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York (ex-Costessey Hall, Laking, European Armour III, fig. 1036) which also has a pierced plackart, but not with an eagle, and similar large, rounded tassets; and lastly a breastplate in the Armeria Reale at Turin (C 22). A28|1|1|A28 PARTS OF AN INFANTRY ARMOUR

Made in the ‘costume’ or Landsknecht style, possibly once part of a larger garniture. The present elements make up the majority of an armour for formal combat on foot. When complete, the garniture may also have included alternate arm, shoulder and leg pieces for battlefield use.

Embossed all over with horizontal bands intended to evoke the ‘puffed and slashed’ clothing fashion in vogue in the German Lands during the early sixteenth century. The bands are chased with imitation slashes, alternatingly diagonal and crescent-shaped, etched with cross-hatching, gilt, and further defined with engrailed borders. The intervening surfaces between the puffed and slashed bands are etched with flowers and foliage placed against a ground of minute crescent-shaped loops, rather than the more typical stippling or granulation, to suggest Italian voided velvet or cloth-of-gold; the loops invoke loops of gold wire-thread pulled through the velvet pile, the weaving technique called ‘allucialato’- a reference to stars shining in the night sky. The borders of the puffed and slashed bands are further emphasised with narrow embossed piping. The gussets of the breastplate were once fully etched and gilt, the decoration having a marine theme involving mermaids, dolphins and winged heads profile. The waist of the cuirass is also encircled with a two-tiered band of undulating vermiform ornament.

At some point, probably in the early nineteenth century, this armour was roughly reassembled using modern brass rivets. Assembly errors have immobilised the shoulder joints and tassets.

Comprised of:

BREASTPLATE of rounded form, with a heavily roped upper edge, and roped gussets working on sliding rivets.

FRONT SKIRT of four plates; the bottom one has been pierced for the attachment of the missing cod-piece.

TASSETS of six lames; the lowermost lames on each side have been shaped to fit closely around the thigh towards the rear, and extend nearly to the knees.

BACKPLATE with studs on either side to engage the breastplate; flanged plate at the base to which is riveted a RUMP-DEFENCE of five lames, shaped to protect the whole of the buttocks; the bottom lame is bordered with a row of small holes (countersunk on the outside) for the stitching that once attached the lining, now lost.

ARM DEFENCES, comprising integral shoulder defences of four lames each, to which are attached (riding on turning slots, now immobilised) upper cannons of three lames (the main enclosed cannon with two articulation lames above) to which is attached a rounded couter with two articulation lames; the main elbow plate includes a very small heart-shaped side-wing; lower cannons, narrowing at the wrists and fastening on hinges and sprung-pins. The insides of the elbows are protected by voiders of plate, made up of seventeen lames on the left arm and sixteen on the right. On the lower cannons the puffed and slashed bands have been placed obliquely, to spiral dramatically around the forearm.

The gorget is lost, but represented by the surviving shoulder-cap plates, which were until 2022 riveted incorrectly onto the tops of the shoulder defences, backwards. This appears to have been done in the nineteenth century to facilitate the inaccurate attachment of the shoulder defences to the shoulder straps of the cuirass. The removal of these plates and their relocation in the correct areas uncovered the original attachment holes present on the genuine top plates; originally the shoulder defences would have been fastened to sprung posts mounted on the gorget.

The lack of the gorget also motivated a later restorer, in 1910, to create a patchwork neck-defence out of the front and rear top plates taken from a sixteenth-century gorget, from which was hung (inside-out) a large fragment of riveted mail, forming a makeshift mantle. Although they are modern additions, this and another piece of mail formerly hung from the rump-defence were already present when the armour was in the possession of Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in the early nineteenth century.

Austrian, made at Innsbruck in the workshop of Konrad Seusenhofer, c. 1515.

Skelton I, pI. XIX; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 189; ffoulkes, The Armourer and his Craft, pI. XXI; Laking, European Armour III 260-1, fig. 1042; Capwell, ‘Cloth of steel: Elements of a Landsknecht Armour in the Wallace Collection’, Arms and Armour: History, Conservation and Analysis (2021), ch. 2.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. II); South Kensington, 1869 (The Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 344, No. 8). S. Pyhrr (letter of 31 December 1981) has pointed out that this armour was apparently exhibited at the 'Gothic Hall' in 1818 as no. 10, and in 1819 and 1820 as no. 11.

The close helmet A162 was displayed with this armour until 2022. In Meyrick's time it had another helmet, also only associated.

Bruno Thomas pointed out the resemblance of the decoration of A28 to that on the costume armour of Friedrich von Liegnitz, formerly in Berlin and now in the State Historical Museum, Moscow, made by Konrad Seusenhofer, the etching on which was historically (and mistakenly) ascribed to Daniel Hopfer (Post, Berlin Jahrbuch, XLIX (1928)).

For an expansion of this comparison, and discussion of the close stylistic and technical relationships between A28 and a number of other works created under Konrad Seusenhofer, see Capwell, Tobias, 'Cloth of Steel: Elements of a Landsknecht Armour in the Wallace Collection', in Dowen, Keith and Alan Williams, eds, Arms and Armour: History, Conservation and Analysis (2021), ch. 2. A29|1|1|A29 COMPOSITE EQUESTRIAN ARMOUR

Comprised of pieces made for Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1502-1559).

Consists of:

BURGONET with low roped comb, a fall or peak pivoted at the sides; chin-piece fixed at the same points in the manner of a close-helmet, to which is attached a visor of two plates contrived as a falling buff (see also A36 and A181). At the neck are two gorget lames front and back.

GORGET with circular roped flange on the collar, which is connected by three articulated lames to the main plates, back and front. It opens on a hinge on the left side and fastens by a slot and rivet on the right. Sprocket pins are fixed on a pivoted metal strap, one to each shoulder, for the pauldrons. In a sunk band passing round the neck is etched a representation of a neck-chain of large circular links.

BREASTPLATE of plain, globose form, with the borders of the gussets and neck roped and accompanied by a sunk band. It is etched in the centre of the breast with the Virgin and Child in glory standing on the crescent moon.

BACKPLATE of one piece, attached by hinged iron straps to the breast. The REAR SKIRT of five lames is a modern restoration.

TASSETS of eleven lames, plain with sunk borders and a central band, the lower portions of each are detachable at the fifth lame by means of a hook-and-eye. The fifth lame has a roped and etched border, so that the upper part could be worn without the lower lames.

PAULDRONS plain with sunk borders and bands, built of two large and three small lames; on the shoulders are two holes with rosette-shaped brass washers for points, and a hole for engaging the sprocket. The pauldrons are close-fitting in front and do not cover the armpits, but extend well over the shoulder blades at the back.

VAMBRACES, fluted, each consisting of upper cannon, couter with side-wing, lower cannon in two parts fastened by two hinges and a stud. Entirely modern (late eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century).

GAUNTLETS, the surfaces plain with straight cuffs with hinged wrist band, metacarpal plates of six lames with indented edges and bevelled borders like the gorget, roped knuckle-plate and mittens of five lames similarly shaped.

Short fluted CUISSES and POLEYNS, consisting of a knee-piece articulated once above and twice below, together with a fluted, heart-shaped side-wing.

GREAVES of large size, built in two parts, front and back, fastened by two hinges on the outer and two studs on the inner sides. At the back is a hook to hold the strap of the poleyns. These pieces were once plain greaves of the sixteenth century; the etching is modern.

SABATONS with broad square toes, with four articulated lames at the instep and four at the toe, making ten in all, including the middle lame and toe-cap; the forward lames are fluted.

SPURS with rowels of eight points riveted to the heel of the sabatons.

HORSE ARMOUR, consisting of:

SHAFFRON, formed of a main plate, cheek-pieces, ear-guards and poll-plate, plain without fluting. The borders are pierced with trefoil ornament, now backed with velvet; there is an escutcheon fixed to the forehead with central spike with pyramidal point, etched with the arms of the Palatinate and Bavaria (quarterly, 1 and 4 a crowned lion rampant, 2 and 3 chequy-lozengy). On the brow three pairs of holes with brass rosette-shaped washers for threading points. Four more are on the poll-plate. The shaffron bears on a tablet on the poll-piece the date 1536 and the peak of the saddle is dated 1532, showing that the work was carried out over a considerable period.

BIT with S-shaped branches of steel. The port bar was probably put in to fit the mouth of the present horse mannequin. The curb chain is modern.

REINS, consisting of three longitudinal plates on each side, hinged together, fluted and etched in the same manner as the armour.

CRINET of eleven overlapping lames, fluted, with pronounced roping along the ridge of the neck ending in a boldly roped border at the withers. The edges at the sides are also roped.

PEYTRAL built of three main plates, fluted, with sunk borders and bands etched and gilt, relieved with two circular bosses with raised decoration in the form of a cross. The lower edges are boldly roped; two smaller, vertical plates at the sides are attached by sliding rivets.

SADDLE STEELS, consisting of three plates joined in front of the bow, fluted, with etched and gilt bands and sunk border; and one rounded plate on the cantle at the back similarly treated.

STIRRUPS. The left stirrup, which has fluted triangular sides decorated with etched and gilt borders, and a flat rectangular tread, is original. The right stirrup, which is undecorated, is a restoration.

The DECORATION of this armour takes the form of recessed borders and bands etched with foliage, trophies and grotesques on a granulated ground, fully gilt; the gilding has been restored. The rest of the surface is painted black. Sir Guy Laking believed it to be composed of parts taken from two armours, one fluted and one plain. Mann (1962) disagreed, believing it to be more homogeneous, while Norman (1986) pointed out the evidence for the presence of pieces from as many as eight different sources: (1) The inner edge of the etched bands of the breastplate and the gauntlets are followed by a bright sunken band. They match precisely the closed burgonet A181 in the Wallace Collection; (2) The burgonet of A29 and probably its pauldrons come from another armour belonging to Otto Heinrich in the Musée de I' Armée, Paris (G.40); (3) The gorget does not fit satisfactorily under the cuirass. It has plain ground etching unlike that on any other part of the armour and its edges are bracket cut. (4) The tassets have been much altered and were once a good deal broader. They have had a third suspension strap. The etching has been re-worked. (5) The cuisses and poleyns are fluted unlike any other part of the armour except the saddle, peytral and rein-guards, but the etching does not include any trophies and grotesques while the etching of the latter pieces does. (6) The greaves are apparently from a white armour and the etching is modern. (7) The shaffron has plain ground etching quite different from that on the gorget. (8) The front skirt is probably a later restoration and the arms, backplate, and rear skirt certainly are. The arms are clearly made by the same restorer as a pair of arms on a fluted armour which is now at Eastnor Castle but was originally apparently at Neuburg with A29.

The Nuremberg mark is stamped upon the fall of the burgonet, both pauldrons, and the front of the peytral. There is a trace of a mark on the left stirrup.

By Hans Ringler of Nuremberg, dated 1532 and 1536.

Mann, Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. XXVII, 1941; Von Reitzenstein, 'Einige Harnische des Pfatzgrafen Ottheinrich', Pantheon, XXXI, 1943, pp. 186-91; von Reitzenstein, 'Der Ringlersche Harnisch des Pfalzgrafen Ottheinrich', Akzeiger des Germanisches Nationalmuseum, 1964, pp. 44-56; von Reitzenstein, 'Eine Harnischbrust des Hans Ringler im Britischen Museum', Waffen- und Kostüimkunde, VII, 1965, pp. 122-3; von Reitzenstein, 'Die Harnischkammer des Neuburger Schlosses im Jahre 1628', Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1973, pp. 146-58, particularly p. 150; Capwell 2011, pp. 94-7.

Provenance: The Elector, Otto Heinrich, kept in his castle of Neuburg on the Danube; Napoleon I; William Bullock; T. Gwennap; probably bought by Sir S. R. Meyrick at the G. Robins sale, London, 10- 11 June, 1833, lot 155; Frédéric Spitzer.

Exhibited: Oplotheca, 1816, No. 13, as well as 1817, No. 14; Gothic Hall, 1818, No. 21; Royal Armoury, Haymarket (after 1820), No. 19; Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, pp. 10-11); S. Kensington Museum, 1869, p. 10 and No. 271 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 88).

The late Dr. Hans Stöcklein identified this armour and another at Paris (Musée de l' Armée, G40) as components of a black equestrian harness made for Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1502-59), described in three inventories of the arsenal of Neuburg on the Danube, of 1628, 1654 and 1750, which are preserved in the State Archives at Munich. The contents of the arsenal were removed by General Moreau at the time of the occupation by the French army in 1800.

The Wallace Collection and Paris armours bear the dates 1532 and 1533, respectively, and Dr. Stöcklein further linked them with an armour known to have been ordered by Otto Heinrich from the Nuremberg armourer, Hans Ringler, in 1531.

Certain double-pieces belonging to the same set can also be traced, namely a black reinforcing breast decoration with the Madonna and Child in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum at Munich, and two spare buffs, one in the last-named museum and the other in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Schloss Mainberg sale, 1901).

Mann noted that in the inventories the armour is described as black with gilt etched bands ('Schwarz mit geezten unnd vergullen Raiffen') with the Bavarian arms upon the shaffron; that of 1654 further specifies a black breast with etched and gilt borders and in the centre the Virgin and Child, and mentions a smaller breast similarly decorated (that now at Munich). In fact, although the inventory of Neuburg made in 1628 includes a long list of parts of black and gold armours, the only piece of A29 which can be identified therein with any certainty is the shaffron: 'eine Rosstirn, darauf vorn das bayerische Wappen, un die Nase durchsichtig, mit Strichen. Zugehörig eine kleine stählerne Schiftung'.

The detail of the Madonna and Child is mentioned again in a list of the armours, together with their traditional owners, dating from 22 May, 1801, the time of the confiscation of the armoury, 'Otto illustris, mit Gold aufgelegt hat das Marien-bild auf der Brust'.

Dr. Stöcklein's notes have been edited and published by Freiherr Alexander von Reitzenstein, Die Harnische der Neuburger Rüstkammer, in Z.H.W.K., XVI (1940-2), pp. 42-51. There is a painted leather bard of Otto Heinrich at Turin, inv. no. B2 (Stöcklein, Münchner Jahrbuch, 1928, pp. 59-63), and a gun bearing his name and arms, dated 1533, was sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, 1912 (Stöcklein, Pantheon II (1928), pp. 364-5). A white half-armour of very large proportions in the Musée de I' Armée at Paris (G137) is also ascribed to him. See the catalogue of the exhibition commemorating the fourth centenary of Otto Heinrich, held in the Castle of Heidelberg in 1956 (Georg Poensgen, Ottheinrich: Gedenkschrift zur Vierhunderjährigen Wiederkehr, seiner Kurfürstenzeit; section by Freiherr von Reitzenstein on his armour, pp. 105-17).

A29 is illustrated and described on plates VIII and IX of the unpublished third volume of Sir Samuel Meyrick's catalogue of his collection at Goodrich Court as the armour of 'William IVth Duke of Bavaria A.D. 1532', and Meyrick stated in a MS. note that it 'was purchased in Paris by Mr. William Bullock, and afterwards ... found its way into Mr. Gwennap's collection, at the sale of which it was bought to complete the series at Goodrich Court. It is black, fluted and engraved, the engravings being gilt and the horse furniture is of the same character. The date appears on the saddle.' Meyrick's drawing (pl. VIII) shows a mail brayette, which no longer accompanies the armour. Bullock was the proprietor of 'Bullock's Museum' which was shown at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and T. Gwennap promoted the Oplotheca and Gothic Hall exhibitions, from which Sir Samuel Meyrick obtained other objects now in this Collection. A29 can be recognised in an aquatint entitled: 'The Interior of the Oplotheca in Brook Street, Bond Street, being the finest collection of Antient Armour in Europe now open for public inspection. Drawn by W. M. Craig. Etch'd by S. Mitan. Engraved by T. Sutherland. London, Published 1816 by Edwd. Orme, New Bond Street.' The Oplotheca exhibition, which was continued for a number of years, was later shown in Opera House Colonnade, Pall Mall (off the Haymarket). A29 is described in the Catalogue of the Oplotheca, 1817 (no. 14), and Gothic Hall (no. 22) as the "Armour of the Elector Joseph of Bavaria, on horseback.... Taken by Napoleon Bonaparte from the Armoury at Munich." A drawing of this armour by Géricault was in an auction sale at Bern on 16 June, 1960, when it was described as being one of several existing sketches by him of the same armour. This drawing is now in the Kunsthalle in Bremen (A. von Reitzenstein, letter of 20 February 1964). The attribution has been doubted. However, when Géricault visited London, he certainly did so under the auspices of Bullock who owned this armour at the time (S. Lodge, 'Géricault in England', Burlington Magazine, CVII, 1965, pp. 616-27). See also S. Duffy, ‘French Artists and the Meyrick Armoury’, Burlington Magazine (vol. 151, no. 1274, May 2009), pp. 284-92.

Otto Heinrich, or Ottheinrich, as he is often called, was joint ruler with his brother, Philip, of part of the Wittelsbach estates, and in 1542 embraced the Protestant faith. He fought against the Emperor Charles V in the War of Schmalkalde, and in 1556 succeeded his father as Elector Palatine. He was a lavish patron of the arts and learning, founded the library at Heidelberg University, enlarged the castle of Heidelberg and built his own castle at Neuburg on the Danube. There is a document in existence signed by King Henry VIII at Hampton Court, treating for a marriage between his daughter, Mary Tudor, and Otto Heinrich, which, if it had taken place, might have effectively changed the course of English history. He is also represented in the Wallace Collection by a boxwood draughtsman S286, and a silver medal, S410, both with his profile portrait in relief. A30|1|1|A30 PARTS OF A FIELD ARMOUR

This outstanding armour exemplifies the great work of a master armourer, a perfect marriage of technical functionality and aesthetic sophistication.

It is of the finest workmanship, decorated with sunken bands etched with scrolled foliage, cornucopias, grotesque figures and birds, on a gilt granulated ground, their inner sides decorated with embossed scallops etched with leaves and engrailed ornament. On the pauldrons, couters and tassets are placed conspicuous, sunk or embossed trefoils etched and gilt. The gauntlets, leg armour and reinforcing plates are missing, although several fragments of these parts are preserved in other collections (see below). With the exception of the gorget (made in France c. 1869) the armour is otherwise entirely without restoration, the helmet retaining its original quilted lining: it is almost certainly the work of Kolman Helmschmid, although it is not marked. Compare the armet A165, also produced in the Helmschmid workshop around this time.

Comprised of:

ARMET, having a finely moulded SKULL, the whole of the front of the skull and the greater part of its sides are embossed to look like a brow-reinforce.
The midline ridge or keel is pierced with two holes for the panache and five pairs of smaller holes: two on either side and one at the back; the lower edge is embossed with a circular collar, itself embossed with cabling and scales, with a scale pattern, and hollowed to fit over the top plate of the gorget; at the back is fixed a shallow hook with a hole in it: strongly salient VISOR of one piece with cusped upper edge and two vision slits; it is heavily pierced for breathing, there being no less than 24 holes on the left and 26 on the right, in the upper part, with 52 holes and 4 horizontal slits on the left, and 23 holes and 17 slits on the right, in the lower; it has a shaped peg for raising, and a hinged hook to engage the right cheek-piece when raised; this hook is designed to hold the visor in a semi-raised position, which allows better ventilation whilst maintaining some protection for the face. The visor pivots (as armets of the fifteenth century) attach to the ends of the visor arms by means of concealed loose-pin clasps. The visor is locked down with a spring-catch; the edge is hollowed to a scaled roping; hinged CHEEK-PIECES, overlapping at the chin in front, where they are secured with a pierced stud and hook, five hearing holes on each side, with the immediate surrounding area of the surface etched with the image of a human ear, the lower edge like that of the skull) doubly roped and hollowed to fit over the gorget; a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining straps, a portion of the original lining, covered with red satin (now faded to yellow), remains. There are still fragments of the red silk arming-laces which secured the lining to the back of the skull.

High GORGET composed of front and rear assemblies, each of four plates, the edges shaped and bevelled, the edge of the upper lame flanged, but not roped. Made c. 1869 (when Napoleon III presented the helmet to the Comte de Nieuwerkerke) so that it could be reunited with the remainder of the armour, which had recently come into the Comte’s possession.

BREASTPLATE, with a deep chest and narrow waist, a strong central ridge, the top edge strongly flanged and hollowed with a scaled roping; the laminated gussets similarly roped; strong folding lance-rest, decorated with gilt arabesques, fitted with a spring catch, pierced with four holes for adjustment; two buckles of chiselled brass for the shoulder straps; the lower edge flanged to receive the front skirt. In the border at the neck are etched two female grotesques terminating in cornucopias, on each side of a flaming dish. Round the waist is a narrow band of gilt arabesques.

FRONT SKIRT of three lames working on sliding rivets, the upper edges shaped and bevelled, the four straps for the tassets secured by brass-headed rivets and rosette washers.

TASSETS of three deep lames working on sliding rivets, the lowest lame pointed, the top lame of each tasset furnished with two double buckles of chiselled brass. Each lame is prominently embossed with a gilt and etched trefoil in the centre.

BACKPLATE decorated like the breast, furnished on either side with sprockets for the pauldrons, at the base a flanged plate is riveted on to receive the rear skirt; fitted with a waist belt, the buckle restored.

REAR SKIRT of three lames, the upper edges shaped and bevelled.
The lower edge of the lowest lame but one of the skirt at both front and back has a leather band riveted on to the inner side, presumably for the attachment of a mail skirt.

PAULDRONS, decorated with branching trefoils sunk, etched and gilt. The left is composed of five plates, the third (main) plate is shaped upwards to form a small vertical neck-guard or haute-piece, the upper edge pierced with two key-hole slots (for a missing haute-piece extension), the lower lame furnished with a double brass buckle. The right pauldron is composed of seven plates. An unusual feature is a small additional plate on the lower edge of the main plate at the back working on a sliding rivet and kept down by a steel spring; this device was intended to facilitate the couching of the lance, allowing the plate to collapse upwards when the butt of the couched lance applied pressure to it, and snapping back down when the lance was taken out of contact. The same device is present on the KD garniture of Charles V at Madrid (see below) and on the contemporary Helmschmid armour associated with Wilhelm von Boxberg of Nuremberg (c. 1525, Armeria Reale, Turin, Inv. B2) The lower lame is furnished with a single buckle.

VAMBRACES, the upper cannons with turning joint of five lames, the leather tab for pointing to the arming doublet being decorated with cinquefoil brass eyelets and bordered with small brass rivets; couters with embossed trefoil on the cubitus at the end of a raised and scaled stalk, and two branching trefoils on the heart-shaped tendon guard, sunk, etched and gilt; lower cannons of two principal plates, the outer one extended to fit over the elbow, the underside hinged and fastening with a stud. There are two subsidiary lames articulated at the top to guard the elbow-joint.
Made by Kolman Helmschmid of Augsburg (1470/1-1532), etched by Daniel Hopfer (1470-1536), c. 1525-30.
Laking, European Armour III, 313-15, fig. 1069; and IV, 105, fig. 1188; Capwell 2011, pp. 86-7.
Provenance: E. Juste (Parties d' armure du 16e Siècle très finement gravée et dorée consistent en: Cuirasse complète avec tassettes et garde-reins, épaulières et brassards, 3,750 fr.; receipted bill, 3 January, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The reason why no mention of the helmet is made in the above bill is explained by an anecdote related by the comte R. de Belleval regarding ‘une armure d'une grande richesse et d' une forme admirable a laquelle manquait le casque’. In about 1860, the Emperor Napoleon III had acquired a helmet from the Soltykoff Collection and in the early part of 1869, the Emperor, knowing that his Surintendant des Beaux-Arts coveted the piece, generously presented it to him. As the rest of this armour was not purchased by Nieuwerkerke until January 1869, it was probably only then that the helmet was recognised as belonging to it, and became an object of desire on the part of the Comte. The helmet was no. 125 of the Emperor's collection at Pierrefonds, and was catalogued by Penguilly l' Haridon (Catalogue des collections du cabinet d' Armes de sa Majesté l' Empereur, Paris, 1864) as follows:
‘125 Bel Armet allemand de même époque et de même construction que le précédent. Richement orné de bandes dorées et gravées avec la plus grande finesse. Décoration repoussée et gravée. Le ventail et le nasal sont criblés d' ouvertttres... Provient de la collection Soltykoff.’

A30 is the only piece from the Emperor's collection which the Musée de l' Armée in Paris does not today possess, corroborating de Belleval's anecdote.

The left greave and sabaton belonging to this armour are now in the Royal Armouries, Leeds (inv. no. III.851). These have suffered considerably from rough treatment, presumably after the armour left its original home early in the 19th century. The right greave and sabaton are now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (inv. no. C1612), ex- Carrand collection. The right gauntlet was discovered in Frydlant Castle in the Czech Republic in 2010 (inv. no. 2359, F1619).

Its wonderful quality shows that this armour must have been built for someone of great distinction. It exhibits close technical and decorative similarities to other armours made in the Helmschmid workshop in the 1520s, including those now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. no. 29.150.3b–p; dated 1524; Wallace Collection A165 probably belongs to this armour, which now lacks its helmet) and Turin (inv. no. B2, traditionally associated with Wilhelm von Boxberg of Nuremberg). This armour may have been commissioned by the Emperor as a gift for a relative, perhaps his younger brother, the future Emperor Ferdinand I. Ferdinand became King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia in 1527 and, slightly later, fought alongside the Emperor in the tournament celebrating his enfeoffment with the Austrian hereditary lands at Augsburg in 1530; this event is depicted in a monumental print made by Jörg Breu the Elder in 1536 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, H7379).

It seems possible that the helmet now on A30 was exchanged by the comte de Nieuwerkerke with the Emperor rather than being a present from him. The sixth plate prepared by Edouard de Beaumont to illustrate the abortive catalogue of the count's collection shows a close-helmet now in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. no. H.104). It had previously apparently been in the collection of Frédéric Spitzer, and is illustrated in L' Art Ancien, no. 368, which shows part of the arms and armour exhibited by Spitzer in the Musée Rétrospectif of 1865. Although the meagre catalogue entries for this exhibition make identification difficult, this helmet was probably described under no. 1791. (Norman, J.A.A.S., VII, PI. XLVI, A). The field helmet now in Paris belongs to a garniture made by Anton Peffenhauser for Stefano Doria and etched by Jörg Sorg in 1551. The left field arm, left pauldron for the tilt, two gussets from the breastplate, and the round target are in the Armeria Reale, Turin (respectively nos. C115, C116, C117, and F43; see Hayward, Bolletino della Società Piemontese di Archeologia e di Belle Arti, N.S., An.II, pp. 62-4; Becher, Gamber and Irtenkauf, 1980, fol. 14v). The breastplate for the field, long tassets terminating in poleyns, a pair of gauntlets, and a left greave originally apparently terminating at the ankle, all parts of this same garniture, are now in the Worcester Art Museum (ex.- John Woodman Higgins Armory; 1961 cat. no. 423). A31|1|1|A31 COMPOSITE ARMOUR

Made up of authentic parts made in North and South Germany, variously dating from c. 1530-40, with diverse modern restorations.

During the nineteenth century, Renaissance armour became hugely fashionable amongst collectors. This trend produced an enormous demand for complete armours, one that greatly outstripped the number of entirely authentic and homogeneous examples available. Dealers in antique arms therefore often constructed full armours using heterogeneous fragments acquired from different sources, often combining them with newly made restorations. For the collector who wished to decorate his study or drawing room with armoured figures, complete authenticity was often not so important.

This armour is one such modern composition. It would never have been worn as now composed, indeed it probably did not exist in its current form until c. 1850-60. While some of its pieces were made in the nineteenth century when it was put together, a number of the elements of this armour are of exceptional quality and historical importance, originating from both northern and southern Germany.

Germany had been one of the greatest European centres for the production of armour since the early Middle Ages, with Augsburg, Nuremberg, Landshut and Innsbruck, all in the south, being its four great armour-making cities. In North Germany, Brunswick and Cologne were also home to many skilled armourers.

The South German parts of this intriguing composite are the helmet, gauntlets and breastplate. The last was made in Augsburg, and carries a mark from the workshop of the Helmschmids, perhaps the greatest armourer family of all time. The close-helmet and gauntlets were made in Landshut, which in the 1530s was rapidly becoming Augburg’s foremost competitor.

The unknown dealer into whose possession these fine pieces came in the mid-nineteenth century combined them with various north German parts, including the left elbow, the shoulder defenses, backplate and upper legs. It was also necessary to have new pieces made up, since all of the original elements still did not make up a complete armour.

In this way this armour not only preserves a number of very significant fragments, it also embodies a fascinating story of how such pieces continued to be altered and arranged long after their working lifetimes were over.

The armour is comprised of:

CLOSE HELMET: the SKULL pierced with a pair of holes on either side of the comb and two sets of four at the back (the latter fitted with eyelets of soft metal, three of which are missing on the left side), the lower edge (bordered with steel rivets for the lining strap) is hollowed and roped to fit over the top plate of the gorget, and a plume-holder is fixed at the back; a loose-pin projects from the rim at the back; heavy VISOR, with two horizontal sights, strongly flanged to fit into the upper bevor where it is secured by a spring-catch, operated by pulling a large spiral knob. This knob inaccurately fills the hole intended for the bolt for attaching a reinforce. Upper BEVOR (or lower visor), pierced with thirteen holes on the left side and six oblique keyhole-slits on the right for ventilation; it is fitted with a fluted knob for raising, and is fastened on the right side to the chin-piece, or lower bevor, with a spring-catch, added later. The original catch was a bolt acting horizontally as on A 188. There is a small aperture for locking the bevor into position, but no corresponding catch remains; the LOWER BEVOR is pivoted at the same points as the visor and is secured to the skull on the right side with a combined spring-catch and hook-and-eye fastening; pierced on either side with a set of seven holes for hearing; the lower edge, like that of the skull, hollowed and roped. The comb, visor and skull have been heavily marked by blows on the left side. The large spiral knob projecting from the right side of the visor Made in Landshut, c. 1535-40; the gauntlets (see below) appear to have once belonged to the same armour (now otherwise lost) as the helmet. Compare with the armet and gauntlets from Hohenaschau, A164 with A264-5, made by Wolfgang Grosschedel in Landshut around the same time.

GORGET of one main plate and three collar plates (front and back). The top edge turned over and heavily roped, the lower lame fastened on the right shoulder with a key-hole slot, the sprockets for the pauldrons are hinged and threaded to take a rosette-headed nut, the lower edge turned under and roped. Made in North Germany, perhaps Brunswick, c. 1540.

BREASTPLATE of a deep, globose form, heavily roped at the top and with roped gussets working on sliding rivets (two of the latter are fitted with star-shaped washers); hinged lance-rest (modern), V-shaped in section; each side is pierced with three holes for corresponding studs on the backplate. These do not exist on the backplate which does not belong to the breast; at the centre there is a hole with an internal thread, possibly for screwing on a reinforcing piece for the joust or free tourney; compare, for instance, the armour believed to be for the future Emperor Ferdinand I, at Vienna, attributed to Kolman Helmschmid, of about 1526 (Imperial Armoury A349). The flanged lame at the base is modern; two buckles for the shoulder straps. The three bands of etching are sunk and accompanied by single flutes; in the central band are prominently etched a pair of close-set wings. There are considerable traces of gilding on the etched decoration; on each side of the central band at the top are the marks of Lorenz Helmschmied, and the Augsburg guild mark. However, this piece can be dated to the 1530s on the basis of comparison to a reinforcing breastplate made in Augsburg and dated 1536 (Philadelphia Museum of Art, inv. no. 1977-167-252), the etched decoration of which is closely similar (personal communication, Pierre Terjanian, 2010). Lorenz Helmschmid was therefore dead when the Wallace breastplate was made, suggesting that one of his sons, perhaps Timotheus (d. c. 1532) or Briccius (d. 1529), or another younger member of the family, had adopted Lorenz’s mark after his death in 1515. The small size of this breastplate contributes to the odd proportions of the present composition, which also incorporates other armour parts made for much larger people. The breastplate, including its gussets, was originally fully lined. Made in the Helmschmid workshop, Augsburg, c. 1530-5.

FRONT CUIRASS SKIRT of four lames (these do not belong to the breastplate). The etched bands are much worn, the etched border is generally similar to those on the associated tassets. North German, c. 1540.

TASSETS each of one plate, the lower edge pointed and roped; they are each embossed with a large fleur-de-lys, and are fastened to the skirt with hinged metal straps. Compare the fleur-de-lys on the tassets of an armour (inv. no. 54) in the Musée de l 'Armée, Paris. North German, c. 1540.

BACKPLATE of larger size than the breastplate, to which it does not belong. It is decorated like the gorget, arms and cuisses in the Brunswick style with bands of foliage, including nude figures, that on the right being Mercury; scaled shoulder-straps of five pieces; the lower edge is flanged to receive the rear skirt. North German, c. 1540.

REAR SKIRT of one plate (modern), etched to match it with the backplate.

PAULDRONS consisting of five plates, the upper edge of the topmost one shaped to the neck in a swinging curve, a main plate extending over the shoulders, and three lames on the upper arms. The right pauldron is cut away in front to facilitate the couching of the lance, the opening being protected by an associated BESAGEW furnished with an acorn-tipped spike (this does not belong to the pauldron). Both have two projecting screws, or sprockets, for attachment of the missing haute-pieces. Compare the neck-guard on A33. North German, c. 1540.

VAMBRACES, each upper cannon is fitted with a turning joint, while the couters made each made in one piece, of large size, not etched at the back, but embossed along the centre with a scale ornament; lower cannons of two lames, hinged and fastening over a stud. Only the left couter is original; the right is an inferior modern copy created to make up a pair, probably made by the same craftsmen responsible for the rear skirt. The upper and lower cannons are of different sized and shapes, and thus are not pairs either. North German c. 1540.

GAUNTLETS with short cuffs, hinged and fastening with a hook-and-eye; they are decorated with sunk bands of etched ornament like the helmet, have six metacarpal plates and three on the underside for the protection of the wrist (on the right gauntlet these are restorations); roped knuckle-guard and scaled fingers, the leather lining for the fingers on the right gauntlet appears to be contemporary. The cuff of the left gauntlet is fitted with a stout projecting screw for the attachment of a reinforcing plate. The thumb plates of both are modern restorations. The gauntlets appear to match the helmet (see above) in their decoration, workmanship, and technical details such as the threaded cylinders provided for the attachment of lost reinforces. Made in Landshut, c. 1535-40.

CUISSES of long, elegant form, built of three lames, the two upper working on sliding rivets, the main plate sloped obliquely at the top and embossed to form a strong stop-ridge. Compare the build of the cuisses on armours formerly at Blankenburg (Bohlmann, Z.H.W.K. VI, pp. 335, 358, fig. 12), and Musée de l' Armée, Paris, nos. G 52 and G 54. Certain motifs in the etched decoration correspond with a jousting armour in the Copenhagen Tøjhusmuseet. POLEYNS of three plates with side-wings. North German, c. 1540.
Compare the etching on the Duke of Brunswick's armour (exh. Tower of London, 1952, no. 8), and for the narrow, vermiform bands, Wallace Collection A32.

GREAVES, very slender and of unusual length, fastening at the top over studs and with hooks-and-eyes at the bottom; there are two holes for these on the left greave and three on the right, the third hole having been added in consequence of a change in the position of the stud. The etching here is much worn. The etched decoration on each greave does not match the other, nor does the length, indicating that they are not a pair. North German c. 1540.

SABATONS of nine lames widening towards the toes which are very broad, the last lame embossed with a fleur-de-lys corresponding to those on the tassets. On the left sabaton, the last five toe-plates are modern; on the right a metal band remains beneath the toe-cap enclosing the toes, to which the lining was sewn. Not a pair. North German c. 1540.

SPURS with necks of diamond section and rowels of eight points (modern)

Laking, European Armour III, pp. 273-5, fig. 1049; Capwell 2011, pp. 88-9.

The build and etched decoration on the gorget, pauldrons, arms, backplate, front skirt, tassets and cuisses all match. The original breastplate would have had V-shaped sunk borders like those on the backplate, and its appearance can be gathered from that on a very similar armour at Paris, no. G 54. The bands of lively etched foliage involving human figures in the larger areas, closely resemble those on the armours made for the Duke of Brunswick. All these parts are decorated with sunken bands finely etched with a spirited design of winged masks, grotesque figures and birds, human heads, scrolls and foliage on a granulated ground, the etched borders being accompanied with narrower bands of undulating or vermiform riband (cf. no. A32). The etching on the cuisses is stronger than on other parts and may have been reworked.

The present globose breastplate is the only part to bear the Helmschmid and Augsburg mark, and is rather earlier in date. It has been made to fit the front skirt by the insertion of a modern waist-plate. Similar marks of the Helmschmied family (not necessarily Lorenz) occur on armours at Bern (no. 81); Vienna (Böheim, Führer, no. 1005); and in the Musée de l' Armée (G 536). Compare the breast (though later) of the armour of King Philip II of Spain at Vienna (Gamber and Thomas II, 12, c. 1546), and his tonlet armour at Madrid (A189), by Desiderius Helmschmied. A32|1|1|A32 PARTS OF A FIELD ARMOUR
Consisting of:

BREASTPLATE, short-waisted, globose, with central ridge and flanged and roped upper edge and gussets, hinged lance-rest, two shoulder buckles and a staple to hold a fixed buff (see A195 and A196) in the centre near the neck. The breastplate was not originally intended to have a lance-rest. Two of the bosses beneath it have had to be hammered flat to allow the base-plate to lie flush on the breastplate. The present lance-rest is an associated German example, made c. 1520. The V-shaped frieze along the top and the borders of the armpits are decorated with round bosses. The broad band of etching down the middle contains a male and female satyr confronting each other and terminating in foliage, and below them two dolphins affronted. A waist-plate with notched upper edge is riveted to the lower edge of the breastplate, from which hangs the FRONT SKIRT of two plates, the edges shaped and bevelled and the lower edge turned over and roped, indicating that it could be worn without the tassets if desired. The longitudinal etched bands have been continued down onto the skirt from the breastplate.

TASSETS of nine lames attached by buckles and straps, the edges notched and bevelled, the lowest one in each case turned over to a hollow section and roped. The etched borders are decorated with bosses like the rest. These, being long, would not be worn with the leg-harness.

Large BACKPLATE, with a REAR SKIRT of two plates, all decorated to match the front plates.

SPAUDLERS of five lames, etched and shaped to match the rest.

COUTERS, each made in one piece, heart-shaped in outline, the borders with round bosses, and bands of roping along the cubitus. The upper and lower cannons of the vambraces are missing.

BESAGEW, circular. Meyrick mentions two (see below), but only one is now present. It has a spike ending in an acorn in the centre.

Parts now disassociated:
GREAVES shaped to the leg, the front and back portions hinged internally, the outer sides fastened by hooks-and-eyes. There is in each case an alternative hole for adjustment. There is a hook at the back to take the strap of the poleyn, the bottom edges are turned under and roped.

SABATONS of ten lames, four overlapping downwards and five, including the toe-cap, upwards; etched with narrow bands of scrolled foliage incorporating monsters at the toes. Cuisses and poleyns are absent.

DECORATION
The matching homogeneous parts (cuirass, tassets, spaudlers, besagew and couters) are decorated with broad bands of etching enhanced by sunken borders and rows of embossed knobs about 0.625 inches (16 mm) in diameter. The sunken bands have V-shaped indentations on waist, back and tassets, and are bordered with narrow bands filled with small undulating ribands. The etching of the broad bands includes lion's masks, monsters, rosettes, shields, floral scrolls, etc., on a granular ground.
Skelton I, pI. XXI; Mann, Proceedings of British Academy, XXVII (1942), pI. XII.

North German (perhaps Brunswick), c. 1540
Provenance: Ernst, Duke of Brunswick; Sir S. R. Meyrick.

Meyrick stated that this armour had belonged to Ernest the Pious, Duke of Brunswick, and its style and decoration show that the tradition is well-founded. The Prince of Hanover still possesses a considerable number of harnesses etched in the same manner (See the Duke of Brunswick exhibition, Tower of London, 1952-4), formerly kept in his castle of Blankenburg in the Harz, and since 1945 at Marienburg, near Hanover (described by Bohlmann in Z.H.W.K., VI, pp. 335-8). The narrow bands of undulating ribands and the embossed knobs are typical. The workmanship resembles the armour of Joachim of Brandenburg, in the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, which is ascribed to Peter von Speyer of Annaberg, court armourer to the Elector of Saxony. It bears the initials P.V.S. There are numerous armours of the same group in existence, for example another once in the Meyrick Collection (Skelton, pl. XXIII) and now in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch cat. no. 13; the same collection also includes two North German wedding armours, Kienbusch cat. nos. 24 and 25); one in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II.29); one in the Musée de l' Armée (G 52); and one at Windsor Castle (Laking, pl. 14, no. 111, who incorrectly refuted the Brunswick tradition). This last example is dated 1563; in the MS. catalogue of the Prince Regent's armoury at Carlton House (Royal Archives, Windsor) this is no. 1989 and is described as being 'sent from the Free Mason's Lodge at Hanover'. It was delivered on 10 October 1820. None of these armours bears a city guild mark, which suggests that they were made in a court workshop where guild control did not apply. The close-helmet A168 is also a Brunswick piece, but a little later in date.

Exhibited: South Kensington, 1869, no. 270 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 344, no. 10). A33|1|1|A33 COMPOSITE FIELD ARMOUR

Of bright steel decorated with bands of embossed scales, the edges doubly roped (a plain strand entwined with one decorated with notching) or cut into indentations. This armour has undergone much restoration, and has been completed in its current form through the addition of associated elements, including the helmet and the breast- and backplates.

The edges of all the parts except the breast, back, gauntlets, and legs are roped with alternating plain and scaly bands. The edges of the gauntlets on the other hand are finely roped.

Composed of:

HELMET of burgonet type, associated. This piece was originally a close-helmet; its face-opening has been cut out and enlarged at a later date, while its face-plate (now removed and in store), made in the 17th-century style, is probably 19th-century. The SKULL is crossed with four ridges of overlapping, pointed scales, meeting in a fluted finial at the apex; within each segment formed by these ridges is embossed a broad heart. It is pierced with numerous pairs of holes for sewing in the lining, the lower edge is hollowed and roped to fit the top plate of the gorget: flanged PEAK, or FALL, associated, with turned-under and roped edge, pivoted at each side to the skull; the CHIN-PIECE, or lower bevor, pivoted at the same points as the fall and with hollowed lower edge, is furnished with a hook to secure the visor (missing), and a pierced stud to engage the hook on the skull; the helmet shows numerous repairs.

GORGET of four plates, back and front, with an additional lame on either shoulder; the upper edge of the neck is turned over and worked to a thick roping; the shoulder plates, main backplate and one neck-lame are restorations; a steel buckle and sprocket-pin on either side for the pauldrons.

BREASTPLATE of globose forms with pronounced central ridge; the upper edge and gussets strongly ridged and roped, the neck and armholes bordered by V-shaped channels (see also A36); at the base is a lame flanged to receive the front skirt; folding lance-rest, associated; the interior has been coated with yellow paint.

FRONT SKIRT of two lames (the lower one made in the 19th century), and TASSETS (associated and probably modern) of six on the left side and five on the right, with notched edges.

BACKPLATE composed of three plates, a main one and two small ones, riveted on at each side; coated inside with yellow paint like the breastplate.

REAR SKIRT of two lames and an upper flanged one to receive the backplate. Entirely 19th-century.

PAULDRONS each of six plates, the largest one spreading over the back; the left pauldron is fitted with an upright shoulder-guard (haute-piece) riveted on, possibly a restoration, the right one is cut away in front to facilitate the couching of the lance and provided with a BESAGEW, also a restoration.

VAMBRACES; the upper cannons of three lames and a turning-joint; couters made in one piece with the central ridge embossed with a double band of scale ornament; hinged lower cannons (both are for the right arm), the under lame of the right is a restoration; rectangular staples on the underside of the upper lames for the pauldron straps.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS with short hinged cuffs, five metacarpal plates, roped knuckle-guard, five finger lames and scaled thumb-piece.

Short CUISSES of a single plate; POLEYNS of five plates with side-wings, the lower one pierced with two key-hole slots for the turning-pins on the greaves; hinged GREAVES fastening at the top and bottom with a stud; square-toed SABATONS of eight lames; both greaves and sabatons are restorations.

German, c. 1540, with diverse restorations and associations.

Provenance: E. Juste? (Une armure complète à chevrons en relief, 3,500 fr.; receipted bill, 3 April, 1868). The description can apply to no other armour in the Wallace Collection except A43, which came from the armoury of Sir S. R. Meyrick; Comte de Nieuwerkerke (?)

For the use of overlapping scales as a border ornament compare the 'Giant' armour in the Royal Armouries, inv. no. II.22. A comparable armour in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch cat. no. 9, pI. IX) came from the Radziwill armoury and is ascribed to Nikolaus 'the Black' Radziwill (1515-65). It appears to be made up of parts of three similar armours. A34|1|1|A34 COMPOSITE ARMOUR

This highly composite assembly incorporates original South German elements made in Landshut and Augsburg, for both war and tournament. These are combined with diverse 19th-century reworkings of old plates and complete restorations.

Comprised of, in two distinct stylistic groups:

‘Running-Vine’ Group

CLOSE-HELMET, heavily restored. The SKULL, with a gently roped comb, appears to be an original Landshut piece belonging to the ‘running-vine’ series (see below), although it has been repaired and the etched decoration appears to have been refreshed in places. The VISOR is formed of two parts, the visor proper, which incorporates the sights, and upper bevor, which both are pivoted from the same points as the chin-piece or lower bevor. The visor proper extends up over the front of the skull and is entirely a 19th-century concoction, bearing little resemblance to any genuine example; the etching is quite unlike that found on the original elements of this armour, although it expresses an attempt at copying. The UPPER BEVOR, or face-guard, and the LOWER BEVOR, or chin-piece, both appear to be original plates, once plain and belonging to a larger helmet, which have been reshaped in an attempt to fit them to the smaller skull, and etched to match, but in a different hand and technique than the etching on the upper visor. The upper bevor was cut with three inauthentic breath slots on the right side, almost certainly in the 19th century is pierced with three slits for breaths on the right side. The upper bevor can be locked down to the lower by means of a spring-catch on the right. The lower bevor is acutely pointed over the chin and finished at the neck with a circular roped flange which fits over the gorget.

GORGET of two main plates, front and back, and collar of two lames, the uppermost of which has a circular roped rim to carry the helmet. Marked on the top rear lame with a large capital S. The right side exhibits an original 16th-century alteration, slightly enlarging the circumference of the top of the collar by means of short extensions to the leading edge of the rear plate and the trailing edge of the front plate. On the latter, the roping has been continued beyond the edge to overlap with the rear extension, which lacks a turned edge.

BREASTPLATE, for the joust, with central ridge sharply projecting in the lower part. There are faint traces of a mark on each side of the middle strapwork band; that on the right could be the top part of the letter W – the mark of Wolfgang Grosschedel of Landshut, while that on the left appears to be the top part of the war hat mark of that town. The breastplate is pierced with three holes in each side near the top for the attachment of the neck plate of a jousting helmet (see A46, where the breastplate, bearing the same maker’s marks, has originally had similar holes but they have been filled in, probably in the 16th century). A lance-rest is bolted to the right side. At the top of each side is a hinged shoulder strap of steel, pierced with three circular holes, for fastening to the backplate.

FRONT SKIRT of one thick plate, also for the joust and probably original to the breastplate. The articulated TASSETS are inaccurate restorations, possibly made of old metal, of six broad lames, the borders roped. This type of jousting breastplate originally would have been fitted with heavy one-piece tassets attached with straps and buckles.

BACKPLATE, moulded gracefully to the body. Substantial changes have been made to this piece, with the sides and lower portion being separate plates skilfully attached to the middle piece of the backplate with flush joins. Strangely, while the appearance of the etching on the side-plates and lower area is good and apparently original, that on the main plate appears to have been refreshed or re-etched. The pattern is correct, but the granulated background is oddly faint, and unlike that on the surrounding plates.

PAULDRONS, for the joust, each consisting of three shoulder plates and four upper arm articulations; cut-away in front to maintain mobility under the jousting reinforces, but also incorporating solid rear wings to protect the back in the event of a fall.

BESAGEWS, circular with typical roped edges, not a pair. While the etched decoration of the left, though very worn, appears consistent with the ‘Running-Vine’ pattern, the right is entirely different, involving five very narrow concentric rings of ornament, filled variously with stylised undulating clouds, scrolls, and slanted bars. The right besagew comes from a garniture formerly at Vienna, the main portions of which are now in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, (inv. nos. G48 and G49; the close- helmet for the field is now on G57). The left gauntlet (manifer) for the German joust at the tilt and two vamplates are still at Vienna (Imperial Armory, KHM, inv. nos. B128 and A1190 a-b). The demi-shaffron is now in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin (inv. no. G51.3819).

GAUNTLETS, with pointed cuffs, six metacarpal lames, two knuckle-plates, and sets of scale-plates for the fingers. Each thumb assembly is attached to the corresponding metacarpal plate by means of an internal leather. The cuffs are contracted by a ‘shoulder’ on the ventral surface (to accommodate the edge of the lower cannon of the vambrace), which is decorated with a small panel of etching. Compare the similar ‘shoulders’ on gauntlets A272 and A264-5. The left gauntlet is a restoration. A third field-type GAUNTLET (A269) and a MANIFER (A281) are both comparable to this armour; both are decorated with similar etched bands, however the ornament within these bands combines the twisting foliage or running vines with trophies of arms (see below).

Full SHAFFRON, consisting of a main portion covering the upper part of the horse's head; two upright ear-pieces are attached by rivets and a pair of cheek-plates hinged at the sides. At the top is a hinged poll-plate. There are pairs of holes with brass-rosetted washers for laces on all parts; on the forehead is fixed an escutcheon etched with a pelican in her piety.

SADDLE with steels. Although the steels are original, the saddle itself is a later reconstruction, probably made in the 19th century. The bow is protected by centre- and side-plates, that on the off-side being narrower and scooped out forming an angular projection, designed to support the lance when carried with the butt held between the rider’s thigh and the saddle. The cantle is armoured with two plates shaped to a sharp angular curve on each side and roped like the bow. The saddle is covered with old crimson velvet with fringed edges quilted in strips, and with two small bolsters (too small to be functional); the flaps have been relined with modern leather.

The decoration of all the above parts of the ‘Running-Vine’ Group consists of borders and bands containing flowing foliage on a granulated ground of a standard pattern frequently found on armour made in Landshut in the mid-sixteenth century. The etching has been considerably refreshed in many places, although it remains untouched in others, on the saddle and shaffron for example.

‘Birds and Trophies’ Group

VAMBRACES, each comprised of an upper cannon with turning joint, articulated couter, and enclosed lower cannon, fastened by hook-and-eye. The heart-shaped couter wings have been stamped with the fir-cone mark of Augsburg. The borders of the wings have notched roping. The inner arm is protected by articulated plate ‘voiders’ of seventeen lames on the left and eighteen on the right; the inner plate of the lower cannon has been cut slightly lower than the left, to accommodate the extra voider plate, giving slightly better mobility to the right arm. Both inner cuff-plates of the lower cannons, are around half the usual length.

CUISSES, with fairly standard roped edges, each comprised of a single thigh plate, a main winged poleyn plate, with one knee articulation lame above and two below, the lowermost extended slightly to form a short demi-greave.

GREAVES, each front and rear plate fastened together with two hinges on the lateral or outer surface and two sprung studs on the medial or inner surface; each leg has three articulated lames at the ankle, to which are attached the integrated SABATONS, which open down the side on hinges and are fastened with a hooks-and-eyes on the other side; the upper part of the foot is covered by nine articulated plates including the toe-cap, which is blunt and slightly rounded. A central stud and two side-staples are provided on the back of each heel-plate for removable (and now lost) spurs.

The etching on the arms and legs, quite different in design and style from those in the first group described above, is placed in sunken bands and takes the form of boldly drawn drums and trophies of arms on a granulated ground, and foliage including birds of prey on the cuisses and knees, carried out in a vigorous manner. The brass-headed rivets found throughout these pieces are mostly modern.

Their distinct and different ornament clearly indicates that the vambraces and leg armour belong to some other armour, but it should be noted that on the comparable manifer A281, and on the third Landshut field-type gauntlet of this style (A269), elements of both of these forms of decoration (running vines and drums, trophies and birds) are combined on alternating bands on the same piece.

South German, Landshut (Running-Vine Group) and Augsburg (Birds and Trophies Group), c. 1545-60.

J. G. Mann, Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. XXVII, 1941.

A very similar etched armour is in the Imperial Armoury in Vienna; another, with the same type of breastplate, is in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (Lenz, p. 299, no. I, 79; Gille and Rockstuhl, pl. CLXIX). Three similar armours are in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. nos. G66, G67, G68); also, compare another (G63) though in this case the resemblance is not so marked; and also several detached pieces. In these instances, the holes in the upper part of the breastplate are used for bolting the lower part of the jousting helmet to the chest. There is also in the Musée de l' Armée a demi-shaffron (G596), the escutcheon of which is also etched with a pelican, and another is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv no. 14.25.1659); in the case of the New York example, the decoration matches the Wallace manifer (A34.17) and third field gauntlet (A269), combining the running vines with weapons and musical instruments.

Compare the decoration on various armours at Churburg Castle (inv. nos. 119-21, 123-5); a jousting armour of Prince Philip of Spain now in the Musée de l’Armée, Brussels (inv. no. H/24 -II/41-); another in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (inv. no. 2570; ex-Hefner-Alteneck); an armour in the R. L. Scott Collection, Glasgow Museums (E.1939.65.r); and a breastplate formerly in the Hearst Collection, now in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II.173 C). It also occurs on an armour of Prince Philip of Spain (A231), in the Real Armeria at Madrid, which bears the marks of Wolfgang Grosschedel of Landshut). One of the two saddles of the Madrid garniture has an angular lance-support cut-out on the off-side, similar to that found on the saddle of A34.

For the ‘Running-Vine’ pattern, see J. F. Hayward, J.A.A.S., 1, pp. 40-41. The group of armours to which these pieces belong was made by Wolfgang Grosschedel c. 1550- 60, some or all possibly for the great tournament held by Emperor Ferdinand I at Vienna in 1560.

The vambraces, which bear the Augsburg mark, are also from a garniture originally at Vienna. A vamplate is still in the Imperial Armoury (inv. no. A1042). The presence of voiders of plate protecting the inner arm suggests that they were intended for tournament combat on foot (Fussturnier). A complete armour made up of parts of this ‘trophies’ garniture is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. G69).

The Augsburg portions may have been made to extend these Landshut garnitures for re-use at the Imperial tournament held at Graz in 1571 to celebrate the wedding of Charles II, Archduke of Styria (1540-90), and Maria of Bavaria (B. Thomas, personal communication 1964).

Exhibition catalogue, Landshuter Plattnerkunst, Landshut 1975, pI. 52.

A biography of Wolfgang Grosschedel by A. von Reitzenstein will be found in his ‘Die Landshuter Plattner Wolfgang und Franz Grosschedel’, Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, V 1954, pp. 142-53; see also the same writer's ‘Die Landshuter Plattner, ihre Ordnung und ihre Meister', Waffen und Kostümkunde, XI, 1969, pp. 27-8.

The first certain reference to Wolfgang Grosschedel is in 1521 when he became a citizen of Landshut. He is believed, however, to be the same person as the ‘Wolfe Grechedyll’ employed in 1517/8 at the Royal Workshop at Greenwich. In 1549 he is recorded as owning the house in the New Town of Landshut, in which his son Franz later lived. He made several armours for the future King Philip II of Spain, including the so-called ‘Burgundy Cross garniture’, apparently in 1551 (Real Armeria, Madrid, inv. nos. A263-73). In 1555 he was appointed guardian of the orphaned children of the armourer Sigmund Wolf. In the same year his son Franz received payment from Spain for his father's work, presumably the so-called 'Cloud-Bands Garniture', made for Prince Philip the previous year (Real Armeria, Madrid, inv. nos. 243-62, see A228). He made another, smaller ‘Cloud-Bands’ garniture for Prince Don Carlos, Philip's son, apparently in 1558 (Real Armeria, Madrid, Inv. nos. A274-6). The great series of complementary garnitures, to which the Landshut parts of A34 belong, were probably delivered in 1560 for the use of the Emperor and his teammates in the Vienna Tournament of that year. Grosschedel paid tax for the last time in 1562, and presumably died shortly afterwards. (Von Reitzenstein, 1954, pp. 145-7.) A35|1|1|A35 COMPOSITE FIELD ARMOUR

Plain and polished with little decoration apart from bracket filework at the top edges of the articulation lames, and very narrow borders, defined by pairs of fine ribs, set inward of the roped edges of the pauldrons, vambraces, and gauntlets; generally similar narrow borders are present on the cuirass and tassets, however they are formed in a slightly different way, with the borders drawn out into long points along the midlines of the pieces, and also at the convergence with the ridges at the sides of the breastplate, backplate and skirt plates. The difference in the treatment of the borders indicates a composition employing elements from two different armours, one made in Innsbruck, c. 1545 (gorget, pauldrons, vambraces, gauntlets) and another from North Germany, perhaps Brunswick, c. 1555 (cuirass and tassets).

Comprised of:

GORGET of four plates, front and back, hinged and fastened by a keyhole slot and studs; the neck is turned over and decorated with close-set roping; the lower lame bears an armourer's mark, crossed by three transverse lines in relief arranged like radii. There is a square steel loop on either side for the pauldrons.

BREASTPLATE of solid construction with central ridge, the surface boxed into four planes; the upper edges and gussets are strongly ridged and roped, the edges near the buckles for the shoulder straps are serrated; in the centre a strong staple for securing a deep buff; at the top there is a series mark – a group of four punched dots. The lower edge is flanged to receive the SKIRT, of a single lame with roped edge, recalling other North German work (see for example A32), and is furnished with four straps for the tassets. On the breastplate only, the narrow border is formed of engraved lines only, without embossing or recessing.

TASSETS of seven lames, the upper with two buckles the lower having its bottom edge boldly hollowed and roped. The right tasset carries a series mark on the uppermost lame, comprised of two punched dots. The left tasset is a well-executed restoration.

BACKPLATE slightly moulded for the shoulder blades and boxed, like the breastplate, into four planes; the upper edges slightly roped, the lower flanged to receive the REAR SKIRT of a single lame; a series mark of four dots (matching that on the breastplate) is present near the upper edge of the backplate, just to the left of the midline.

PAULDRONS of five plates, the principal one in each case extending over the back and front, the upper lame of each furnished with a steel loop and buckle, the lower lame slotted to receive the end of the upper arm-strap.

VAMBRACES consisting of upper cannons, each composed of four lames, incorporating a turning-joint with articulations at the top of the arm; bracelet couters; hinged lower cannons, the upper rear edges extend upwards over the elbows. The lower lame on each is slotted and embossed on the underside to receive the end of the connecting strap.

MITTEN GAUNTLETS, each with a short cuff, five metacarpal plates, roped knuckle-guard and five finger-plates; scaled thumb-piece. Not originally a pair; the left has been altered and its cuff is entirely 19th-century. The right cuff carried a series mark of three punched dots in a row.

Innsbruck, c. 1545 and North Germany (possibly Brunswick), c. 1555.

Exhibited with this armour, but not belonging to it, is the burgonet A90.

Compare the narrow borders on the Innsbruck parts of this armour with those present on an armour made for the future Emperor Ferdinand I by Jörg Seusenhofer in Innsbruck in 1537 (Imperial Armoury, KHM Vienna, inv. no. A472). In contrast, the cuirass of A35 recalls that of the North German armour made in Brunswick c. 1555 for Johann Reuber, Freiherr von Pixendorf, also now in Vienna (inv. no. A1212). This armour also employs only engraved lines for the borders on the breastplate, while those on the tassets and other parts are recessed and embossed. Furthermore, the Pixendorf armour also includes a stout vertical staple just below the upper edge of the breastplate, placed on the midline; unlike A35 however, at Vienna the armour retains its original buff and attached locking-pin, hung on a narrow armoured retaining strap; see Thomas, Gesammelte Schriften, II, 1977, pl. 128). A36|1|1|A36 FIELD ARMOUR

White with sunken bands with V-shaped cusps and incised lines, the backplate doubly fluted, roped edges, and steel rivets.

Composed of:

CLOSED BURGONET, associated, having a faceted, four-sided SKULL with a very sharply pointed ogival apex; three pairs of small holes on the ridge for the lining; PEAK, or FALL, pivoted at the sides, edge turned-under and roped; FALLING BUFF, incorporating a visor with two horizontal sights; attached to the forehead of the skull by a hook securing a spring-catch with pierced stud; the visor and the middle lame immediately below it are supported on spring-catches, and both plates are pierced on the right side with oblique ventilation slits, and on the left with breath holes grouped in threes; below these, the CHIN-PIECE, or lower bevor, is pivoted at the same points as the peak and fastened to the skull by a spring-catch; two gorget plates (front and back) of two lames, the lower edges turned under and roped; those in front and one of the back ones are restorations.

GORGET, made up of front and rear assemblies, each of three plates, the edges shaped and bevelled. The main plates front and back, are each decorated with a strongly cusped, sunken band. The gorget fastens at the right side with a capped pin which locks into a keyhole slot; the upper edge of the top lame is turned over to a hollow roping; the lower lame is stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark and fitted with two hinged sprockets for attachment of the spaudlers, and bordered with round-headed rivets for the lining; the sides of the gorget have been extended with upper shoulder defences comprised of two escalloped lames, the outer edges roped; the borders of the main plates are not roped, since they must sit under the breast- and backplates.

BREASTPLATE with central ridge and boxed at the sides, the upper edge and the edges of the sliding gussets strongly ridged and roped; lance-rest hinged to turn upwards; flanged waist-plate for the FRONT SKIRT of two lames, with shaped and bevelled edges, the lower edge turned under and roped. It has been pierced at some point after its working lifetime (the hole is modern) for the codpiece, which does not belong.

CODPIECE secured with a spring-pin. This element, though old, appears is fairly recent addition, inconsistent with the presence of a lance-rest.

TASSETS of ten lames reaching nearly to the knee. The lower six are detachable, being affixed to the upper four by means of turn-pins and keyhole-slots, allowing the armour to be worn with or without cuisses. The edges are shaped and bevelled, the lower edges of the fourth and tenth lame are turned under and roped; two buckles on each top lame for attachment to the skirt. On the interior, each lame carries file-stroke assembly marks.

BACKPLATE with flanged waist-plate and REAR SKIRT of one lame, the edges turned under, roped and inverted V-shaped edge in centre. Struck inside the left shoulder with a Roman capital N with the diagonal reversed.

SPAUDLERS of six lames, fitted with small circular BESAGEWS.

VAMBRACES, each consisting of an enclosed upper cannon with turning-joint, single-piece couter (attached to the cannons with internal leathers), and lower cannon, of two plates hinged and secured with sprung-pins in the usual way.

FINGERED GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs embossed for the ulna bone, six metacarpal plates, knuckle-plate and roped knuckle-guard, scaled fingers and thumb-piece.

This armour is stamped in seven places with the Nuremberg guild mark: on gorget, breastplate, backplate, both spaudlers and both gauntlets.

South German (Nuremberg), c. 1540-50.

For armour with the same V-shaped borders, see gorget A231, and gauntlets A267-8. Note that the form and decoration of the cuirass is comparable to the North German cuirass now forming part of A35. However, the treatment of the narrow bands (drawn into points along the midline and at the sides of breast and back) is different – here the bands on the breast are gently sunk, and then given emphasis with engraved lines, whereas the North German version of this idea is restricted to engraved lines only on the breastplate.

Provenance: probably comte de Belleval; this or a very similar armour, but with long cuffed gauntlets, is illustrated by a photograph of a line drawing inserted on p. 195 in the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’. It is, however, also said to be in the Musée d’ Artillerie, the contents of which are now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris. A37|1|1|A37 FIELD ARMOUR

Consists of:

BURGONET with a high comb and integral grim, with hinged cheek-pieces, each embossed with a pierced rosette of six petals. A small patch has been braised in the comb where it has been notched to carry a crest. Brass plume-holder at the back. The brim is pierced with a circular hole for the attachment of a buff.

GORGET with circular, roped rim, comprised of front and rear assemblies each made up of tree semi-circular neck lames and a main plate. Integral spaudlers of six lames each are attached at either side by means of internal leathers and articulated on sliding rivets and internal leathers. The associated circular BESAGEWS are each etched with a trefoil enclosing deers’ heads in the lunettes. These plates are modern additions and have been removed.

BREASTPLATE with movable gussets, central ridge projecting to a point, and embossed with a V-shaped frieze along the top. It is etched with a crucifix on the right breast, with three chalices placed below the wounds of the hands and side, a skull lies at the foot of the cross. On the left side a bearded man in armour kneels facing the crucifix, accompanied by a scroll inscribed with a prayer

W. E. G. I. D. R. G. S. H. D. G G. 1555

Ortwin Gamber (letter of 23 August 1971) suggested that the inscription on the breast might stand for

Wir-Ehren Got, In Der Rechtes Gesinnung Seines Heiligen Dienstes GeGründed.

FRONT SKIRT of two lames, to the lower of which are attached the associated TASSETS of four lames each. The tassets are an inaccurate later restoration. The original tassets would have been strapped on.

BACKPLATE, with V-shaped frieze, in the middle of the central band of etching is the date 1555 on a tablet. REAR SKIRT of one plate, embossed in the centre of the lower edge with a triangular pleat.

VAMBRACES, each composed of an upper cannon with roped turning-joint and one articulation at the top of the arm; couter with heart-shaped enclosed wing, with single articulation lames above and below the main elbow plate; lower cannon formed of two plates joined by a hinge and pin.
The associated gauntlets once mounted on this armour have been removed and renumbered as A264-5. They belong to the same armour as the armet A164.

DECORATION
The borders and bands of ornament are boldly etched with floral arabesques involving monsters and human heads on a blackened granular ground in a similar manner to saddle A409. The most important bands and borders are emphasized by being bounded by a shallow sunk channel, and are accompanied by a prominent etched leaf pattern filled in with granular stippling. The edges of the plates are turned over and roped. The rivet-heads are of iron. A feature of this armour is the small triangular slots which accommodate the ends of the straps on the lowest lames of the spaudlers and the lower cannons of the vambraces (See also for comparison Churburg Castle armour no. 100). The etching of crucifix and kneeling knight is bold and free.

Made by Michel Witz the younger of Innsbruck, dated 1555.

Mann, Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. XXVII (1941).

Collections: E. Juste (Une demi-armure gravée datée de 1555, 2,500 fr.; receipted bill, 11 January, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The leaf-shaped decorations bordering the etched bands are exactly the same as those on the armour at Graz of the Emperor Maximilian II, made for the Turkish war of 1560. In the Innsbruck exhibition, 1954, seventeen examples of Michel Witz the younger's work were shown (nos. 103-119), among them the armour, no. 97, at Churburg; those of Graf Franziskus von Castelalt and Friedrich II, Graf zu Fürstenberg at Vienna; the armour of Kaspar, Freiherr zu Völs-Schenkenberg at Graz; an example of his work in the City Historical Museum at Vienna; two at Ambras; one in the Armeria Reale at Turin; and another in the Musée de l’Armée, Brussels.

Michel Witz the younger used as his mark a large W (See for example the black and white armour made by him, now in the Royal Armouries, inv. no. II.23), but A37 and the pieces by him at Turin (E 20, C 78 and 177) are not marked in this way.

Provenance: comte de Belleval; a photograph of a line drawing of A37 is inserted on p. 192 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, annotated 'anc. collect. de l' auteur'. It is also stated to be in the Musée d' Artillerie, the contents of which are now in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris.

The armour at Graz, with which the decoration of A37 is compared, belonged to Kaspar, Freiherr zu Völs-Schenkenberg, Chamberlain of Archduke Charles II of Styria. It is dated 1560. What is probably the trellised shield for the tilt in the German fashion of this garniture is in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (Z.O. No. 3374). The demi-shaffron with an escutcheon of the owner's arms is in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore (inv. no. 51.536).

The close-helmet for the field, breastplate with associated lance-rest, and left arm in the Armeria Reale at Turin (inv. nos. E26, C78, and C177) are decorated similarly to A 37, but the form of the breastplate suggests that they belong to a slightly later armour.

Michel Witz II was an Innsbruck armourer, probably the son of the elder Michel Witz. He enrolled as a burgher in 1539, and paid tax for the last time in 1588. Apart from Völs-Schenkenberg armour mentioned above, he also made an important garniture for field, tilt, and Freiturnier for one of the Trapp family about 1530 (still in Churburg, cat. no. 97), and another for Friedrich II, Graf zu Fürstenberg, dated 1531 (Vienna, Imperial Armoury, inv. no. A 351), and a field armour for Franziscus von Castelalt (Vienna, Imperial Armoury, inv. no. A352). Witz worked for the Imperial Court only as a maker of munitions armour (see the exhibition catalogue Die Innsbrucker Plattnerkunst, 1952, pp. 79-83). For further examples of the work of Witz, see B. Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LXX, 1974, pp. 206-7. A38|1|1|A38 PARTS OF A GARNITURE FOR THE FIELD, JOUST AND TOURNAMENT

Polished bright and decorated with finely etched bands of arabesque strapwork on a black ground with roped borders, and rows of brass-headed rivets. This garniture, now dispersed, was characterised by having certain elements etched with arabesques overall, rather than contained purely within the strapwork. On the Wallace Collection elements this characteristic can be observed on the main poleyn plates and on the main knuckle-plate of the gauntlet.

Consisting of :

PAULDRONS, for the joust, of six plates, the upper three small in front and spreading behind. The right is fitted with a reinforcing piece at the front, located by means of a short stud and attached with a slotted screw, the plate of the pauldron underneath being tapped to receive it. The jousting pauldron of A59 has a similar over-plate for the lance arm. The left pauldron does not protect the front of the shoulder because it is designed to fit under a Stechtartsche bolted to the cuirass and jousting buff.
Long TASSETS with poleyns, for the field, designed to be worn in three different ways as needed. Each tasset is composed of fourteen lames, complete in themselves and capable of being worn without the poleyns or greaves; the bottom lame has its own roped edge. The removeable poleyn then attached over the lowermost tasset lame by means of a turning lock-pin and a keyhole slot. The lower half of each tasset, fitted with a strap and brass buckle for fastening around the thigh, can be detached at the fifth lame (which also has its own turned and roped edge underneath). This function allows the tassets to be shortened so that the wearer may use them in concert with separate cuisses if desired. The POLEYNS each consist of a central knee-plate articulated by one narrow lame above and two below. In this system, each tasset and poleyn assembly could be attached to its greave by means of a key-hole slot at the centre of the lower edge, in a combination variously described as Feldküriss and Fussküriss (‘field armour’ and ‘foot armour’) by the etcher Jörg Sorg in his illustrated album (see Gamber, Livrustkammaren, VII, pp. 58-9 and figs. 8 and 9). The whole of the knee-defence is covered with etched strapwork arabesques, including the heart-shaped side-wings; the lower plate fitted with a keyhole slot for attachment to the greaves. Each with a strap and brass buckle.
MITTEN GAUNTLET, for the right hand, with pointed cuff, two metacarpal plates, nine lames shaped to the fingers, the alternate ones have narrow etched borders, and a knuckle-guard is embossed to form low gadlings; thumb-piece of five scales; the leather lining glove remains. The mitten plates have been sculpted to simulate separate fingers, while the plate covering the tip of the thumb extends to envelope the whole area of the distal phalange. These features, taken together, identify this gauntlet as a specialised piece intended for the free tourney or Freiturnier.

J.F. Hayward has demonstrated that A38 comprises parts of a garniture originally in the Imperial Armoury at Vienna (J.A.A.S., I, p. 40). Unfortunately, the original owner has not yet been identified. Additional pieces still in Vienna are two vamplates, a manifer, and a shaffron (inv. nos. A925, A1118, B126, and A2259), while a pair of vambraces and pauldrons, a gorget, and a left gauntlet are now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (nos. G62 and 63).

A poll-plate from a shaffron is in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. VI.62). A demi-shaffron from the Hearst collection was sold by Fischer’s, Lucerne, on 10 May 1939, lot 57; C. O. von Kienbusch had a second demi-shaffron, lacking its poll-plate, which also came from the Hearst collection (sold Sotheby’s, 15 April 1957, lot 129, pI. III) and a close-helmet for the field with attached gorget-plates (Mantelhelm). The visor is of the type used for the joust however, and has etching of a somewhat different character to that on the remainder of the armour. This helmet was bought at Fischer’s, Lucerne, 22-26 July 1965, lot 51). Now both are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (helmet inv. no. 1977-167-106).

The complete legs for the Stechküriss are in the Museum Narodowe, Cracow (Zygulski, 1982, pl. 136). In the John Woodman Higgins Armory, Worcester, Massachusetts, there are a pair of pauldrons and vambraces, a gorget, breastplate and backplate (inv. no. 2587; S. V. Grancsay, Catalogue, 1961, pp. 64-5). The left pauldron and couter are both pierced with threaded holes for reinforces. This pauldron was therefore for use in the Freirennen, or mock joust of war in the open field, while the vambrace was intended for use in both the Freirennen and Gestech (joust of peace). The right pauldron at Worcester is shaped at the front to allow the lance to be couched, and therefore was made for the field and the Freiturnier. The right couter is not pierced for a reinforce and could be used for all combinations, although some garnitures are fitted with a reinforce on this side, apparently for use in the Freiturnier (Gamber, op. cit., p. 70, fig. 14). The breastplate has a turned edge at the neck and is pierced for a folding lance-rest. It is therefore also for the field and the Freiturnier. Holes in the top lame of the Wallace Collection tassets fit holes in the bottom edge of the Higgins breastplate almost exactly. This breast bears the mark of Wolfgang Grosschedel and the Landshut town mark. The gorget, pauldrons, and the left gauntlet in Paris are all that remain of the armour for tournament combat on foot (Norman, J.A.A.S., VII, pl. XLVII). The lowest lame of a right articulated tasset in the Musée de l’Armée (inv. no. G.Po. 12803) is also decorated with this pattern.

There is a history of widespread confusion in regard to the interpretation of strapwork decoration of armour. It has been frequently said that the type used on A38 was a standard, generic pattern found on many different armours. In fact, as Hayward realised, it is perfectly possible to distinguish between the many versions of the pattern. The pieces listed above are decorated with exactly the same design and among the surviving pieces there is no duplication to suggest that more than one garniture is involved. Note that none of the pieces referred to by Mann as being comparable to A38 – in the 1962 Wallace Collection Catalogue – actually belong to this garniture.

In the design related most closely to that on A38, the strapwork is separated from the edge of the decorated band by a figure resembling roping. Two pieces of this garniture were formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay (exhibited Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1964, no. 72); a right cuisse lacking its top two lames, and the upper cannon of the left arm lacking the couter. A backplate decorated with this design is in the Harding collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 2609). A gauntlet matching these pieces in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 cat. no. 2553), is marked on the cuff with the Augsburg town mark.

For a note on Wolfgang Grosschedel see A34. A39|1|1|A39 COMPOSITE ARMOUR

Combines certain important elements, etched and gilt with a large floral pattern and intended for several different forms of combat, made in the Augsburg workshop of Anton Peffenhauser, with various associations and restorations.

Consists of:

CLOSE-HELMET with pendant neck plates (Mantelhelm), for tournament combat on foot at the barriers. The SKULL has a sharp, graceful comb, the heavy visor built in two pieces – the VISOR proper, containing the sight and extending up over the forehead, and the lower visor or UPPER BEVOR, pierced with a rondel of ventilation holes, slots and heart-shaped cut-outs on the right side; chin-plate or LOWER BEVOR, pivoted at the same points as the visor. Pairs of neck plates are hung from the base of the helmet front and rear.

GORGET of two main plates, front and rear, with hinged sprocket pins for attachment of the pauldrons, and a collar comprised of front and rear assemblies of three lames each. Plain with no decoration, apart from basic roping along the turned top edge of the collar.

BREASTPLATE of peascod form, designed specifically for tournament foot combat at the barriers, demonstrated by its very light weight, the lack of holes for a lance-rest, and the flange plate on the right side, attached with four plain iron rivets, designed to protect the armpit from spears skating across the body. The border at the neck is strongly turned over to a square boxed section and file roped. A flange at the waist carries six straps for the tassets. Brass buckles are attached at either side of the neck opening to accept the shoulder straps mounted on the backplate.

BACKPLATE moulded to the body, with lower edge flanged and roped.

PAULDRONS formed of three large plates and three lower lames covering the upper arm.

VAMBRACES, each consisting of an upper cannon with turning-joint; bracelet couter with single articulation lames above and below the main plate; heart-shaped tendon guard passing round the inside of the joint and riveted on the inner side; lower cannon of tubular form made in two parts joined by a hinge on the inside and secured with a sprung pin on the outside.

GAUNTLETS consisting of a pointed cuff, six metacarpal lames, two knuckle-plates and thumbs and fingers of overlapping scales. All the rivets are capped with brass. Genuine but originally plain and not belonging to the original decorated parts of this armour; they have apparently been etched at a later date to match the rest.

TASSETS, each of thirteen lames extending from the waist to knee and attached by three straps and brass buckles, similar to those on the breastplate. They are detachable by means of turning-pins at the fifth and seventh lames, both of which terminate in a roped edge, allowing the tassets to be worn in three different configurations – as half-, three-quarter and complete field armours. The POLEYNS, with small heart-shaped side-wings, each comprise a main knee plate attached to the three lowest lames of the tassets and carrying two further articulation lames below; GREAVES of two parts, fastened longitudinally by brass hooks-and-eyes both inside and outside, with integral SABATONS of ten lames, riveted to the greaves and articulated four times downwards at the instep, and overlapping four times upwards from the toecaps.

DECORATION. The bright surface the of helmet, breastplate, backplate, and main plates of pauldrons, couters and poleyns is boldly etched with large volutes of foliated ornament outlined in black and filled with small floral arabesques on a gilt granulated ground.

Stamped with the Augsburg mark on the cuff of each gauntlet.

South German (Augsburg), about 1580; made in the workshop of Anton Peffenhauser (c. 1525-1603).

Perhaps the finest existing specimen of Peffenhauser's work with floral volutes is the armour for man and horse made for the Elector Christian I of Saxony (d. 1591), now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden. This royal collection once possessed a series of twelve blued half-armours for foot combat at the barriers, also by Peffenhauser, of which three remain there; three others were given away in 1610 and are now lost; the remaining six are scattered between the Hermitage, St. Petersburg; the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg; the Royal Armouries, Leeds (inv no. II.186; Dufty and Reid 1968, pls. LIV and LV); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Arsenal at Cracow. The Imperial Armoury in Vienna has armours made by Peffenhauser for the Emperor Maximilian II and Archduke Ernst of Austria. Compare Wallace Collection pauldrons A247-8, which have similar decoration of volutes on their rear wings; these belong to a garniture made between 1586 and 1591 for Elector Christian I of Saxony, the majority of the surviving parts of which remain in Dresden.

See also A44, A45, A47, A48.

The helmet, cuirass, arms, and possibly the upper section of the divisible tassets are for tournament combat on foot at the barriers, and are comparable to (but not a part of) the series of twelve armours, mentioned above, made by Peffenhauser to be presented to the Elector Christian I in 1591. The helmet, although of similar form to a field helmet, has had its visor and upper bevor locked together with a bolt as on the 1591 helmet-type, which has a wing-head bolt just in front of the visor release. It is also rather lighter than the comparable field helmets of A45 or A170: 10.4 lbs. against 12.9 lbs., and 12.375 lbs. respectively. The left pauldron is of a different form to those on the Elector’s armours, perhaps because this is an earlier armour, or simply a technical variation. Although it has been suggested that the lower three lames of the left pauldron are later replacements, thus accounting for the difference, they seem to be original. On both shoulders the decoration is confined entirely to the third lame from the top.

The full-length laminated tassets with poleyns (or articulated cuisses) could be worn without greaves, or with the present greaves, which have no method of attaching a spur, to make up an armour for combat on foot. The backs of the greaves are removable. They have two brass pins on each side which fit into holes on the front plate; the inner ones are locked by sneck-hooks. This allows an alternative plate with a spur on it to be substituted to make up the Feldküriss. The decoration of this armour closely resembles that of a garniture marked by Peffenhauser which belonged to Archduke Charles II of Styria (Imperial Armoury, Vienna, inv. no. A885), which is dated 1571, the year of the Archduke's marriage to Maria of Bavaria.

A second armour at Vienna with similar decoration belonged to the Augsburg patrician Johann Jacob Fugger (Imperial Armoury, inv. no. A833). It includes parts for the field, Freiturnier, joust, and tournament foot combat.

What may be an exchange helmet for one of these garnitures is at Brussels (E. de Prelle de la Nieppe, Catalogue des armes et armures du Musée de la Porte de Hal, 1902, fig. 22, no. 126). Other pieces which may belong are in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg – comprising close-helmet for the joust, field cuirass, symmetrical pauldrons, field vambraces, cuisses, and poleyns (Lenz, 1908, p. XIV), and a round shield in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (inv. no. I.26).

A short biography of Peffenhauser by A. von Reitzenstein can be found in ‘Antoni Peffenhauser’, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, XIII, 1971, pp. 111-27.

Anton Peffenhauser was probably the most important Augsburg armourer of the second half of the sixteenth century. He was born in Bavaria of unknown parents but his maternal grandparents appear to have been the painter Anton Rieder and his wife Agatha (died after 1554). He may have trained under Desiderius Helmschmid (see A30). He became master in the Augsburg Armourers’ Guild in 1545, and at about that time married his first wife Regina Meixner. She must have been dead by 1560 when he married his second wife Regina Ertel, by whom he had fourteen children. Seven of his garnitures are recorded in the design book of Jörg Sorg, the earliest of which is dated 1550 (see Becker, Gamber and Irtenkauf, 1980, pp. 40-3, fols. 12, 14v, 15, 19-20, 38v-39, 40v, and 45). Among his many important clients were Stephanus Doria; Jean de Longueval, Baron de Vaux; and Don Garcia de Toledo, Marqués de Villafranca, all in 1551; and the Württemberg court at Stuttgart in 1566. In 1561 he received the first of several orders from the Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, while the latter was Governor of Bohemia. By 1564 he was working for the Emperor himself. From 1571, he received orders from the Bavarian court, including in 1579 the seven garnitures for ‘St. George and his six companions’.

The three great Augsburg garnitures of Christian I of Saxony, still at Dresden, are all attributed to Peffenhauser, and in 1591 he delivered the aforementioned series of twelve foot combat armours for use at the Dresden court. He died in 1603.

One of Peffenhauser most spectacular (and unusual) works is a heavily embossed parade armour, possibly made with the assistance of the goldsmith Jörg Sigman, traditionally said to be that of King Sebastian of Portugal (Real Armeria, Madrid, inv. no. A290). It has since been identified as an armour of King Philip II of Spain (B. Thomas in the exhibition catalogue Welt im Umbruch, Augsburg 1980, no. 910). A40|1|1|A40 BLACK AND WHITE ARMOUR

Decorated with sunken and ridged bands and borders, bright on a blackened ground, the edges roped; the gorget and munnions are further bordered with a zig-zag embossed ornament.

Comprised of:

BURGONET, the SKULL divided by four intersecting white bands and ending in a hollow spike of diamond section; two holes at the top and a pair of holes on either side for the lining; movable FALL, or PEAK, pivoted at the sides with decorated washers with turned-under and roped edge stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark; hinged CHEEK-PIECES with roped edges joined at the chin by a buckle and strap; NECK-GUARD of one plate, the lower edge turned under, roped, and pierced with a pair of holes.

GORGET, made up of front and rear assemblies of three plates each, fastening at the side with keyhole slots, the upper edge of the top lame is turned over to a hollow roping, the lower lame is stamped with the Nuremburg guild mark, and applied to the left side is a hook with a curled end (for hanging up the helmet); the lower edge at the back is embossed with a band of zig-zag ornament. Riveted to the gorget and forming part of it are SPAUDLERS, or shoulder defences, each of six lames, the lowest lame embossed with a zig-zag ornament like the back of the gorget.

BREASTPLATE with prominent central ridge, the edges of the large gussets are heavily ridged and roped; a lance-rest hinged to turn upwards (obviously an addition) has now been removed. Flanged waist-plate for the FRONT SKIRT, and buckles to receive the shoulder straps mounted on the backplate. FRONT SKIRT of four lames to which are attached, by steel hinges, TASSETS also of four lames; the borders are turned under and roped, the lames being joined to each other by round-headed, sliding rivets.

BACKPLATE with flanged waist-plate and REAR SKIRT of two lames with three white, sunken, doubly grooved bands and borders. The back has been extended under the arms by the addition of plates riveted on; it bears, at the top, the Nuremberg guild mark. The waist-plate and skirt are 19th-century restorations.

FINGERED GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs embossed for the ulna bone; five metacarpal plates, roped knuckle-guard, the ridged white bands are continued down the scales of each of the fingers and the thumb-plate. The right gauntlet bears the Nuremberg guild mark; the left gauntlet has been considerably, if not entirely, restored.

German (Nuremberg), about 1540.

Provenance: E. Juste (?) (demi-armure noire à bandes blanches, 1,000 fr.; receipted bill, 1 October, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Of the three black and white armours in the Wallace Collection, A40 is the finest in quality. It has been decorated with embossed ridges within the white bands, the edges of the plates have been thickly roped, and the lower edges of the shoulder plates have been embossed with a ‘wolf’s teeth’ pattern. The basic armours of lower-ranking soldiers would not include such decorative embellishments.

This kind of armour was worn by foot-soldiers (Fussknechte or Landsknechte), and the quality of this one suggests an officer.

Provenance: comte de Belleval; a photograph of a line drawing of this armour is inserted on p. 192 of the MS. copy of Belleval’s La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’, but also stated to be in the Musée d’Artillerie, that is the Musée de l’Armée, Paris.

The distinctive class of military armours known as ‘black and white’ armours originate in the German lands in the middle of the 16th century. All over Europe, Renaissance armies were becoming better organised, more professional, and more strictly defined, regulated, and disciplined. A typical German army of this period was made up of both infantry and cavalry forces, each of which was split up into several different types of fighting man, and each of those had their own distinct requirements in regard to defensive equipment. Some infantrymen were armed with the harquebus, a type of wheel-lock long gun. These ‘Harquebusiers’ usually wore a helmet, but little other armour. Later in the 16th century they were joined by musketeers wielding either wheel-lock or match-lock muskets and wearing no armour at all. The most heavily armoured men on foot were the pikemen or ‘Knechte’, armed with great 3.5 metre spears. A German pikeman wore armour of precisely the basic form illustrated by this armour, made up of a burgonet, ‘Almain’ collar (a gorget with attached articulated shoulder plates), and cuirass (breast- and backplates) with attached tassets (hip and upper thigh guards).

However, this type of armour would also be worn by the new medium class of cavalry introduced in the 16th century. These troops were more heavily armed and armoured than the light cavalry or hussars who wore open helmets, mail shirts and breast- and backplates and who fought with sabres and estocs, and more lightly equipped than the heavy cavalry or men-at-arms, who still wore full plate armour and charged into the enemy with the long war lances favoured by knights for centuries. The medium cavalryman again wore the form of armour exemplified by A40, with the addition of mail sleeves and gauntlets, and was armed with pistols and either a spear or a wheel-lock harquebus. Later the spear was discarded and such ‘pistoleer cavalry’ came to rely almost exclusively on firearms, often as many as one mounted man could physically carry.

Most military armours worn by lower-ranking troopers or infantrymen were left ‘black from the hammer’, that is, the metal was worked only up to the point when the armour would function as required. The surface finish was left black and hammer-marked. Bodies of cavalry wearing such armour were therefore often described as ‘Schwarze Reiter’- black riders. The armours of officers commanding groups of men armed in this way often had the bands and borders of their armour polished bright, producing the distinctive visual effect characteristic of ‘black and white’ armours. A41|1|1|A41 BLACK AND WHITE ARMOUR

Decorated with sunk vertical bands and borders left white on a blackened ground, the edges roped.

Comprised of:

BURGONET with roped comb; pointed FALL or PEAK, pivoted at the sides, with turned-under and roped edge; hinged CHEEKPIECES pierced with a circle of nine holes on each side; NECK GUARD of one plate with roped lower edge.

GORGET of three plates (front and back) fastening at the side with a keyhole slot, the top lame with a circular, hollow, roped collar, the lowest stamped at the base with the Nuremberg guild mark, and pierced on the right with a T-shaped hole. To the gorget are attached, by means of internal leathers, SPAUDLERS of five lames each, the edge of the lowest one turned under and roped, and fitted with buckles to pass round the arms.

BREASTPLATE with sharply pointed central ridge; the upper edge and the edges of the gussets ridged and roped. The lower edge of the breastplate has a flanged rim to receive the front skirt; traces of the Nuremberg guild mark remain at the top. FRONT SKIRT of three lames, the lower lame has a large hole in the centre for a cod-piece. TASSETS of seven lames reaching nearly to the knee, with buckles for attachment to the skirt, the lower edges turned under and roped.

BACKPLATE, which has been extended under the arms by additional plates riveted on; turned-under and roped edges; stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark at the top. REAR SKIRT of one lame with roped lower edge and shaped to an inverted V; riveted to the lower edge of the backplate. Stamped on the interior with an N within a circle with a pearled edge.

FINGERED GAUNTLETS with long pointed cuffs, embossed for the ulna bone, the left stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark, the right bears traces of another mark, possibly the initials of the armourer, the first of which appears to be an E; five metacarpal plates, roped knuckle-guard, scaled fingers and thumb-piece; leather gloves remain inside. The cuffs of both gauntlets are stamped inside with the pearled N mark.

German (Nuremberg), about 1550.

Skelton I, PI. XXV, Figs. 1-6

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick (the gauntlets now exhibited with this armour are not those reproduced by Skelton, although of like design).

Exhibited: South Kensington, 1869, no. 305.

Somewhat later in date than A40 and of inferior workmanship. A41 is one of a very common type of German retainer's armour. Compare the series of black and white retainers' armour still preserved at Churburg (nos. 107-15).

Black and white armours were made in very large numbers throughout the second half of the sixteenth century. They were made almost exclusively in the German lands, particularly in Nuremberg, the largest mass-producer of armour in the 1500s. As well as being used by German armies, black and white armours were exported all over Europe and were popular as far afield as Scotland and Ireland. While many are roughly-made ‘munitions-grade’ pieces, produced quickly, cheaply and according to designs that were simple and functional, the style was also at times favoured by officers and noblemen. A41 is, of the three black and white armours in the Wallace Collection, of a medium level of quality. The polished bands are plain and simple but well-executed, being slightly recessed into the plates. The main surfaces around them have been painted black. The overall impression of this armour is quite plain and yet quite elegant at the same time.

Often it is impossible to say whether an armour like this would have been worn by an infantryman or horseman. The breastplate of A41 is not pierced for a lance-rest, which could be interpreted as evidence that this is an infantry armour. However, medium cavalry and pistoleer cavalry often no longer carried the spear, fighting almost exclusively with firearms, so for them the lance-rest would also have been unnecessary. A42|1|1|A42 BLACK AND WHITE ARMOUR

Of rough, or ‘munitions’ quality. All the parts are embossed with sunk borders and bands which are left bright, the rest of the surface being painted black (the paint partly restored).

Consisting of:

MORION, embossed on each side with a large fleur-de-lys. Forged in two pieces joined along the vertical comb, and the brim is peaked fore and aft. The lining rivets have brass washers in the form of rosettes.

GORGET with circular roped rim, the front and rear assemblies of three plates each hinged together on the left side, the two main plates engaging by means of a stud and slot on the right shoulder. The front main plate stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark. The T-shaped hole on the right in front formerly accommodated a turning-pin on the SPAULDERS, or shoulder defences, which are now attached entirely by means of internal leathers, and consist of four overlapping lames. All the borders of this armour are plain, except the rim of the gorget and the bottom borders of the shoulder plates, which are roped. It is probable, therefore, that gorget and spaudlers are associated and did not originally belong to the rest.

BREASTPLATE, embossed with a large fleur-de-lys in its centre, and a vertical midline ridge projecting in a sharp point towards the waist. The point has been strengthened by a contemporary patch riveted inside and brazed on the outside. This was probably necessitated by a miscalculation on the armourer's part when he was drawing out the point – a feature occasionally found elsewhere. At the waist is riveted an additional plate which carries the FRONT SKIRT of two lames, the lower one arched over the fork; the skirt is crudely embossed with spade-shaped ivy leaves.

TASSETS, each of five lames, reaching to just short of the knee, and attached to the front skirt with three straps and buckles. Embossed with ivy leaves on each side of the central white band, and articulated by sliding rivets and leathers on the interior.

BACKPLATE, embossed like the breastplate with a large fleur-de-lys, and built in four parts: the main backplate, to which are riveted two side-pieces over the ribs, and a waist-plate extended down to form a short REAR SKIRT, the bottom edge of which is gently cusped.

The component parts of munition armours of this kind were often mixed – disassembled and recombined as need dictated. Evidence of this historical practice can be found in the armoury at Churburg Castle, where the names of the retainers who wore them are painted inside. Instances occur there with the same soldier's name on each of the parts of what was once his assigned armour, and several of these harnesses are composites made up using both Nuremberg- and Augsburg-made pieces.

The fleur-de-lys which is found on much armour of German origin, is usually regarded as denoting the city guard of Munich.

German (Nuremberg), about 1570.

As well as straight bands and borders polished white, some black and white armours also display figurative decoration often embossed proud of the surrounding surface rather than recessed into it. Worn by men of all ranks, black and white armours vary significantly in quality and in their levels and types of decoration. Very ornate examples of a type characteristic of the work of Innsbruck armourers can be embossed with dense foliage polished bright, and often include grotesque masks on the shoulders and cod-piece, with details such as the eyes and mouth picked out in red paint. Figurative ornament on good-quality black and white armour takes the form of stylised lilies, tongues of flame, scales, and/or foliage. The overall visual impression can be strongly reminiscent of silver embroidery on black silk or velvet.

A42 is without question the lowest-quality of the three black and white armours in the Wallace Collection (alongside A40 and A41), and yet it carries the most flamboyant decorative scheme. The work on this example is very rough, the turned edges being for example very uneven, the embossing almost rude. At the same time, the decoration remains quite impressive and eye-catching, especially when the armour is glimpsed from a distance. From more than a few metres away, the roughness of the work is not obvious, while the flamboyance of the decoration certainly is. A43|1|1|A43 PARTS FROM A GARNITURE FOR THE FIELD, JOUST AND TOURNEY

This group of objects comprises portions of a large garniture made, probably in Augsburg, for a member of the Hürnheim family, probably Hans Walther von Hürnheim (d. 1557), a prominent Swabian nobleman who served both in the government of the Emperor Charles V and as mercenary captain. The garniture’s bold and very distinct etched and gilt decoration involved strapwork bands containing lines of alternatingly plain and gilt chevrons, the latter type also being filled with interlaced pomegranates and running foliage.

The elements of this garniture now in the Wallace Collection are:

FOR THE GERMAN JOUST IN THE ITALIAN MANNER:

REINFORCING BREASTPLATE, with a central ridge and rectangular slit on the right side for the lance-rest, which would have been mounted on the breastplate worn underneath. A waist-plate is attached over the main chest plate with three rivets (the centre one sliding) and to this is riveted the skirt, which carries lining rivets along the bottom edge. To this is in turn attached a left TASSET of one plate with prominent, boxed central ridge and flanged inner border. There is no provision for a right tasset, which was unnecessary when jousting at the tilt. To the breastplate are bolted with modern square-headed bolts:

A REINFORCING BEVOR or BUFF, which is pierced with a circular hole on the right side (another hole has been filled in with a brazed patch) and a notch to accommodate the lifting peg of the visor. The extension to cover the pivot of the visor on the left side has been broken and repaired.

GRANDGUARD, smooth and covering the left shoulder, to which it is elegantly moulded.

GUARD OF THE VAMBRACE for the left elbow, made in one piece, the surface boxed in flat planes.

LEFT GAUNTLET REINFORCE, formed of two plates: the large cuff, which has boxed planes similar to the guard of the vambrace and gauntlet reinforce for the Italian joust. This piece was used for both the German joust in the Italian fashion and the free tourney or Freiturnier.

FOR THE GERMAN JOUST:

MANIFER, or left jousting gauntlet, formed of a tubular cuff in two parts, hinged and fastened by a turning-pin. The hand is protected by a mitten of three lames, moulded recall the shape of the fingers, and a thumb-piece of two plates. On the inside of the cuff are three pairs of holes for attaching the lining.

FOR THE FIELD:

BURGONET, forged in one piece, with keel-shaped comb, slightly roped, and the borders of the neck and peak strongly turned over and roped. Hinged ear-pieces. Part of the left ear-piece has been cut away.

LEFT PAULDRON composed of two upper lames, a main plate and three articulated lower lames, with a haute-piece riveted in front to the main plate. The borders are roped.

LEFT GAUNTLET, consisting of short cuff in two parts fastened by a hinge and pin, five metacarpal lames, to the last of which is riveted a roped knuckle-guard, and a narrow final plate escalloped to fit the fingers. Hinged thumb-piece. In the centre of the back of the cuff is a circular hole for the bolt used to secure the gauntlet reinforce for the Italian joust and free tourney.

Short CUISSE for the right leg, incorporating a poleyn with a heart-shaped side-wing, articulated with one lame above and below, the latter roped and engaging by a key-slot with the greave. That for the left is missing.

THREE-QUARTER GREAVES for both legs, each built in two parts, front and back, leaving the medial surface of the lower leg uncovered and fastened by two hinges and straps and buckles, the border cut obliquely and roped at the instep.

DEMI-SHAFFRON, composed of: (i) a front plate with ear-guards riveted on; (ii) and (iii) the side-pieces each of one plate, pierced with two holes fitted with brass eyelets; (iv) the poll-plate, or first plate of the crinet, hinged and pierced with four eyelet holes. The edges are turned under and roped; the borders have brass-headed rivets for the lining straps, parts of which remain. In the centre is fixed a tubular brass plume-holder, and below it is applied an escutcheon which is etched, painted and gilt with the arms gules, a stag’s antlers or, for the family of Hirn or Hirnheim of Swabia.

DECORATION

All the parts are decorated with bands of etching consisting of two narrow parallel lines of ornament joined ladderwise by chevrons. These are further etched with a foliated pomegranate occupying the centre of each chevron.

On the jousting pieces the decoration is flush with the surface, but on the field pieces (except the greaves) the bands and chevrons are recessed. On the back of the pauldrons, the decoration is extended in the form of recessed floral volutes accompanied with etched flourishes. The borders are roped. There are no armourer's marks.

The ridges of the planes of the boxed guard of the vambrace and gauntlet reinforce are decorated with narrow etched bands of guilloche pattern. The borders of these pieces are not roped or turned over, but flanged.

South German, Augsburg, about 1540.

Skelton I, pl. VIII; II, Pl. CXXVIII.

Provenance: Hirnheim family; Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer

The three-quarter field armour belonging to the same garniture was until recently in the possession of the Duke of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle, and is now in the Royal Armouries, Leeds (inv. no. II.187; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. XXXI). It is illustrated by R. C. Clephan, in The Defensive Armour of Mediaeval Times (1900), p. 142; and in the same author's The Tournament (1919), p. 64. See also Capwell 2011, pp. 120-21. The full-length shaffron belonging to this garniture is in the Musée de la Renaissance, Ecouen (inv. no. 717), bearing the same decoration and the same arms on its escutcheon. A matching vamplate is now in the Armeria Reale, Turin (inv. no. B2).

No special name is known in English to distinguish this type of left gauntlet reinforce for the German joust in the Italian fashion, which was worn over a normal gauntlet, from the large complete and independent gauntlet now generally known as a manifer. However, it is possibly a reinforce of this type which is referred to in the Scottish Royal accounts for the Tournament of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady held in Edinburgh in 1508. The payments to Andro Moncur of the Castle Hill, Edinburgh, include ‘ane plait to the double of ane gluf’ (Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, IV, 1902, p. 120). The earliest illustration of a gauntlet reinforce of any kind is found on the effigy of John Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel (died 1434) in the Fitzalan Chapel at Arundel Castle, Sussex; see Capwell, Tobias, Armour of the English Knight: Continental Armour in England 1435-1500. The earliest surviving fully developed reinforce for the left gauntlet is on the armour of Andreas, Graf von Sonnenberg (died 1511), in the Imperial Armoury, Vienna (inv. no. A310).

The short right cuisse and the greaves were designed to be worn with long laminated tassets for the field.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 12). The shaffron was exhibited at the South Kensington Museum, 1869, as no. 337, and the remainder of the pieces as no. 738.

A pauldron in the collection of C. O. von Kienbusch (catalogue no. 196), sometimes said to belong to the Hirnheim garniture actually does not (Norman, J. A. A. S., VII, plate XLVIII, A). Its pair, formerly in the Pauilhaic collection, is now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (in. no. G. Po. 12801), and a right tasset to match is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 29.158.400).

Pieces of at least three other armours decorated with versions of the chevron pattern have survived, including a gorget in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, (1917-18 cat. no. 3964). A number of others are known from portraits: of the Emperor Charles V in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 29.158.175); of Jean de Glymes, second Marquis of Bergen-op-Zoom, painted after he became a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1555 (A. van de Put, ‘Some Golden Fleece portraits’, Burlington Magazine, XLII, 1923, pp. 296-99 and 303, pl. II F); of Archduke Don Juan (died 1577) sold at Sotheby's 6 May 1964, lot 15; and finally of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1521-86), attributed to Otto van Veen in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden (inv. no. 3524). This last portrait not only shows the subject wearing an armour displaying the same decorative scheme; the sitter’s clothing is also embroidered with the chevron pattern, showing how textile garments and the armour worn over them were sometimes coordinated. A version with small trefoils projecting from the outer edges of the bands occurs in the portrait of William I of Orange (The Silent) attributed to F. Pourbus I, in the Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck (inv. no. 694). A portrait of the Emperor Maximilian II, wearing an armour decorated with yet another version of this pattern, is recorded by the 17th-century Flemish antiquary Antoine de Succa (Brussels, Bibl. Roy. Albert I, MS. 1862, fol. 104v and 105).

Hans Walther von Hürnheim is known to have had ten thousand Landsknechte under his command. He fought on the Imperial side at the Battle of Mühlberg (1547) and led mercenary forces in many other campaigns in the service of the Empire. He was also a member of the order of the Knights of the Golden Spur, a chivalric brotherhood made up of elite Imperial officers. The Hürnheim connection with this garniture is confirmed by the family’s coat of arms displayed on both known shaffron escutcheons (in the Wallace Collection and at the Musée de la Renaissance, Ecouen): a pair of golden stag’s antlers on a red field. A44|1|1|A44 COMPOSITE TOURNAMENT ARMOUR

One of six composite white armours in the Wallace Collection incorporating parts made in the Augsburg workshop of Anton Peffenhauser. Plain without etching. The borders are obliquely roped with a file, the hinges and buckles are of engraved brass, many of the original brass-capped rivets remain. The edges of the lames are bevelled.

Consisting of:

CLOSE-HELMET, the SKULL with keel-shaped comb; the visor formed of two parts held together by a spring-catch (renewed). The VISOR proper is pierced with two sights, above which the plate has been extended to form a brow reinforce. The UPPER BEVOR, or lower visor, is pierced on the right side with two rows of six vertical slits with a row of six circular holes between, and is tapped with a screw-holes on the right side for the attachment of a jousting reinforce. There is a repair near the left pivot. The LOWER BEVOR, or chin-plate, moves on the same pivots as the visor, and engages the bevor by means of a spring-catch (missing). It is secured to the skull on the right side by a hinged steel strap secured with a turning-pin. Two circular holes suggest that this was not the original fastening, which was probably a hook and staple, as on A45. There is an indented steel prop for the visor pivoted to the right side of the jaw. The bottom edges of the skull and chin-piece are flanged to fit over the circular rim of the gorget. The lower part of the skull shows the addition of a separate plate held by flush rivets, probably an old repair. This helmet, which has been much altered, is associated. The visor and upper bevor were originally bolted together. The upper bevor is

GORGET, with circular roped rim, made up of front and rear assemblies of four collar lames and a main plate at the base. It carries shoulder straps for the pauldrons, the rosettes of the rivets are formed by engraved brass washers.

BREASTPLATE of peascod form, the borders roped, with movable gussets. It is connected to the backplate at the sides by hinged steel straps, each pierced with three holes for the staple on the backplate. A hinged lance-rest (19th-century) is bolted to the right side. At the top near the neck it is stamped with the Augsburg fir-cone, the triskeles mark of Anton Peffenhauser (see also A45), and a serial mark of three punched dots (see A46, etc.). On the interior the breastplate is stamped with the pearled A (see also A47-9). SKIRT of one lame (modern) which carries, by means of three straps and buckles to each, the TASSETS of five lames.

BACKPLATE in one piece with an engraved line down the midline, stamped at the top with the Augsburg fir-cone and a serial mark of one dot. Two other punched dots mark the top and bottom of the midline. The interior is stamped with the pearled A. Straps with rosetted rivets for the shoulders and staples at the sides, to engage with the breastplate.

PAULDRONS of characteristic Augsburg form, square in outline, and built of six broad lames. The right one is hollowed out at the armpit. They each carry the Augsburg fir-cone and a serial mark of three crescents at the top (see A47-9).

VAMBRACES, each consisting of an upper cannon with turning-joint (having two articulations at the top), a couter articulated once above and once below, with a tendon guard encircling the joint; lower cannon of two plates, hinged on the outer face and fastened with a hook and pierced stud on the inner. The wing of the left couter includes a tapped hole to accept the bolt attaching a small reinforce the joust. These vambraces are from a different series of armours altogether; the three rivets securing each half of the hinges are arranged in a row instead of in a triangle, and both lower cannons are from left arms, the couter of one having been turned back to front to make a right one. Curiously the turned edges at the wrists have been cut off, apart from on one of the plates of the right lower cannon.

RIGHT GAUNTLET, with pointed cuff of two plates, inner and outer, five metacarpal plates, knuckle-plate, thumb and fingers covered by scales. It is punched with a serial mark of four dots. The left gauntlet formerly exhibited with this armour does not belong and has been transferred to A61.

CUISSES of four plates, the upper three detachable by means of turning-pins. The bottom plate is pierced with a pair of holes with rosette-shaped brass washers for attachment by laces. A row of dots is punched on the outside and a pearled A is stamped on the inside of the top lame of each. POLEYNS with oval side wings, articulated by two lames above and below, the lowest lame engaging by a turning-pin with the GREAVES. The greaves, which only partially encircle the leg on the inside, have a central ridge, and are fastened by straps – a typology designed specifically for the free tourney. There are three punched dots on the left and six on the right, and a pearled A mark inside the left greave. There are no sabatons, which would probably be replaced by boot stirrups similar to A442-3.

By Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg, about 1580

Armours similar in build to A44-6 are in the Musée de l' Armée at Paris (G 71), the Metropolitan Museum, New York; the Pauilhac Collection at Paris; and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden.

The triskeles appears as an armorial bearing on a funerary plaque representing Anton Peffenhauser and his family preserved in the Museo Civico Correr at Venice (Böheim, Vienna Jahrbuch, XIII, 1892, p. 212, Pl. XV). The pearled A mark (which also occurs on the pistol A1145) was believed by the late S. J. Camp to have been the personal mark of Anton Peffenhauser, but it now seems more likely to be an Augsburg quality mark. This is supported by the fact that a similar pearled N mark is often found on the interior of armours which bear the guild mark of Nuremberg on the exterior (Met. Mus. Bulletin, XXIX, p. 102, and No. A 360 below). The round shield or target matching Sir John Smythe's armour in the Royal Armouries bears the pearled A mark, showing that it was made in Augsburg, and then decorated at Greenwich.

The left pauldron, punched with three small dots in a row and thus belonging to the breastplate of A44, is on a jousting armour now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon (inv. no. 1470; P. Martin, Armes anciennes, II, pp. 113-21, pl. XXV).

The three crescents stamped on each of the pauldrons, which are for the field and possibly also for the Freiturnier, correspond to those on the helmet of A46, the buff, targe, and right pauldron of. A49, the vambraces of A45, and the field breastplate and tassets in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (in. no. G. Po. 568).

The right cuisse and greave are each punched with two parallel rows each of three small dots, the left ones with a row of three dots only. The right gauntlet of A45 also belongs to this last series. Both poleyn wings bear the mark of the Augsburg fir-cone. The pearled A mark occurs also inside both cuisses. This internal mark is now thought to indicate plate of second quality. (B. Thomas in the exhibition catalogue Welt im Umbruch, II, Augsburg 1980, p. 92).

Provenance: partly comte de Belleval; the pauldrons and probably the legs of this armour are illustrated by photographs of line drawings in the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (respectively on pp. 197 and 234) where they are annotated as ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’.

A distinctive form of the traditional ‘mêlée’ tournament, called the ‘free tourney’ (Freiturnier) was characteristic of courtly spectacles held in the German lands. German tournament garnitures dating from the 16th century therefore usually include pieces for this form of knightly contest. Free tourneys are also documented in the Low Countries and England. The idea was to reconstruct the archetypal medieval battle as described in the chivalric romances- affairs fought exclusively by knights on horseback, rich in opportunities for heroic derring-do which at the same time were stripped of unpleasant modern inconveniences such as pike-wielding, gun-toting infantry. In the free tourney two teams of around ten or more mounted men-at-arms first charged each other in an encounter with lances, before drawing swords and setting to, for as long as the judges and ladies deemed appropriate. Special reinforcing pieces were worn in the free tourney, but they were usually designed to be subtle and unobtrusive, so as not to depart too far from the appearance of men armed for war. Above all the free tourney was a profound test of a knight’s riding ability, close-combat with the sword requiring very intense and sometimes violent manoeuvres at the canter and gallop. Leg armour for the free tourney in the second half of the sixteenth century therefore was cut away around the inner surfaces of the legs, allowing closer contact with the horse’s sides and thus guaranteeing the best possible communication between horse and rider. Since the fighting conditions were prescribed and limited to mounted combat, protection for the legs could be reduced for reasons of comfort in a way that was inappropriate for heavy cavalry operations on the battlefield.

Although this armour is a composite, like all six of the other Peffenhauser workshop armours in the collection, in its overall appearance it most closely resembles a garniture configured for the free tourney, including for example the greaves cut away at the insides of the lower legs, and a strongly built helmet with reinforcement on the left side, against lance impacts, but which is not nearly as extensive as that worn in the joust.

This armour also retains many of its original internal articulation leathers, an rarity on surviving armour. A45|1|1|A45 COMPOSITE TOURNAMENT ARMOUR

Like the closely similar composite armour A44, this assembly is made up of parts for different forms of combat made in the workshop of the Augsburg master armourer Anton Peffenhauser. Overall this armour is largely homogeneous- many of the parts carry the same serial marks, indicating that they belong together. The present figure does however combine parts which would not originally have been worn together.

The chief differences between this armour and A44 are that the upper bevor is pierced with thirty circular holes; the support or 'crutch' on the right side is longer; there are six evenly spaced notches in the lower edge of the bevor instead of three small ones close together; there is a hook and spring-catch in place of the hinged strap; and the helmet is fitted with three gorget plates front and back (like A39). The helmet also retains its original shock-absorbing straps crossing on top of the head. It is not fitted to receive a reinforcing buffe. The bottom edge of chin-piece and skull seem originally to have been flanged as on A44, but later modified to take the gorget plates. The spring-catch fastening bevor to chin-piece engages in a 'bayonet' right-angular slot. The chin is slightly sharper. The gorget has a collar of three, instead of four lames. The breastplate is very similar, being stamped with the same marks as A44, namely the triskeles of Anton Peffenhauser, the Augsburg fir-cone and a serial mark of punched dots. The pearled A mark is found inside the breast, back and left greave. The lance-rest is smaller, with two, instead of four bolt holes. The tassets are more rounded. There is no hole for a bolt for fixing a reinforcing gardbrace on the left elbow. The gauntlets are a pair, with pointed cuffs and hinged thumb-pieces. The brass hinges on the vambrace are larger and are secured by three rivets instead of two.

By Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg, about 1580.

Provenance: partly comte de Belleval; a photograph of a line drawing of the helmet of A45 and possibly these pauldrons and arms, with the cuirass now on A46, is inserted in the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, p. 193, and annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’.

Like A44, in its general appearance A45 portrays an armour for the free tourney, although the helmet is of the specific form worn only in foot combat at the barriers. Such dismounted tournaments were fought with spears and swords over a waist-high fence to prevent grappling. The barriers helmet is thus quite strongly built, but worn detached from the gorget to retain full freedom of movement for the head, with the neck protected by articulated plates hanging down from the helmet front and back.

MARKS

Both arms bear a row of three small punched crescents (see also A44). The right cuisse and greave are each punched with a single small dot. The right pauldron is also punched with a single dot but it is accompanied by a small Augsburg fir-cone. The gorget also bears a single dot with the fir-cone but this is accompanied by a small W, as on the left greave of A46. The left pauldron and left greave bear the same marks as the helmet and left cuisse. The right gauntlet is punched with a row of three small dots (see A44).

The small fir-cone mark occurs on the right side of the lower visor, on both poleyn wings, on both couter wings, and on the cuff of the left gauntlet. The pearled A mark also occurs inside both cuisses, both pauldrons, and both cuffs of the gauntlets. (For the significance of this mark see A44). A46|1|1|A46 COMPOSITE TOURNAMENT ARMOUR

Very similar in many respects to Nos. A44-5, being of bright steel decorated with brass-headed rivets and roped edges.

Like all of the Peffenhauser workshop armours in the Wallace Collection, this composite has made up of parts originally designed for different forms of joust and tournament, taken from different armours. The skirt does not fit the breastplate, a lance-rest could not have been worn with the present extended right pauldron, and the shape of the gorget is unsuitable for a helmet fitted with neck-plates. The right tasset and both cuisses and poleyns are modern. The greaves are those for the free tourney (see A44), while the left vambrace is designed for the joust, having the small elbow reinforce typical of German jousting armours of this period. The breastplate is also quite out of place, having been made not in Augsburg but in Landshut, in the workshop of the great master Wolfgang Grosschedel. Otherwise, the majority of this armour best represents the equipment for foot combat at the barriers.

The armour consists of:

CLOSE-HELMET for the field, with comb of graceful keel form slightly roped and pierced with a hole at the apex; at the back a pair of brass-eyeleted holes on either side and two others; the base flanged to receive the neck-plates and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining band; spring-catch on the right side for the cheek-piece: heavy VISOR with two sights, the salient edge strongly flanged to fit into the bevor, to which it is fastened by a spring-catch; strong upper BEVOR pierced on the right side with thirteen oblique double keyhole slots for breathing purposes; at the base, on the right side, a spring-catch: CHIN-PIECE, or lower bevor, with salient chin and flanged lower edge; on the right side a hook to engage the catch on the skull; the helmet carries three neck-plates working on sliding rivets, the lower bearing in front three punch marks of crescent shape.

GORGET, associated, from a light field armour, originally fitted with integral shoulder plates, and is therefore almost certainly not Augsburg work. Composed of front and rear assemblies of three plates each, fastening over a keyhole slot; the upper edge is turned over and roped; the right side of the lower lame is pierced with a V-shaped keyhole slot, and bears in the centre two armourers’ marks, the first probably representing the letters LR; and the mark, the Bindenschild of Austria, showing that it was made by a court-armourer (see A23).

Heavy BREASTPLATE, originally intended for the joust, with central ridge, the upper edge chamfered and roped, the gusset edges slightly ridged and roped; the right side pierced with four large holes for the lance-rest (which is missing and could not be worn with the existing pauldrons), the breastplate also has been pierced in three places with three large holes for the attachment of reinforcing plates, but these have been filled in. These holes were still open when the cuirass was in the Belleval collection (see below). The holes along the lower edge of the breastplate consist of three pairs for articulating leathers, two holes for articulating rivets, and two later holes for securing the skirt.steel shoulder and side straps with triple holes, the shoulder straps secured by screws, the side strap by pins (missing on the right side); the lower edge is flanged and pierced with three pairs of holes for the lining and four others for securing the front skirt. The breastplate bears at the top the marks of Wolfgang Grosschedel of Landshut.

FRONT SKIRT of one lame. It does not fit well, and probably has been taken from another armour.

TASSETS of four plates each, with central ridge and two double-winged brass buckles for the straps; the right tasset is modern.

BACKPLATE gracefully hollowed for the shoulder blades and extended at the sides; the lower edge, flanged and fitted with two turning-pins for the REAR SKIRT, which is formed of a single lame.

PAULDRONS of six lames, of nearly equal breadth, extending well over the breastplate in the Augsburg manner, and furnished with double-winged buckles of brass; the principal plate of the left pauldron pierced with a large hole for a reinforcing plate. The right pauldron is designed for foot combat. The left one is pierced for a reinforce for use in the Freiturnier or free tourney, and has traces of decorative etching all round its edges. It therefore does not belong to any other part of A46.

VAMBRACES, each made up of an upper cannon of three plates with turning-joint, the topmost lame bearing five crescent-shaped punch marks; the upper lame of the right cannon is a restoration; hinged lower cannons and well-fitting heart-shaped couters; the left is furnished with small reinforce for the joust. The right arm is a restoration, in part using old metal, intended to resemble the left arm. The left couter reinforce is also 19th-century.

GAUNTLETS, each with pointed cuff, six well-fitting metacarpal and double knuckle-plates; scaled fingers, the end scales being restorations; the cuff of the right gauntlet bears three small round punch marks. The left gauntlet is entirely 19th-century.

CUISSES of four plates, like those on A44 and A45, the lower lame secured by a turning-pin and a keyhole slot. Poleyns of five lames, two above and two below the main plate. Entirely modern, though well made.

Three-quarter GREAVES each of a single plate finely moulded to the leg, for the free tourney. The left greave bears four round punch marks, the right the letter W (?) and a single dot. Compare the greaves of A47. Stamped on the interior with the pearled A mark also found on A44, A45, A47, A48 and A49. This agrees with the punched dots and crescents found on parts of this and the above-mentioned joust armours. Three dots are stamped on the cuff of the right gauntlet. The crescents occur on the neck-plates of the helmet.

There are no sabatons. Protection for the feet was no doubt obtained by the use of boot stirrups similar to A442-3.

South German (Augsburg and Landshut), about 1560-80.

MARKS

The helmet is punched on the lowest gorget plate with a row of three small crescentic marks, similar to those on the pauldrons of A44 which are also for the field.

The mark on the vambrace also occurs on the manifer of an armour in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II.74), on a jousting helm in Paris, Musée de l’Armée (inv. no. G.170) and on a right vambrace and pauldron for the joust in the same museum (unnumbered).

The right gauntlet belongs to the series punched with a row of three small dots, as the breastplate of A44. The right gauntlet of A45 is similarly marked.

The left greave belongs to the series punched with four small dots in a row to which the right gauntlet of A44 also belongs. The left greave bears the same small punched dot and W as the gorget of A45.

Provenance: partly comte de Belleval; the cuirass, before the holes were filled, and the tassets are illustrated by a photograph of a line drawing inserted on p. 193 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. The armour was at that time completed with a lance-rest attached on staples, the pauldrons now on A44, and the helmet now on A45. This photograph is annotated ‘anc. collect de l'auteur’. What appears to be the same helmet is illustrated on p. 234 with the pauldrons, cuirass, tassets, and possibly the arms now on A45, and possibly the legs now on A44. This is also annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’.

By the late sixteenth century competitive tournament combat on foot had been popular for at least two hundred years, with specialised foot combat armour appearing towards the end of the fifteenth century. To reduce the risks and ensure that the combats remained ‘gentlemanly’, without chaotic or untidy occurrences such as wrestling or grappling, most foot combats from the 1520s onwards were fought over a waist-high wooden barrier. A pair of combatants faced each other on opposite sides of the barrier and struck at each other with spears or swords. The protection of the barrier meant that leg armour could be discarded and shoulder defences made more or less symmetrical. Close-helmets for foot combat at the barriers tended to be made very heavy, since the head was the most popular target, especially in contests with the sword. Since they must also stand up to blows struck with the spear, barriers helmets, like jousting helmets, tend also to have breaths only on the right side of the face, leaving a solid wall of steel to protect the more exposed left side. The joust may have been fought on horseback and the barriers on foot, but both were exercises in spear-play and thus involved some of the same safety imperatives. A47|1|1|A47 COMPOSITE JOUSTING ARMOUR

The key elements of this armour, which dominate its overall appearance, are designed for the German joust of peace at the tilt.

Of bright steel with no decoration other than oblique roping at the edges, brass-capped rivets for the lining bands and brass, double buckles. The edges of the principal plates are bevelled. The helmet and breastplate together weigh about 28 lb., or nearly half the weight of the complete harness.

The composition consists of:

CLOSE-HELMET, for the joust, of heavy construction made up of three parts: SKULL with high roped comb, the back extended to protect the neck and embossed with a lateral, roped ridge; pierced with a pair of holes on either side (above the ridge) and one in the centre below, the latter for the backplate screw; a row of brass-capped rivets for the attachment of the lining; the latter (of canvas, wool and crimson silk) still remains together with a pair of crossed straps of undressed leather (possibly original) for preventing the close contact of the head with the skull of the helmet; the interior is stamped with the pearled A; Heavy VISOR extending over the forehead; it has a salient flange pierced with a single aperture for the sight, and is secured to the bevor by a spring-catch; BEVOR of great weight and thickness, working on the same pivots; it extends upwards to the sight and downwards to the breast; the left side is cut square and pierced with one hole for the attachment of the targe, and with three for the breastplate screws, which have flat, round heads; the haute-piece on the right side has been riveted on and not forged in one piece with the chest plate, as on A48 and A49. On the right side is a hinged window pierced with a rosette of heart-shaped and petal-shaped holes, and held by a spring-catch operated by a thong, and pierced with a rosette; stamped at the base with the Augsburg fir-cone and a group of five dots and crescent shaped punch marks; the three principal screw-holes have also been numbered with a punch; on the underside is stamped the pearled A mark.

BREASTPLATE, for the joust, of peascod form, with the upper edge scooped out for the neck and cut in for the gussets, the edges slightly ridged and roped; three holes and screws for the bevor, one hole on each shoulder for the backplate, and one (on the left side) not used; the lower edge flanged for the tassets, which are secured by three straps on either side; heavy lance-rest fastened by three staples and a stout, flat pin; steel hinges at the sides for the backplate. It is stamped at the top with the triskeles mark of Anton Peffenhauser and two dots and two crescent-shaped punch marks; on the interior is stamped the pearled A.

Thick jousting TASSETS, each of two wide lames, the upper furnished with three brass buckles; the inner edges broadly ridged and roped, the underside stamped with three round punch marks.

BACKPLATE, having a vertical engraved midline and high neck, with a screw for attachment to the skull of the close-helmet; staples and pins at the sides for the steel hinges on the breastplate; the lower edge flanged and roped; there are no shoulder straps (the breastplate being secured by screws), but there is a slot for a strap on either edge at the shoulders; at the top the three-legged mark of Anton Peffenhauser, two round dots and crescent-shaped punch marks, and on the inside the pearled A.

SHIELD for the joust, the surface smooth and plain, the edge slightly roped and bordered with brass-capped rivets for the lining band; two holes at the top, but there is only one corresponding screw on the bevor; the base marked with a group of five round dots and crescent-shaped punch marks, the underside with the pearled A.

Jousting PAULDRONS formed of seven plates, comprising two lames at the top, the main plate extending well behind the shoulders, and four lames for the upper arm. At the top of each is a double buckle of brass, and on the right is a pair of brass-eyeleted holes. The left stamped with two, and the right with three, round dots and crescent-shaped punch marks; there are also round punch marks on the underside.

VAMBRACES for the joust, each composed of an upper cannon with turning joint; bracelet couter with one articulation lame above and one below; two-piece lower cannon hinged on the outer surface and fastened with a hook and pierced stud on the inner. The upper cannon of the left has three articulation lames at the top, the right four; the left upper lame is stamped with a group of four round dots and crescent-shaped punch marks. The left elbow is fitted with a tapped socket for the attachment of a small reinforcing plate, now missing (see A48 and A49, which have it); all the lames for the left arm bear on their inner sides triple, crescent-shaped punch marks.

Fingered GAUNTLETS, for tournament combat on foot, with pointed tubular cuffs; seven metacarpal lames and a knuckle-plate; two lames on the underside of the wrist (missing on the left gauntlet); scales on the fingers overlap backwards; the leather lining glove for the right gauntlet remains. There is a small repair on the edge of the left cuff. These gauntlets, although very similar to each other, are not a pair and do not bear any marks to suggest that they belong to the armour. The right gauntlet has two laminations inside the wrist allowing it to fit the hand more closely than the normal gauntlet. The lames protecting the fingers overlap in the opposite sense to those of the normal field gauntlet; when the hand is held with the fingers pointing upwards the lames overlap in the same direction as tiles on a roof. The left gauntlets of A48 and A49 are also of this type but not of exactly similar make. It is probable that these are intended for combat on foot with spears and swords. The reversed lames on the fingers would shed thrusting blows much more efficiently than the normal finger lames. Some armours, such as that represented by A164, have both types; one pair presumably for the field, the other for foot combat. Further support for the suggestion that these are gauntlets for combat on foot is given by the fact that the finger lames of duelling gauntlets are also arranged in this way. A duelling gauntlet of this type in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 14.25.911) can be compared with one illustrated in a portrait of an unknown man, dated 1567, by Gianbattista Moroni, in the John G. Johnson Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art (No. 237); see also Capwell, Tobias, The Noble Art of the Sword, ex. cat. (2012).

CUISSES, for the field, built in two parts, each with the upper edge ridged and roped. The upper composed of three plates overlapping upwards; the upper lame ridged and roped at the top and stamped with five round punch marks (the right with four), and both, on the undersides, with the pearled A. The lower part consists of a single plate which is secured by a turning-pin and keyhole slot and pierced near the ridge with a pair of brass eyeleted holes, to allow it to be worn without the upper assembly if designed, with longer tassets. The lower part is attached to the poleyns. POLEYNS comprising a central plate articulated with two lames above and two below, the lowermost pierced on either side with keyhole slots for attachment to the greaves; both cuisse and poleyn furnished with straps and buckles. Not a pair (see below, MARKS).

GREAVES, for the free tourney, of one plate, boxed and protecting the lateral or outer side of the leg only; furnished with two double buckles and straps; the left stamped with five, and the right with four, annular punch marks, and both on the underside with the pearled A. They were almost certainly not completed with boot stirrups as suggested in the 1962 catalogue, since these seem to be confined entirely to Italian garnitures.

By Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg, about 1590.

This type of armour, with the steel shield bolted over the left shoulder like this armour, A48 and A49, is described by Jörg Sorg as a Stechzeug. They were used for the joust at the tilt in the German fashion (Plankengestech nach deutscher Art). A47, A48 and A49 all also have, in fact, a single threaded hole on the left side of the breastplate about halfway down, for the bolt that would have attached the shoulder-plate or grandguard for use in the German joust of peace in the Italian fashion (for a slightly earlier version of this armour typology, see A43) in place of the present Stechtartsche. No reinforce of this type belonging to one of these garnitures is known to the writer, but its probable appearance can be gauged by that on a somewhat composite armour in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II. 184; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. LVI; see also Capwell, Tobias, Arms and Armour of the Renaissance Joust, 2020).

Like nos. A48-9, A47 is similar in build to a series of Augsburg jousting armours in the castle of Ambras at Innsbruck, and inv. no. II. 74 in the Royal Armouries. There are also three similar armours in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (G 169, 176, 177).

PROVENANCE

This armour is possibly that which was exhibited at the ‘Oplotheca’, 20 Lower Brook Street, being no. 9 of the catalogue printed by Smith and Davy in 1817, and there described as follows:

‘This very extraordinary specimen of Tilting Armour is another suit obtained from the Royal Armoury at Munich for Napoleon ... having the elegant pigeon breast ... and also the gauntlets, which were then generally divided into fingers; a more natural form was also given to the feet, instead of the preposterously wide square toes that distinguished the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. This suit is about 70 lbs. weight.’

This armour figures as no. 17 in the 6th edition (1820) of the catalogue of the Gothic Hall, but the reference to the ‘more natural form ... given to the feet’ is omitted.

The sale history of the armours which, according to the catalogue of ‘a most splendid and instructive collection of ancient armour’ exhibited at the Oplotheca, no. 20 Lower Brook Street, Bond Street, 1817 (sub. No. 6), were ‘obtained from the King of Bavaria by General Lavileur for Napoleon Bonaparte for the purpose of forming an Armoury in Paris’, is very complex and, in spite of the efforts of F. H. Cripps-Day, is still by no means clear (A Record of Armour Sales, 1925, pp. xlvii and l). The Oplotheca catalogue continues: ‘… these fine specimens (six suits altogether, and some detached pieces) did not arrive in Paris till after Napoleon's abdication; Lavileur, soon after, dying of wounds ... the whole of the Armour fell into the hands of a dealer in Paris, from whom they were, shortly after, purchased and brought into this country’. In fact, the Oplotheca Catalogue lists only five armours from this source so presumably one had already been sold or had remained in the hands of the English purchaser who, according to the manuscript third volume of J. Skelton's Engraved Illustrations of Ancient Armour from the Collection ... of Dr. Meyrick in the library of the Wallace Collection, was William Bullock. Bullock later sold them to T. Gwenapp, also a dealer. According to the catalogue of the Collection of arms and armour ... exhibited at the Gothic Hall, London, 1818 (sub no. 13) the price Gwenapp gave for them was £2,500.

The armours from Bavaria were exhibited at the Gothic Hall, London, from 1816, and were finally dispersed by Mr. George Robins, the auctioneer, on 10 June 1833, and the following days. The introduction to this catalogue specifically states that only five of the armours offered for sale are those obtained for Napoleon from the Royal Armoury at Munich, but, as will be seen, this claim was false, since one of the five had already passed into the hands of Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick.

One of the armours generally believed to have been brought from Bavaria by Lavileur can be eliminated at once. This is Wallace Collection A49. This is not, as suggested in the 1962 Catalogue, no. 10 in the Gothic Hall Catalogue of 1820, since it is illustrated, but with different gauntlets, as no. VII of an unpublished catalogue prepared in 1818 by Meyrick of a collection of arms and armour belonging to Domenic Colnaghi. This particular armour is probably no. 3 in the list of armour acquired by Meyrick about 1818 when he seems to have bought the whole of Colnaghi's collection. The catalogue is in a private collection in this country. The list is in the Library of the Royal Armouries. The armour is almost certainly the one illustrated in Skelton, vol. I, pl. X. Meyrick nowhere suggests that it came from Bavaria.

The five armours in the Oplotheca Catalogue are as follows:

1. No. 6. A fluted armour with a saddle, shaffron, etc. ‘The armour of one of the Electors of Bavaria on horseback, equipped for tilting. This superb fluted suit of polished steel armour, with the beautiful war saddle, chanfron, &c . . .’
This was Gothic Hall (1820 Edition) No. 14, and was sold by George Robins, the auctioneer, on 10 June 1833 as lot 161, where it is stated that ‘This very elegant suit (cap-a-pie), of bright fluted armour, was worn by the King's Champion at the coronation OF HIS LATE MAJESTY GEORGE IV. . . .’ A fluted field armour with a shaffron, peytral, crinet and rein-guards is illustrated on the heading of a hand-bill advertising an exhibition of ‘Coronation Armour’ exhibited at the Royal Armoury, Haymarket, which is stated to include ‘the identical suits of rich and splendid armour worn by the King’s Champion and Esquires at the Coronation of George IV’. The engraver has arranged the figure in the act of hurling down the gauntlet thus indicating that the person represented is Henry Dymoke, who on that occasion acted as Deputy Champion, since his father John Dymoke was a clergyman and therefore debarred from acting as champion. The only copy of this hand-bill known to the writer is dated in ink 1823. The ‘Royal Armoury’ was probably only a new name for the Gothic Hall.

A much better illustration of this armour is given on pls. VIII and IX of the manuscript volume of Skelton’s Ancient Armour in the library of the Wallace Collection. It, too, is shown in the act of casting down a gauntlet. The pages for the text are still blank but the caption of the plate indicates that this is the armour of Albrecht V of Bavaria. Meyrick's successor exhibited the armour in this combination in the Art Treasures Exhibition at Manchester in 1857 (photograph in the Library of the Victoria and Albert Museum). The armour for the man is now at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire (Beard, Connoisseur, XCIX, pp. 316-20, illus. no. XV). What is probably the horse armour is now at Warwick Castle.

2. No. 9. This was probably Gothic Hall (1820 Edit.) no. 17; the description is almost word for word the same as in the Oplotheca Catalogue, except that the description of the ‘pigeon-breast’ and the reference to the shape of the feet are omitted. It was probably Robins sale 1833 lot 122 (not, lot 100 as given by Cripps-Day, op. cit., p. xlviii); the description is identical to that given in the Gothic Hall Catalogue. If this is now Wallace Collection A47 as S. J. Camp first suggested (Wallace Collection Catalogues, European Arms and Armour, II, 1924, no. 745), the legs which now are without sabatons must have been changed, presumably between the time the armour was at the Oplotheca and before it reached the Gothic Hall. There seems no reason to suppose that A47 was ever in Meyrick’s hands. It is not illustrated by Joseph Skelton, and no armour with which it could be identified occurs in the Catalogue of the Meyrick Collection when it was lent to the South Kensington Museum in 1869. There is in fact nothing to connect the armour No. 9 at the Oplotheca with Wallace Collection A47, which appears to have come from the Belleval collection since a photograph of a line drawing of it, annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’, has been inserted into p. 234 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York.

3. No. 10. A fluted armour described as having belonged to ‘The renowned Albert, Grand Duke of Bavaria’. This was Gothic Hall (1820 Edit.) no. 18, and was sold by Robins in 1833 as lot 148. No horse armour is mentioned in any of these entries, and Robins, by stating that the armour was resting on a sword, shows that it must have been a dismounted armour.

4. No. 14. Black and gold armour of Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine of the Rhine. This was Gothic Hall (1820 Edit.) no. 22, and was sold by Robins in 1833 as lot 155. It is illustrated on pls. VIII and IX of the manuscript volume of Skelton's Ancient Armour, and is now Wallace Collection A29.

5. No. 174. This is now Wallace Collection A48 and was Gothic Hall (1820 Edit.) no. 33, where the trellissed shield or Stechtartsche is mentioned and where it is specifically stated that it came from ‘the King of Bavaria's armoury’. It was not in the Robins sale because it was already in the Meyrick collection and was illustrated by Skelton in Ancient Armour, I, 1830, pl. IX. What was probably this armour was exhibited by Meyrick's successor at the South Kensington Museum in 1869 as no. 739 ‘it is said to have belonged to Albert, 5th Duke of Bavaria...’

At this time the left vambrace consisted of the left couter and manifer for a Stechzeug of about 1500, now Wallace Collection A279. This is, in fact, described in the Gothic Hall Catalogue. Since this armour was already in Meyrick’s hands, Robins’s claim that his sale of 1833 included the five armours from Bavaria originally in the Gothic Hall is clearly inaccurate. His lot 100 made up the number.

Both the Oplotheca and Gothic Hall catalogues agree in describing only five of the original six armours brought from Bavaria. Presumably one had already been disposed of or was still in the hands of William Bullock. The sixth armour could very well be a white Augsburg Stechzeug very similar to A48 but with a plain shield, now at Abbotsford – Sir Walter Scott's house. It bears serial marks indicating that it belongs to the series of garnitures to which A47, A48 and A49 also belong. It was bought by Sir Walter Scott from William Bullock's Museum in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in 1819 for £20 (A.V.B. Norman, Apollo, LXXVI, pp. 525-6, fig. 3).

It is tempting to connect the white jousting armours which are said to have come from Bavaria with an entry in the inventory of the Electoral armoury drawn up in 1627 (fol. 16h):

‘Mer 6 gletche weisse Kürass, jeder über di palli, zum Freirennen und Fusturnier zu gebrauchen, samt allen notwendigen Doppelstücken, auch bei jedem
1 halbe Rosstirn
1 Brechscheiben und
1 Paar Handshuh

welche 6 Kürass die Knecht, so mit dem Ritter St. Georg reiten, zu führen pflegen.’

These armours, together with the one made for ‘St. Georg’, were ordered from Anton Peffenhauser in 1579, and payment was made in 1580 of 577 fl. 47 kr. (Stöcklein, Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, VIII, pp. 34-45).

MARKS

The major difficulty in accepting this identification is the variety of serial marks on the armours which apparently identify the garniture to which they belong. Parts are marked with small dots only and there appear to have been six garnitures marked in this way; a second six are marked with crescents only; and a third six with both dots and crescents. A few pieces seem to have been interchanged during the working lifetime of the armours. For instance, the right gauntlet of A49 bears the serial mark of four dots, as well as the serial mark of two dots and two crescents, while the right joust pauldron of A47 bears the serial mark of three dots as well as that of four dots and four crescents. The original right joust pauldron of the three dots garniture is on A49. This suggests that at least these two series were in the same armoury during their working lifetime. It is not a question of the eighteen armours of the 1627 inventory each having a separate serial mark as might at first appear. The jousting buff, right joust pauldron, and shield of A49 are all marked with three crescents, and so are the close-helmet of A46, the arms of A45, and the pauldrons of A44, none of which is for use in the joust. The precise significance of these marks will probably remain a mystery until all the pieces of these garnitures are published. It is, of course, important to remember that similar serial marks were used in other armouries. A number of jousting armours in the Zeughaus at Graz also have dot and crescent serial marks. They are probably of Nuremberg manufacture and are of rather earlier date than the Augsburg armours discussed here. Part of a field armour of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol at Ambras (inv. no. WA771) is marked on breastplate and backplate with the Augsburg cone, the personal mark of Peffenhauser, and two crescents. Since this armour never formed part of the Bavarian court armoury it is clear that another series with crescent serial marks was at one time at Ambras.

This armour has legs of the type apparently worn for the free tourney with open greaves and without sabatons. The greaves are of the type originally laced shut by means of a strip of leather riveted to the plates on each side of the opening, each pierced with a row of eyelets. They were originally worn with mail sabatons with plate toe-caps of the type shown by Jörg Sorg on his Feldküriss. The closed greaves for use in jousts at the tilt, marked with five dots and five crescents to match the helmet and shield of A47, are now on a composite armour in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II.74; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pI. LVII) which also has the breastplate, backplate and right pauldron with this serial mark. The breastplate and pauldron are both for the joust.

The present breastplate of A47, which belongs to the garniture with two dots and two crescents, has its original lance-rest with its original locking pin bearing the same serial mark. The right pauldron and the backplate also belong to this garniture. Like all the jousting breastplates of these garnitures it has a threaded hole about half-way down the left side for the attachment of the shoulder reinforce for the German joust in the Italian fashion. The same serial mark occurs on the left pauldron of inv. no. G.171 in the Musée de l’ Armée, Paris, and on both the cuisses and greaves of an armour in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 14.25.689).

The right gauntlet of A47 bears the serial mark of three dots in a row, as well as that of four dots and four crescents. The three dots also occur on the right gauntlet of A45, which has a stepped cuff, and, more crudely struck, on the right gauntlet of A46, which has a plain cuff, and also on the field or Freiturnier breastplate of A44. The backplate of a Peffenhauser armour now in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art also bears the three dots mark (Harrington sale, Sotheby’s 4 May 1964, lot 176). The remainder of the Kienbusch armour consists of pieces for the field or Freiturnier, mostly from the garniture with two dots.

The right leg defence has the serial mark of four dots and its pair is, at present, on A44. The left one has the serial mark of five dots.

The left arm, which bears both the three dots and three crescents serial mark and the four dots and four crescents mark, is pierced for a guard of the vambrace (pasguard) and would probably serve both for the tilt and Freiturnier. No Freiturnier pauldron pierced for a reinforce has yet been identified for these garnitures, so it is uncertain whether reinforces for the Freiturnter were supplied. The four dots and four crescents also appear on a right gauntlet in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II.184) and on a breastplate, backplate, right pauldron, and right vambrace, all for the joust, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no 14.25.689). The three dots and crescents occur on a pair of cuisses in the Musée de l’ Armée, Paris (inv. no. G.460). The right arm, which belongs to the garniture marked with five crescents, is not pierced for a reinforce and probably served for all combinations within the garniture. The arrangement of the crescents two and three is different to that on other parts of the five-crescent garniture, where all are in a single row. This may indicate that this vambrace originally belonged to the two or three crescent garniture and was made up to five when the original vambrace of that garniture could not be found, or had been damaged. The original vambrace is in fact now on A48.

It is not yet clear how this garniture would have been completed. It is probable however that the pauldrons for wear in the combat on foot would be of the kind in which the front end of the third lame from the top is greatly expanded downwards to cover the arm hole, while the lames below it are quite short. A pair of symmetrical pauldrons of this type are at present mounted with the field and Freiturnier breastplate of the St. George armour discussed by Stöcklein. The description of it in the 1627 inventory shows that it had pieces of exchange for the Fussturnier.

As has already been noted, a breastplate for the field and Freiturnier of one of these garnitures, that marked with three dots only, is on Wallace Collection A44. Its lance-rest is unfortunately of later date and does not belong. A48|1|1|A48 COMPOSITE JOUSTING ARMOUR

Of bright steel, with no decoration other than roping at the edges, brass-capped rivets for the lining bands and brass double-buckles. The helmet and breastplate together weigh over 31 lbs., or nearly half the weight of the complete harness.

This armour very closely resembles A49 in form and workmanship, and also A47, with certain exceptions. All three composite jousting armours are made up of parts from various plain garnitures made in the Augsburg workshop of Anton Peffenhauser (1525-1603). Like the others, A48 bears the pearled A interior mark, on the inside of the skull, bevor, breastplate, backplate, both pauldrons and both greaves. The breast- and backplates also carry the Augsburg fir-cone mark, but there is no trace of Peffenhauser’s personal mark of the triskeles.

The series of six crescents and dots which appear on various pieces resemble those on A47. However, this armour differs from A47 in the following particulars:

The raised guard on the right shoulder is made in one with the bevor, as on A49.

The SHIELD is embossed with a trellis instead of being smooth, as on A47 and A49. It is more usual for the trellis, designed to prevent the opponent’s lance from skating off the shield, to be applied. This element has no identification marks and was not originally designed for this armour, nor does it fit well. The lowest of its three retaining bolts has no corresponding hole on the buff, and a new hole has had to be made to accommodate the right screw.

The left VAMBRACE is entirely 19th-century apart from its upper cannon. There is a reinforcing piece on the left elbow similar to that on A49, but missing from A47.

The left GAUNTLET, with a boxed cuff overlapping the wrist-plate, and steel rather than brass-capped rivets, is original but does not belong. Its finger lames, which overlap up towards the knuckles, indicate that this gauntlet was designed for use in tournament combat on foot (see also the gauntlets of A47). It is also of an earlier date than the rest of the armour. The right gauntlet is entirely 19th-century, possibly copied from the right gauntlet of A49.

The front plates of the GREAVES, which formerly covered three quarters of the lower leg, have each been extended by the insertion of a narrow plate riveted to the inner side of the shin-plate. The greaves were originally closed with laces passing through leather strips riveted onto each side of the opening inside the leg; they have been adapted at some later time to form closed greaves. The original form of the leg armour would have been the same as those discussed under A47. See also the similar armour in the Royal Armouries, II.74.

The SABATONS are comprised of ten lames, four sloping downwards, a middle plate, five sloping upwards, and a toe-cap.

South German (Augsburg), about 1590.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 14).

Skelton I, Pl. IX (?). The armour as reproduced by Skelton shows the manifer A279 mounted on this armour. The stirrups represented in fig. 4 of the same plate are A438-9. Meyrick states that this armour came from the arsenal at Munich, and was ‘reported’ to have belonged to Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria (1550-79); Meyrick Catalogue, South Kensington Museum, no. 739 (?). The Munich arsenal was looted by the French in 1800 (see also A47, which probably came from the same source). For other instances of the crescent-shaped punches, which appear on all parts, see A47.

PROVENANCE
This armour is possibly that which was exhibited at the ‘Oplotheca’, 20 Lower Brook Street, in 1816-17, being no. 174 of the catalogue printed by Smith and Davy in 1817, and no. 33 of the Gothic Hall catalogue (1820); it is also probably that reproduced in the plate drawn by W. M. Craig and published by Edward Orme, New Bond Street, in 1816. It is described in the Oplotheca catalogue as having been obtained from the King of Bavaria's armoury for Napoleon, and was one of ‘six’ bought

‘... by General Lavileur for Napoleon Bonaparte for the purpose of forming an armoury in Paris,... but these fine specimens (six suits altogether, and some detached pieces) did not arrive in Paris till after Napoleon's abdication; Lavileur, soon after, dying of wounds he had received in battle, the whole of the armour fell into the hands of a dealer in Paris, from whom they were shortly after purchased and brought to this country.’

The particulars given in the catalogue of the Gothic Hall follow those given in that of the Oplotheca, but it is wrongly stated that the trellis represents

‘The chequers, or lozenges, upon the shield are the quarterings of the Bavarian arms.’

These additional particulars render the identification reasonably certain. See, however, the additional notes on the provenance of A47-9 under A47. A very similar armour, also with the pearled A mark inside, is in the Bashford Dean Memorial Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; and another is in the Musée de l’ Armée at Paris.

MARKS
The buff, legs and pauldrons all bear the serial mark of six dots and six crescents. The manifer of this garniture is now in the Royal Armouries (II.184). The right vambrace belongs to the garniture with five crescents. A49|1|1|A49 COMPOSITE JOUSTING ARMOUR

Plain and without etched decoration, this composite, distinguished by the heavily-built helmet and shield, represents an armour for the German joust of peace at the tilt.

Closely similar to A47, differing from it only in the following ways:

The four bolts on the BEVOR and SHIELD are square-headed.

There are no rosette-shaped washers on the tasset straps.

The greaves and sabatons are modern restorations.

A RONDEL was once hung over the right armpit. It did not belong and has been removed.

There was formerly a manifer on the left hand, which, being modern, has been removed. The present fingered GAUNTLETS are not a pair, being instead a combination of two types, also observed on A48. The right, belonging to the garniture identified by a serial mark of four dots, is for the field, and was perhaps also used in the joust and tourney. The left is of a different construction, with an articulated and boxed wrist, ventral plates for the thumb, and with the finger plates overlapping upwards towards the main knuckles. All of these features identify the left gauntlet as a piece designed for tournament combat on foot; for further discussion of this typology, see A47. The fact that both A48 and A49 have the (inaccurate) gauntlet configuration, with a foot combat gauntlet on the left and a field gauntlet on the right, suggests that perhaps the modern right gauntlet of A48 may have been a copy of the authentic right gauntlet on A49. Other modern restored elements contributing to the apparent completeness of the armours of this group – including the lance-rest of A44; the cuisses, left couter reinforce and left gauntlet of A46; and the left vambrace of A48 – may also be copies made using original parts of this composite Peffenhauser set (A44-A49) as primary references.

South German (Augsburg), about 1590.

Compare Skelton I, pl. X. The armour illustrated partly resembles A49, and partly A47.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 14).

PROVENANCE

This armour is possibly that which was exhibited at the Gothic Hall, being no. 10 of the catalogue printed by Smith and Davy (6th edition, 1820), and there described as follows:

‘An extraordinary fine suit of Knight's Tilting Armour ... very ponderous, being between seventy and eighty pounds in weight; the Helmet weighs fifteen pounds.’

The three jousting armours A47, A48 and A49, are so closely similar in form and weight that individual identification in the historic documentation is very difficult, if not impossible. For the full discussion of the provenance of these armours, see A47.

MARKS
The pearled A mark is found on the interior of the bevor, breastplate, backplate and shield. The same mark appears on various elements of A44, A45 and A48. The bevor, breastplate and backplate bear also the Augsburg fir-cone mark. Although there are now no traces of the triskeles mark of Peffenhauser, there can be little doubt that most of this armour was made in his workshop.

With regard to the series of crescent-shaped punch marks, see A47.

The right pauldron, buff, and the shield, all of which are for the joust, bear the three crescent marks only. The right vambrace also bears this mark. The left leg harness for the joust of this garniture is now in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris (inv. no. G.454). This serial mark is also found on the field pauldrons of A44, the field helmet of A46, and the vambraces (neither of which is pierced for a reinforce) of A45; none of these pieces can be used for the joust, implying that the serial marks must refer to the whole of one garniture and not simply to the parts used for a single form of combat. A50|1|1|A50 ARMOUR FOR WAR AND TOURNAMENT

In most respects this armour is typical of Italian field harness of its time. The waist line is quite low and gently rounded, a fashion dateable to c. 1550-70. The couters (elbow plates) also are of the standard form, with roped midline ridges. Notably, the breast- and backplates are of a greater than average size.

The decoration of this armour appears to have been ‘refreshed’ in the 19th century. Areas of the etched decoration, which involves scrolling foliage in the Italian style, have been re-etched or engraved, where formerly it was probably quite worn. Also, the gauntlets appear not to have originally belonged to the armour, but have been etched and modified in other ways to match the rest of the armour.

The armour consists of:

CLOSE-HELMET, composed of a SKULL with high, roped comb pierced laterally at the back for a crest and with a pair of holes on either side; a leather neck-strap is riveted at either side and is buckled around the throat to hold the lower bevor closed; UPPER VISOR with two horizontal sights, the salient edge flanged and furnished with a peg for raising; LOWER VISOR or upper bevor, pierced on the right side with a circular group of twelve holes for ventilation; with the upper edge roped and bordered with a sunken band; it is fastened to the bevor with a hook-and-eye; sets of two NECK-PLATES, front and rear, the bottom ones roped with the upper edges notched on either side; the brass-headed rivets, lining bands and rosette-headed visor pivots are modern.

GORGET, comprised of front and rear assemblies of three plates each, hinged on the left side and fastening on the right by means of a stud and keyhole slot, the bottom plates with scalloped outer edges, the top edges of the neck and of the sides on the shoulders turned over on a wire and roped.

BREASTPLATE, long in the waist, with central ridge, the upper edge and gussets strongly ridged and roped; on the right side two holes for a lance-rest; the lower edge with a narrow flange for the front skirt. The central band of etching spreads out at the top covering the whole of the area to the shoulders; FRONT SKIRT, comprising a single wide lame; TASSETS of five lames attached to the front skirt with steel hinges; sunken bands at the borders, the edges roped.

BACKPLATE, well moulded for the shoulder blades, the edges ridged and roped and bordered with a sunken band, there are three small patches on the inside, two buckles for the shoulder straps, and a strap and buckle for the waist; REAR SKIRT of a single, narrow lame, roped.

PAULDRONS of seven plates in all, comprising two upper lames, a large main plate, extending well over the front and blades of the shoulders, and four articulated lames on the upper arm. A tapped socket set into the front wing of the left pauldron provides the attachment point for the missing reinforce used in the tourney (buffa da spallaccio). The second lame on the left pauldron is a restoration.

VAMBRACES, comprising an upper cannon with a turning-joint having a scalloped edge; large couters of ‘bracelet’ type, with a central ridge embossed and roped; hinged lower cannons fastened with straps and buckles.

GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs and five metacarpal plates, the last embossed to form a knuckle-guard; the finger and thumb-plates missing. The turned edges of the gauntlets have been made separately and then riveted on. The etching on the cuffs is of poorer quality than that on the rest of the armour. These two features taken together suggest that the gauntlets have been adapted at a later date to match the rest. The etching of the whirl of foliage in the left pauldron appears to be 19th- century, or at least it has been renewed.

LEG ARMOUR, comprised of CUISSES with upper edge strongly ridged and roped; poleyns comprised of a main knee plate with a small side-wing and two articulation lames above and below; GREAVES hinged and fastening with a pair of straps and buckles; secured to the cuisses with a pair of turning-pins; the bottom edge had been wrongly cut-away over the instep in the German style; this has recently been filled in to give the correct Italian outline running straight round the ankles. The lower edge of the front plate of each greave would probably originally have had a small extension lame to allow free movement of the foot, as on the armour of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma in the Imperial Armoury, Vienna (inv. no. A1048-9). The etching of the left leg harness appears to have been renewed.

DECORATION

The decorative scheme involves wide, etched bands and borders of foliage arranged in large scrolls enclosing masks, the whole etched on a closely granulated ground; the bands are bordered with sprays of conventional flowers, the lames (other than the breastplate) have sunken borders and shaped or scalloped, upper edges; the principal lame of each pauldron bearing an elaborate volute; brass-headed rivets have been used for the lining straps. The etching is worn and has been considerably reworked on some parts, especially on the helmet.

Italian, about 1560.

Provenance: comte de Belleval; a photograph of a line drawing of this armour is inserted on p. 192 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’; comte de Nieuwerkerke (?).

Boccia and Coelho, 1967, fig. 367, pp. 458 and 466-7.

Italian armour with etched decoration of scrolled foliage on a granulated ground of similar style, is found in the Armoury at Valetta, Malta, for example the buff (Laking cat. no. 33) and waist-plate (Laking cat. no. 251), and elsewhere.

Some armour worn in tournaments during the Renaissance were made purely for sport. However, the use of standard field armour in formal combats, courtly spectacles and tournaments was still quite common in the sixteenth century. Therefore, some field armours, like this one, included a small number of additional pieces designed to augment them for some specific tournament use. This armour, which in its basic form exemplifies a standard Italian field armour of the mid-16th century, originally had at least a few such exchange pieces, now lost. Their former existence is evidenced by the fact the armour still carries a threaded socket on the left shoulder, designed to take a special reinforcing plate used in the free tourney– a team combat fought on horseback with lances and swords. A51|1|1|A51 PARTS OF A RICH PARADE ARMOUR

One of a well-known group of rich Milanese armours decorated in the Mannerist style, whereon the entire surface is embossed, gilded and elaborately overlaid in gold and silver. The group is generally attributed to the famous armourer-goldsmith, Lucio Marliani, called Piccinino (1538-1607). The Wallace Collection example, since at least the early nineteenth century, has been associated with Alfonso II D’Este, Duke of Ferrara (1533-97), for whom it was perhaps made.

The parts of this armour now in the Wallace Collection are:

GORGET, comprised of front and rear assemblies each made up of a main plate, and three collar lames, hinged on the left and and fastening with a turning-pin and stud on the right; the upper edges of the upper collar lames have been turned to form hollow roping; the main plate is decorated (in front) with a Roman warrior and two satyrs holding cornucopias, and (at the back) a crouching female figure holding a vase of fruit, with satyrs making music on either side; there are two metal strap loops attached on either side at the base of the collar for attachment of the pauldrons.

BREASTPLATE of peascod form; roped gussets with two buckles for the shoulder straps attached to the backplate; the base is flanged to receive the single removeable FRONT SKIRT plate, which is attached by means of turning-pins on either side; it has six straps for the tassets covered with crimson velvet, bordered by gold braid and fastened with brass-headed rivets and rosettes, both of the latter being modern. The interior has been painted black. In the centre is a figure of Mars standing within an arch, supported by addorsed satyrs; below, a small figure of Charity; at the top the head of Medusa supported by two addorsed captives; on either side are seated figures of Fame and Victory. The panels at the side are decorated with figures representing Wisdom, Justice, Faith, Truth, Hope and Temperance, alternating with grotesque satyrs and chimaeras.

TASSETS, each of one plate furnished with three double buckles for the straps, the lower edge turned under and roped; bordered with brass-capped rivets for the lining. Decorated, like the breastplate, with bands containing embossed figures and trophies and panels and bands of arabesques.

BACKPLATE with turned-under and roped edges at the top and the gussets, the lower edge flanged and turned under. Decorated in the central band with Hercules in combat with the Nemean Lion, with a grotesque horned mask above, beneath putti blowing trumpets and the figure of Mercury. On either side are figures symbolical of the liberal arts: Music, Astronomy, Architecture, Learning, Dancing and Geometry (?).

PAULDRONS, each composed of seven plates, two upper articulation lames, a central main plate and four articulation lames for the upper arm; the uppermost plate furnished with a modern red velvet strap and buckle to engage the loop on the gorget, the lowest also furnished with strap and buckle and pierced with an oblong slot for the turning-pin on the upper cannon; the rivets and interior straps of the lower lames are modern. On the shoulder is embossed a large grotesque mask with festoons of fruit on either side; this is repeated on the back and front of the same plate, the edge above the arm pierced with a row of small holes, possibly for sewing in the lining; the borders embossed with nude female figures, putti, and sphinxes interlaced with scrollwork. The ground is overlaid, like the breastplate, with fine arabesques and minute vegetal scrolls.

VAMBRACES, each comprised of an upper cannon with turning-joint, fitted with red velvet loop (modern) and turn-pin for attachment to the pauldron; couter, made up of a main plate having a heart-shaped extension protecting the bend of the arm, with single articulation lames above and below; hinged lower cannon fastened over a stud; the whole decorated with masks, figures in classical costume, festoons of fruit, and overlaid in silver and gold.

The DECORATION consists of broad bands embossed with heroic standing figures and trophies in low relief; the flat areas between are crossed at intervals by embossed swags of fruit, the surface is decorated with silver cartouches filled with minute arabesques and foliate scrolls overlaid in gold and silver.

Made by Lucio Marliani of Milan, called Piccinino, Italian, about 1590.

Compare also A 52, and the pageant shields A325-31.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 J. B. Wareing, Art treasures of the United Kingdom from the Art Treasures Exhibition, II, pI. 9 [with no. A 120]; Planché, 1857, p. 14); S. Kensington, 1869 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 344, nos. 3, 6 and 7).

Skelton, I, pl. XXXIII; Meyrick Catalogue, pp. xv and 56, no. 742; Laking: European Armour, vol. III, p. 337, fig. 1085.
Lièvre, Les collections célèbres, lI. 8; Thomas and Gamber, Storia di Milano, XI, pp. 788-92; Rossi, Armature da parata, 1971, pI. XI.
Godoy, J. A., Parures Triomphales (2003).

Provenance: Dominic Colnaghi; Sir Samuel Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

This armour is no. VI of the unpublished catalogue of Dominic Colnaghi's collection prepared by Meyrick in 1818, and no. 5 of the list of armours acquired by Meyrick from Colnaghi a little later, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries. Meyrick stated that this armour ‘belonged to the renowned Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, Modena, Reggio, and Chiaxtres [Chartres], Prince of Carpi, Count of Rovigo, Lord of Commachio, Garfagnana, etc. the patron of literature and the arts, and whom the pen of Tasso immortalised in the dedication to him of the Gerusalemme Liberata’, but the source of this information has not been traced.

The attribution to Lucio Marliani is based on the famous armour made between 1576 and 1580 for Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma (Imperial Armoury, Vienna, A 1132; see Tower of London Austrian Exhibition, 1949, no. 28). P. Morigia, in his book, La Nobiltà di Milano, published in 1595, describes the richness of Milan in artists and craftsmen, and praises Piccinino as a master of counterfeit-damascening, i.e., overlay in silver and gold. He refers to an armour which Piccinino made for the Duke of Parma; this has in the past been assumed to be the armour at Vienna mentioned above. It has similar embossing but the background lacks the fine overlaid arabesques and scrolling foliage present on A51. See Thomas and Gamber, L'Arte Milanese nell' Armatura, Storia di Milano, XI, pp. 789-94, and p. 809. See also J. Lauts, Vienna Jahrbuch, N.E., X (1936).

In spite of being heavily embossed all over and therefore quite impractical for combat, the Farnese armour at Vienna is nevertheless conceived as a garniture. It includes an open-helmet for use by a light horseman or infantryman, an oval shield for use on foot, and a reinforce for the left shoulder as if for the tourney, as well as a pair of symmetrical pauldrons for foot combat, which, by the removal of the front lowest plate of the right front wing, can be converted for cavalry service with the lance.

Four original designs by the Parmese draughtsman Andrea Casalini, for parts of the Vienna armour, also survive – the helmet in the Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris, the left shoulder and the left arm in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the left greave in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg.

For a full account of Marliani’s life and works, see Godoy 2003.

A left gauntlet in the Harding collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 1818) could belong to A51.

Other armours of similar design include that presented to the Infante by the Duke of Terranova at Madrid (Real Armería, inv. no. B4); the parade harness made for Philip III (c. 1585, inv. no. A 291-4) also at Madrid; a breast and backplate in the Hermitage; another illustrated by Lièvre (Rothschild Collection); a breastplate for a youth in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. M.144-1921; ex-Bernal), illustrated in Hayward, Armour, 1951, pl. 23; and parts of an armour in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, ascribed to Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba (inv. no. 14.25.714, ex. Riggs; Laking, European Armour, IV, fig. 1223). This last came from the Liria Palace, the Madrid home of the Alba family, where other pieces of it are also said to survive, with parts of another comparable armour. See Nickel, Pyhrr and Tarassuk, The Art of Chivalry, 1982, no. 20. Compare also a vambrace formerly in Sir Guy Laking’s possession, then in Sir James Mann’s collection, later sold at Christie’s, 7 May 1981, lot 65. The lower three lames of a pauldron decorated in this style are in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (Boccia, 1975, no. 125, pI. 120). A buff apparently from the armour of Philip III of Spain at Madrid (Real Armeria, no. A291-4), given him by Duke of Savoy in 1603, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. M. 111-1921; Hayward, Armour, 1951, p. 51, pl. 25).

Despite the fact that it is (mostly) a modern forgery, the armour associated with Don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Fernández de Córdoba, Duke of Sessa (1520/1524–1578) in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 04.3.270a–o), previously cited in the literature in reference to the Milanese mannerist style, is nevertheless an important example of lavish armour faking during the 19th century.

A number of portraits also record armours of the Renaissance Mannerist style, foremost that by Justus Tiel in the Museo del Pardo, Madrid of the future King Philip III of Spain (c. 1590, inv. no. P001846) wherein the sitter is portrayed as wearing his Piccinino armour (Madrid inv. no. A291-4), but at an age when he would have long outgrown it. The prince is accompanied by Time, Cupid and Justice; published by S. V. Grancsay in ‘Lucio Piccinino, master armorer of the Renaissance’, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, N.S. XXII, 1964, pp. 257-77. A portrait of King Sigismund of Sweden in a very similar foot-combat armour in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (inv. no. 2598); and a portrait, once the property of A. R. Dufty, possibly of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma, in an armour similar to the aforementioned one at Vienna ascribed to him; this portrait, c. 1580 is now in the Royal Armouries, Leeds (inv. no. WYL.I.980). It appears to be a copy, or at least a close relative of Scipione Pulzone’s portrait of Giacomo Boncompagni, Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, and Marquess of Vignola (1548-1612), dated 1574 (possibly from the collection of the Patrizi family, Florence, most recently sold at Christie’s, sale 2673, lot 129, New York, 30 January 2013). An anonymous portrait rather tentatively identified as Pietro de’ Medici (1554-94) and once attributed to Tintoretto, in the Prado, Madrid (inv. no P000367; 1972 cat. no. 367), also illustrates yet another armour in this style.

Paolo Morigia in chapter XVII of the fifth book of his La nobiltà di Milano, published in Milan in 1595, describes Lucio Piccinino as being the son of the famous sword-cutler Alessandro Piccinino, who died in 1589 (see A540), and brother of Federico, another sword-cutler (see A646). Morigia writes that he ‘works in relief on iron and silver, whether in grotesque figures or other strange animal forms (and in) leafwork and landscapes he is most excellent, and particularly skilful in his damascening, and has made some outstanding armours for His Serene Highness the Duke of Parma, Alessandro Farnese, and for other Princes which are regarded as rare objects’. He was still working when Morigia was writing. Morigia also names other men famous for their skill in overlay who might also have made armours in this style. A52|1|1|A52 PARTS OF AN UNFINISHED PARADE ARMOUR

Of bare steel, the whole surface richly embossed with vertical bands (bordered by strapwork) enclosing symbolical figures, trophies, masks, grotesque animals, scrolls and conventional fruit and flowers. The surface remains covered in hammer marks, and appears never to have been overlaid with silver and gold as is typical of this late 16th-century North Italian Mannerist style. Meyrick (see below) states that, in his time, the tone of colour was ‘a light black’. The style of decoration resembles that of A51, and may come from the same workshop. Its condition suggests that it was never finished.

It consists of:

GORGET, the collar plates missing, and therefore now comprised only of the main plates front and rear, which each have a flanged upper edge and fastening with a stud and keyhole slot on the right. In the front is embossed a youthful figure of Time with an hour-glass; at the back Fame with two trumpets.

BREASTPLATE of peascod form; roped gussets and roped upper edge; two buckles for the shoulder straps; the lower edge flanged to receive the single skirt plate. In the centre is embossed the standing figure of a Roman warrior, above this is a grotesque mask, at the base, Truth; on either side seated figures of Victory and Fame; the cartouches at the left side contain Orpheus with his lute, Venus and Cupid, and a torch-bearing cupid; those on the right Juno and another figure holding a tablet, with Neptune at the base.

FRONT SKIRT of one lame, riveted to the flanged lower edge of the breastplate; furnished with four straps for the tassets.

TASSETS of one plate each, with two double buckles for the straps embossed with a standing Roman warrior in the centre; the edges are turned under and roped. Originally fully lined.

BACKPLATE with roped upper edges and flanged and shaped base. The decoration at the top includes Medusa's head, between seated figures of justice and Fortitude; below, Mars supported by putti, with Jupiter in a cartouche beneath; the bands at the side include Diana, Actaeon, Pan and chimaeras.

Left PAULDRON, composed of two upper lames, a main plate and four for the upper arm, with single buckle on the shoulder, the lowest lame pierced with an oblong slot for the turning-pin on the vambrace and furnished with a buckle and strap; the outer edges turned under and roped. The principal decoration is a large grotesque mask on the shoulder.

Left VAMBRACE, consisting of an upper cannon with turning-joint; couter of four plates, decorated with the figure of a seated women pouring water embossed on the heart-shaped guard of the joint; the cubitus is embossed with the mask of a lion; lower cannon fitted with two metal hinges and fastening over a stud.

Left GAUNTLET, with pointed cuff; seven metacarpal plates, knuckle-plate and scaled fingers and thumb-piece (those for the little finger are missing); the knuckle-plate and all the scaled fingers are of rough workmanship and of later date.

North Italian (Milanese), about 1580. Possibly made in the workshop of Lucio Marliani, called Piccinino.

Skelton I, pl. XXXII, figs. 2-9; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 743; Laking, European Armour, III, p. 338, fig. 1086.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

The right pauldron and vambrace are now missing, but they are known to have survived. The lost pieces are documented as extant in 19th- and early 20th-century photographs, which suggest that the pieces may still exist, perhaps somewhere in Italy.

For other armours by Lucio Marliani and his circle, see A51 and the pageant shield A325.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 14); S. Kensington, 1869 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 344, nos. 3, 6 and 7).

Provenance: probably no. 22 of the list of Domenic Colnaghi’s collection acquired by Meyrick about 1818, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries.

A breastplate of very similar design, but with almost all its overlaid decoration still in place, is in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. No. 3074). A Spanish morion with very similar decoration is in the Armeria Reale, Turin (inv. no. E93; Mazzini, 1982, no. 88).

This armour is quite unusual for having remained in an unfinished state. Undoubtedly begun in about 1580 as a rich commission in the north Italian Mannerist style for some important nobleman, the work only ever progressed as far as the basic forming of the plates and the early stages of embossing and chasing of the relief ornament. Had it been completed, it would have then been gilded, silvered, and overlaid in silver and gold according to the very lavish standards of the Mannerist style. It includes such diverse motifs as Roman soldiers, allegorical figures, mythical beasts, grotesque masks, and trophies of arms all contained in or joining strap-work bands. All of these details should have been further emphasised not just in gold and silver but also probably with contrasting blackened areas. A53|1|1|A53 PARTS OF A GARNITURE FOR WAR AND JOUST

These pieces are alternate elements, or ‘pieces of exchange’ belonging to an armour made for the military captain and engineer Cornelio Bentivoglio in the mid- sixteenth century. They are much thicker and heavier than their counterparts for war, being designed to endure repeated lance blows in the joust.

The pieces are as follows:

BREASTPLATE, very heavy, with central ridge, exhibiting the long-waisted form which preceded the peascod of the late 16th century. The borders of neck and the gussets at the armpits are prominently turned over and roped. There are two large holes, which once held threaded sockets, one near the neck on the right side, and the other lower down on the left side, for attaching reinforces. The upper socket was designed to accept a bolt affixing the reinforcing bevor, while the socket positioned lower down on the left side held the grandguard. Although these pieces are now lost, their general design and appearance is illustrated by Wallace Collection A61. Like these fragments of another Italian jousting armour of the same general period, the breastplate of A63 also exhibits the unusually low positioning of the lance-rest typical of this style; in fact, in the case of A53 a further six holes provided various locations for the lance-rest. The upper lame of the front skirt is riveted to the lower flange of the breastplate. It engages with the backplate by means of hinged steel straps (one modern) which hook into sprocket pins. On each shoulder and at each side of the cuirass is a hinged clasp which fits over a pin on the adjacent plate to which it is locked by a hook mounted on the movable part of the clasp. This is most unusual on an armour of Italian manufacture. However similar clasps are found on French armours of the same period.

BACKPLATE, shaped to the body and decorated to match the breastplate, the central band of etched foliated ornament broadening as it reaches the neck and splayed out towards the shoulders. Steel straps hinged to the shoulders engage sprockets on the shoulders of the breast. A rear skirt of one lame, with bands of etching and roped lower edge, is attached to the lower flange.

PAULDRONS of moderate size are composed of six plates, the lowest roped, decorated with bands of foliated etching like the rest of the armour.

The DECORATION consists of broad bands of etching filled with loosely flowing conventional foliage on a gilt, granulated ground. The edges of the bands are sprigged and gilt. Narrower bands accompany the armholes, and the gussets are etched with similar foliated ornament.

Made by Antonio Romero, Milan, c. 1540.

These joust pieces are significantly thicker and heavier than their counterparts for war. The two larger holes near the neck-line and at the left originally held threaded cylinders, riveted in place, which allowed additional reinforcing pieces to be bolted on, enhancing the protection for the neck and left shoulder. This attachment system and the steel clasps at the shoulders and sides, are both typical of French jousting armour of this period, here copied by the Milanese maker. In this way, the nature of this armour expresses something of the identity of the original owner — an Italian knight in the service of the French at the time this armour was made.

Cornelio Bentivoglio (1519/20- 1585), was a bellicose Italian nobleman, military commander and, first, a servant of the Empire under Charles V and later, in a change of loyalties, an ally of the French and Turks against the Habsburgs. In 1544 he opposed the army of King Henry VIII of England during the Boulogne campaign, and the following year was sent to Scotland to support Mary of Guise. In 1560, around the time the armour to which these parts belong was made, King Francis II of France created Bentivoglio a Knight of the Order of St Michael. Throughout his career Bentivoglio served the Este rulers of Ferrara, and in 1566 he joined Alfonso II d’Este’s campaign against the Turks in Hungary. He died at Ferrara in 1569.

The field elements of this garniture are preserved at the Imperial Armoury, Vienna (inv. no. A604, A 604a; see Grosz and Thomas, III, 75). They comprise a close-helmet, breastplate, backplate, tassets, pauldrons, vambraces and gauntlets, all for the field, along with the right boot-stirrup for the joust and tourney. A right locking-gauntlet is now in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. No. 3075; letter of S. Pyhrr, 31 December, 1981).

These parts are also depicted in the Armamentarium Heroicum of Schrenck von Nötzing (Innsbruck, 1601). Crucially however, the artist mistakenly depicted the armour as worn by Cornelio’s brother Guido, while Cornelio himself is represented as wearing a distinctly different armour decorated with narrow etched bands. In the past comparisons have been drawn between A53 and close-helmet with similar decoration, once in the hands of S. J. Whawell (Laking, IV, fig. 1198); this helmet is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 37.189.13). The decoration, although generally similar, is not identical and therefore the helmet belongs to a different garniture. The Metropolitan Museum does however have a breastplate and backplate for infantry use (inv. nos. 14.25.800-1) which almost certainly belongs to the same garniture as Wallace Collection A53 and Vienna A604. This garniture therefore had three full cuirasses, all of different weights and thicknesses, for dedicated use in the field, joust and foot combat; the field cuirass would also have been worn in the tourney.

Lionello Boccia believed that the tilt was no longer used in Italy by this time, and describes armour of this type as ‘armatura da campo aperto’, that is, for jousts in the open field (Dizionari terminologlici Armi difensive dal medioeva all' età moderna, 1982, pl. 8B). Sydney Anglo, on the other hand, argues that that the joust at the tilt was the normal practice in Italy in the late 16th century (letter of 3 April 1984, citing a number of authorities). Regardless, these parts would have been used in jousts at the French court, where the tilt was a standard feature.

A portrait of the owner, Cornelio Bentivoglio (died 1569), actually wearing parts of this armour, is at Schloss Ambras, Tyrol (inv. no. 8200). A54|1|1|A54 PARTS OF A FIELD ARMOUR

A good example of the so-called ‘Pisan’ style of Italian field armour, such as was produced in large numbers in the second half of the 16th century.

Consists of:

BURGONET, associated, with high comb and hinged cheekpieces. On the latter are fixed eyes for attaching a buff. Scrolled brass plume-holder at the back. Traces of gilding remain here, but are found nowhere else on the armour.

GORGET, composed of front and rear assemblies of four plates each – three collar lames set on a larger main plate. The top collar lames are thickly turned and roped. Leathers set with brass hinges and sprocket pins are mounted on either side of the rear main plate for attachment of the pauldrons.

BREASTPLATE with movable gussets, of emergent peascod form, pierced with three holes for a lance-rest on the right side, the borders boldly roped.

FRONT SKIRT of two lames, to which the tassets are attached on each side with three straps and buckles each.

The TASSETS are not a pair; the medallion heads on the bottom lame of the right one are larger than those on the left, although in all other respects the etched decoration is similar. The right one has eleven and the left one nine lames. The left tasset appears to belong to the cuirass, while the right is associated.

BACKPLATE with three bold bands of etching, between which are two medallions more lightly etched with an artilleryman, with smoking linstock, cannon and polearms in the background. Armoured shoulder-straps are mounted on either side of the neck-opening, set on decorated brass hinges.

PAULDRONS extending well forward and far over the shoulder blades, each built of two upper articulation lames, a central main plate and five lames for the upper arm, the lowest of these carrying a turn-pin for attachment of the vambrace.

VAMBRACES, each consisting of an upper cannon with turning-joint and two articulations at the top; couter, articulated twice above and below the main plate, typical of the style, having a roped and embossed ridge across the centre, the heart-shaped tendon protector encircling the joint; lower cannon formed of two plates connected with a hinge and held closed on the arm by a sprung pin.

GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs, four metacarpal lames, knuckle-plate and scaled fingers; hinged thumb-piece with three scales. Although the decoration on the two gauntlets is very similar, it is different enough in detail to indicate that they are not a pair – the left includes narrow beaded borders on the metacarpal lames, which the right does not, while the trophies in the strapwork are noticeably more densely packed than those on the left, where more of the ground is visible.

DECORATION
The Italians had by by the mid 16th century adopted the German motif of a granulated ground instead of a hatched one. The etched panels and borders are filled with ornament composed of pieces of armour, weapons, etc., scattered on a blackened granular ground, and the narrower bands have friezes of running foliage. The borders are roped, and further emphasised by an embossed roped ridge accompanying the border at a distance of about an inch inside it. On the breastplate, pauldrons, backplate and tassets this ridge terminates in volutes enclosing medallions of conventional ‘Roman’ heads in profile. The costume of the artillerymen in the medallions on the back is that of the early 17th century and they seem to have been added at a date later than the rest of the decoration. The decoration of the burgonet, though similar in character, differs in detail from the other pieces, the trophy ornament consisting of a confused medley of animals, etc. It probably does not belong, but has been added to complete the armour. It retains traces of gilding. The brass rosettes on the lining rivets are modern. The cheek-pieces are each etched with a head in profile. The hinges, buckles and chapes of straps are of engraved brass, and the rivet-heads capped with brass.

North Italian, about 1570-80.

C. Blair, European Armour, p. 140, figs. 47, 211-12.

Provenance: comte de Belleval; a photograph of a line drawing of this armour without its helmet is inserted on p. 193 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, annotated ‘ancien collect. de l' auteur’. A photograph of a drawing of the helmet is inserted on p. 16 1, no. 16.

Throughout the 16th century northern Italy produced many thousands of armours, not just for its own use but also for export throughout Europe. This armour illustrates very well the standard design of Italian field armours of the second half of the 16th century. With a breastplate pierced to accept a lance-rest and having asymmetrical pauldrons, this one was clearly intended primarily for mounted use, worn by a heavy cavalryman or ‘lancer’. Armours of a very similar form were however also worn by soldiers fighting on foot, even on ships. Two portraits of the Venetian patrician and galley captain Andrea Barbarigo (killed at the Battle of Lapanto in 1571) by Jacopo Tintoretto and assistants, feature a closely comparable armour of the same style and of a very similar level of quality. One, which shows an armour like A54 placed on a table beside the sitter, dated 1569, is now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. The second version, in which the sitter actually wears the armour was in the Rose Art Museum, Waltham, Mass., U.S.A (R. Pallucchini and P. Rossi, Jacopo Tintoretto, l'opera complete, I, I ritratti, 1974, pp. 120-1, figs. 142 and 227, respectively), until it was deaccessioned in 1978 (sold Sotheby's New York, June 7, 1978, lot 186); its current location is unknown.

This style of armour, characterised by etched bands filled with dense groupings of weapons, trophies of arms, musical instruments and other objects, and by the prominent volutes containing Roman heads in profile on the pauldrons, was often termed ‘Pisan’ in the 19th and 20th centuries, although most examples were made in Milan. The type is a fascinating demonstration of the way in which the same style could be executed to drastically different standards, some very high (and consequently more expensive) and many other quite low. If this armour is compared for example to two other armours of this style in the Wallace Collection, inv. nos. A55 and A56, it is not only easier to appreciate the high quality of A54, it is also possible to see how a single decorative style was implemented at different levels of cost and quality. The higher quality of A54 is displayed by the skilful hammer-work wherein the armourer had devoted time and attention to details such as the embossed cabling which forms the inner border of the etched bands on the cuirass, vambraces and gauntlets and the volutes on the pauldrons; the clean, bold roping of the turned edges; and the sharpness and depth of the etching. Some armours of this quality were also partially gilt, such as the one in the Barbarigo portraits, although no parts of A54 bear any traces of gold apart from the associated helmet, which is not original to the rest of the armour. A55|1|1|A55 PARTIAL COMPOSITE FIELD ARMOUR

Of bright steel, decorated with bands etched with scattered trophies of arms on a blackened and granulated ground, edged with lines of roping (see also A56). Made up of parts of at least two different armours, but contemporary and similar in style; the whole in the style often but inaccurately termed ‘Pisan’.

CLOSE-HELMET, the SKULL with roped comb; at the back a shield-shaped plume-holder of brass; the sides pierced with five holes for hearing and furnished with a buckle and strap for holding the helmet closed at the neck; the right side repaired; UPPER VISOR flanged to fit into the upper bevor, with two horizontal sights, a lifting peg on the right side; UPPER BEVOR (or lower visor) pierced with a circular group of nine holes for ventilation, and fastening with an F-shaped hook and eye; LOWER BEVOR or chin-piece; two sets of three neck plates, front and rear, hung from the lower bevor and skull respectively.

GORGET, composed of front and rear assemblies, each made up of two collar lames and a large main plate, hinged on the left and fastened with a keyhole slot on the main plates and a stud at the top of the collar.

BREASTPLATE, of peascod form with roped gussets; strong, folding lance-rest; the lower edge flanged to receive the FRONT SKIRT of a single lame, the latter furnished with six straps for the tassets. The decoration includes a pair of etched volutes near the top ending in medallion heads.

TASSETS, the right of six lames, the left of five, both with medallion heads on the lowest plates. Note that they are slightly embossed on the right, but flush on the left.

BACKPLATE of light construction, the lower edge flanged and slightly shaped; the corresponding volutes and medallions are embossed.

PAULDRONS of eight lames, the lowest slotted to receive the turning-pin on the upper cannon of the vambrace; the shoulders are decorated with volutes containing medallion heads. The left is etched with two shield-shaped cartouches containing Phoebus Apollo driving the chariot of the Sun, whereas on the right are merely scattered trophies. Of similar workmanship and style, but not a pair; the left pauldron apparently matches the helmet. The lowest lame but one of the right pauldron is a restoration.

VAMBRACES, each composed of an upper cannon with a turning-joint and single articulation at the top of the arm; couter with heart-shaped bracelet-wings and single articulation lames above and below; lower cannons of two plates hinged and held together with a sprung pin.

GAUNTLETS, with pointed bell-shaped cuffs, five metacarpal plates and one knuckle-plate; fingers, except the thumb-plates, are missing. Of similar style, but not a pair.

North Italian, about 1580-90.

For cuisses decorated in somewhat similar style, see A293-4.

Like A54 this armour, also missing its leg defences, was designed for heavy cavalry combat on the Renaissance battlefield. Unlike A54 however, this one retains a close-helmet of the correct form for fully armoured horsemen. Overall this armour is of a lower quality than A54; the etching is shallower and of a poorer quality, and while it also displays some embossed cabling, it is not nearly so bold and well-defined. Armours like this one were purchased in large numbers by noblemen needing to outfit whole squadrons of cavalry at the same time. Therefore, it made good commercial sense for Italian armourers to develop methods of decoration which would give an impression of richness from a distance but which could also be produced quickly and comparatively cheaply. A56|1|1|Unlike Wallace Collection inv. nos. A54 and A55, which are cavalry armours, this one is an infantry armour. A54 and A55 are both missing their leg armour, but A56 never had any– it was always intended to be worn as a ‘half-armour’. The cuirass is much thinner and lighter, has no holes for a lance-rest, and the pauldrons are symmetrical. Overall the quality is much lower than either of the other two, with shallow, crude etching and no embossed cabling or other detail. The tassets are not articulated, multi-plate constructions as are those of A54 and A55, but have instead been made quickly in one piece and then etched to simulate the appearance of overlapping lames.

The helmet is a simple cap-like cabasset, of the type produced in huge numbers throughout the 16th century and well into the 17th century for use by pikemen, halberdiers and other infantry. A57|1|1|Partial armour, of bright steel, etched with bands of annular ornament of unusual design, with inverted borders on a blackened ground. The armour is comprised of:

Spanish morion or cabasset, having a pear-shaped skull with stalk at the apex, and at the base a row of copper-headed rivets over brass rosette-washers (see also those on A138-40); narrow, sloping brim, the edge grooved, roped and bordered with copper-headed rivets for the lining band; at the back a shield-shaped plume-holder of copper alloy; the lining of brown cloth is modern. The surface decorated with oval cartouches containing classical figures between the bands and the annular, etched ornament found on the rest of the armour.

Gorget, formed front and rear assembles each made up of a main plate and two neck lames, the former extending over the chest.

Breastplate of peascod form, with gussets (the right is a restoration), the upper edges ridged and roped, the lower edge flanged to receive the skirt and held by a turning-pin on either side.

Backplate, the lower edge flanged and shaped, the upper edges roped and similarly decorated.

Front cuirass skirt of a single plate, and tassets of twelve lames of some breadth, all very narrow except for the top and bottom ones.

Pauldrons of seven plates, the upper furnished with a copper alloy double-winged buckle, the lowest pierced for a turning-pin on the upper cannon.

Vambraces, each consisting of an upper cannon with a turning-joint; couter, the heart-shaped tendon-guard etched figures of Virtues, including Justice, Temperance and Fortitude; hinged lower cannon.

Round shield of bright steel, convex with flat brim; the central spike is square in section with a moulded base; the edge has been turned under, roped, and bordered with copper-headed rivets over copper alloy washers, the head of each rivet incised with the letter I. The surface is etched with six radiating bands of annular ornament within a like border. Between the bands are set egg-shaped panels enclosing Orpheus with his Lute, Charity, Judith with the head of Holofernes, and other classical figures deeply etched. The rear surface is covered with brown cloth trellised with braid, and furnished with an arm-loop of leather stuffed with tow, round the edge is a silk fringe, all restorations.

North Italian, about 1580.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1304.

Provenance: E. Juste (Demi Armure gravée avec bouclier, 3,500 fr.; Receipted Bill, 11 September, 1867) ; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A 'Spanish' morion with the same annular ornament was sold by the American Art Association, 23- 24 November, 1928, lot 201, and was said to have come from the armoury of the Kings of Portugal at Elvas. It may be identical with one now in the Museo Civico L. Marzoli, Brescia.

The breastplate and the backplate both carry an orb mark near the top edge. That on the breastplate is severely rubbed and the centre of the orb appears to be blank, but that on the backplate is not rubbed and the circle of the orb encloses a capital P. This mark is found on one or more of the series of some fifty armours of this type in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, coming from the old Town Armoury (O. Gamber, personal communication). An armour in the Museo Civico L. Marzoli, Brescia, also bears this mark (inv. no. 930; Rossi and Carpegna, 1969, no. 51). A comparable etched mark of a letter P within the lower half of a rather larger orb occurs at the neck of the breastplate of an armour formerly at Hever Castle (sold Sotheby's, 5 May 1983, lot 56, repr. in cat.). The same mark occurs on a breastplate in the Royal Armouries, inv. no. II. 50. The letter P but without an orb is etched at the neck of a breastplate in the Armeria Reale, Turin (no. C71; L. Avogadro di Quaregna, I, 1898, pl. 63).
Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 169.

The scale on which lower-quality infantry armours like this one were produced is revealed by a search for comparable examples. 50 armours of this same type, and by the same maker, exist today in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. All of these were formerly housed in the Amsterdam civic armoury, to be used in time of war by the citizens in defence of their city. Today we often see armours like this as single objects on display in museums, when in reality they existed in large arsenal groups of scores, if not hundreds of armours.

The decoration of this series is very unusual; instead of the more typical groupings of weapons, musical instruments and trophies of arms, the bands of this armour contain a strange annular design which, atypically, appears to be entirely non-representational. A58|1|1|These pieces belong to a garniture probably made for Marco III Pio di Savoia, Duke of Ginestra and Lord of Sassuolo (d. 1599). The Pio di Savoia were an ancient Italian noble family, rulers of the city of Carpi, a number of members of which were distinguished military commanders, diplomats and men of the church.

The cuirass and pauldrons of this group are designed for tournament combat on foot at the barriers, while the jousting gauntlet for the left hand comes from a completely different armour. The shaffron appears to be a modern fake. At 1.8 kg the breastplate is much lighter than that for a field armour of this period. This light weight is typical of cuirasses intended purely for dismounted combat at the barriers, fought with spears and swords. This barrier combat role is also indicated by the absence of the means to attach a lance-rest.

In the centre of the very fine backplate, decorated in the typical Italian manner of the late 16th century, are the arms of the Pio di Savoia enhanced with those of Farnese. Within the etched and gilt bands on either side of the central band are cartouches containing Judith bearing the head of Holophernes and the allegorical figure of Fame, winged and carrying a trumpet.

This fine but lightly built armour would not have saved its original owner when he was attacked in Modena by assassins armed with harquebuses. Shot seven times, Marco III managed to survive for another seventeen days in terrible agony before dying at the age of just 32. A59|1|1|Unlike the German version of the ‘Italian’ joust, which featured a broad grandguard (see A47, A48, A49), with the lower edge curving away from the body in the manner of older jousting shields, the reinforcing plates on genuinely Italian jousting armours were closely moulded to the shape of the body. Although it is now quite incomplete, the core elements of this armour (cuirass, pauldrons, vambraces, reinforcing plates and cuisses) are fine examples of the form of 16th-century Italian jousting armour. The reinforcing plates for the left side of the body are held in place with bolts that thread directly into the thick steel of the breast, which has been tapped to accept them. The lower left bolt secures both the bottom of the grandguard and the additional ventral plate, worn over the grandguard on the left side of the abdomen; this area is thus protected by three layers of steel. The left vambrace also strongly built in one piece without a turning joint. The left upper cannon is also somewhat heavier (+.19 kg) than the right. The right pauldron is heavily reinforced, which is not usually the case on German interpretations of equipment of the same essential style.

This armour also has various other disparate pieces associated with it, most prominently a close-helmet for the field which does not belong. Not only is it for war rather than the joust, it is also decorated with an entirely different decorative scheme. The gauntlets, tassets, greaves and sabatons are all modern restorations, and have now been removed. A60|1|1|Although it was made for a powerful German nobleman, the large garniture to which these pieces belong is in fact not German at all, but Italian. It was made for Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Prince Bishop of Salzburg (1559-1617). The identity of the maker is uncertain, although it might have been created in the workshop of Pompeo della Chiesa, foremost of the late sixteenth-century Italian armourers and master of a very large operation in Milan. The garniture, parts of which are now also in Munich and St Petersburg, was probably made around the time that its owner took up the See of Salzburg, in 1587. It provided pieces for all primary war and sporting roles, including complete armours for the field, joust, free-tourney, and foot combat at the barriers. The Wallace Collection elements comprise the cuirass and close-helmet for the joust and the arm and shoulder defences for foot combat at the barriers, and would never have all been worn together.

The entire surface of this very costly armour has been lavishly etched and gilt. The decorative scheme is cleverly comprised of an alternating system of bands in which one band-type, with a gilt background and blackened figures –scrolling foliage and cartouches containing Classical figures– is flanked on either side with a contrasting type having a blackened background and gilded trophies of Greco-Roman-style arms and armour. All breastplates belonging to this garniture, including the one in the Wallace Collection, also display the device of a castle placed centrally, just below the neckline. This appears to be an unusual form of armourer’s mark, which appears on a number of other Milanese armours dating from the same period. The Raitenau armour is therefore not the work of Pompeo himself. The etched decoration however is closely similar in style to that found on another, contemporary armour in the Wallace Collection (A59), which bears the signature ‘Pompeo’, centrally, just below the neckline. A61|1|1|Although these armour parts are associated, with each one originating from a different harness, they all belong to the same style of mid 16th-century Italian jousting armour. This style was characterised by a heavy close-helmet with a sharply angular visor, a very deep reinforcing bevor or buffe drawn down to the level of the wearer’s sternum, and a grandguard carefully moulded to the shape of the left side of the breastplate and shoulder. The grandguard was distinctively secured to the breastplate by means of three large bolts, the upper two also holding the lower edge of the reinforcing bevor in place underneath the grandguard. Normally the reinforcing bevor would simply carry a pair of large holes to engage with the bolts mounted on the breastplate beneath; here however the bevor has been slotted at a later date in a somewhat unsuccessful effort to made the associate bevor fit this particular breastplate.

A complete armour of this style would also have included asymmetrical vambraces, the left carrying a large, heavy reinforce for the elbow, the right made lighter and more flexible to enable good control of the lance. The asymmetrical design continued into the gauntlets, with the left being a heavier mitten-type with a solid wrist and vertical flange to protect the thumb, the right being again lighter and permitting a much greater range of movement. The armour would also have included full leg armour, with the lower edges of the greaves cut straight above the ankles to facilitate riding, and full boot-stirrups to protect the feet in the event of collision with the tilt.

The fluted tassets are also typical of the style, although the Wallace Collection examples were acquired separately by Sir Richard Wallace as part of the composite German field armour A20; these were removed in the 20th century and remounted as part of this ensemble in order to display them in a more accurate context.

Italian jousts of this type were most commonly held in town squares such as the Piazza della Loggia in Brescia, where lavish jousts at the tilt were staged throughout the 16th century and later. An armour of this style is among the trophies of arms and armour represented in relief in Brescia’s Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie in Brescia. A62|1|1|A62 GARNITURE FOR THE FIELD

A fine armour for war, made in the Greenwich royal workshop during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, probably for Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst (1536-1608), richly decorated with etched and gilt strapwork and borders. The main decorative theme is a dynamic ‘zigzag and guilloche’ pattern, against a blackened and granulated background.

Consisting of:

BURGONET, made up of a SKULL with high roped comb, a tubular plume-holder at the back and set to the left, close to which the comb is roughly pierced; pointed PEAK or fall, pivoted at the sides (the pivots are modern), the edge turned under, roped, and extended to cover the lower part of the brow; triple-barred FACE-GUARD, made in one piece, the bars of diamond section springing from a plate hollowed for the chin and piercing the peak, where they are locked with a wire passing through eyelets, and secured to the right cheek-piece with a hook and staple; hinged CHEEK-PIECES, each fitted with an oblong projecting key to engage a slot on the falling buff (see below, pieces of exchange), and a stud to which it was also secured by a clasp; both cheek-pieces and the skull have neck-plates of a single lame. The whole is decorated with brass-capped rivets for the lining bands (the parts remaining are either of canvas or the backings of velvet).

GORGET, comprised of front and rear assemblies, each of four plates, three collar plate and a larger base-plate, hinged on the left side and fastening with studs and keyhole slot on the right; the upper edge is turned over to a hollow roping.

BREASTPLATE, of full peascod form, strongly roped at the top and at the gussets, the lower edge flanged outwards to receive the removeable tasset assembly (see below); on either side are hinged steel side-straps (pierced with three holes each) to secure the backplate; that on the left side is a restoration (now broken), and there are two sprockets to which the plackart, or reinforcing breastplate, was secured; at the top are two holed sprockets for the hinged shoulder straps on the backplate.

FRONT SKIRT AND TASSETS, combined as a single assembly, made up of a single skirt lame, onto which the articulated tassets are attached by means of two pairs of articulation rivets. The skirt lame is set with holes at the sides, through which pass the pierced studs mounted on the waist flange of the breastplate; they are then secured with hooks provided next to the holes on the skirt plate. The tassets are each composed of four lames, attached to each other by means of internal leathers (modern), the outer edges turned and roped. Together with the waist plate the tassets are shaped to accommodate and accentuate the distinctively rounded, voluminous form of Elizabethan trunk hosen.

BACKPLATE, with turned and roped edges, flanged at the base to form a narrow skirt, which is indented at the midline. At the sides are pierced studs to engage the hinged steel side-straps on the breastplate; at the top are long, hinged shoulder straps, also of steel, pierced with three holes and furnished with locking-pins. The shoulder straps are also set with vertical posts (each with a sprung catch; both modern restorations) for attachment of the pauldrons; the right pauldron post is mounted on a pivoting hinge, itself set on a projection on the inner side of the shoulder strap, to increase the mobility of the right arm and shoulder.

PAULDRONS, almost symmetrical, the right only slightly cut away at the front to accommodate the spear or lance, of five lames extending in front covering the gussets of the breastplate, the upper lame embossed with a small bulge to accommodate the pierced studs and pins on the breastplate, with keyhole slots at the top for the shoulder posts, the lower lames furnished with brass buckles and upper arm straps.

VAMBRACES, each composed of an enclosed upper cannon with turning-joint having three upper articulation lames, the main plate cut out for the bend of the arm where it is furnished with a narrow lame; bracelet couter with an enclosed wing or tendon guard, two articulated lames, one above and one below the main plate, and a single inner articulation lame protecting the top of the inner elbow, a feature common to the armour of the Greenwich school; lower cannon, of two main plates hinged longitudinally and fastened with a pierced stud and hook; At the forward edge of the cuff is a separate wrist lame, pivoted to subtly increase the mobility of the hand.

Fingered GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs, the inner side consisting of three lames, with two more forming a base of the thumb, in the Greenwich manner, with etched and gilt bands like the rest; five metacarpal plates, embossed knuckle-plate and scaled fingers. The gauntlets have clearly been disassembled at some point, perhaps for cleaning in the 19th century; this is indicated by the fact that the knuckle plates are currently mounted upside down – the one of the shaped knuckles on each plate is slightly smaller than the other three, and is intended to cover the main knuckle of the little finger, however it is currently located over that of the forefinger. The scales for the right thumb are missing, as are also several scales for the little and ring fingers on both gauntlets.

CUISSES, each formed of eight articulating thigh plates, working on sliding rivets and internal leathers; poleyn made up of a main knee-plate with side-wing and one articulation lame one above and two below, the lowermost edge roped and pierced a pair of holes to accept pins mounted on the greaves.

GREAVES, each comprised of main front and rear plates hinged and fastened with two pierced studs and hooks, the rear plate extended downwards over the back of the ankle and foot with five articulation lames and a heel plate, the front plate having three lames at the front transitioning into a larger arched plate extending down over the sides of the foot. A small rowel spur, etched and gilt, is riveted onto the heel plate. A third hook and pierced stud fastening, mounted on the heel-plate, engages through a hole in the frontal arch plate, from which continue the integral SABATONS, themselves composed of four lames overlapping downwards, an intermediate plate, and four lames and toe-cap overlapping upwards.

PIECES OF EXCHANGE

Falling BUFF, attached to the burgonet when the garniture is configured for heavy cavalry service. Quite thick and heavy (probably at least partially shot-proof), of five plates – a middle chin-plate, cut with slots on either side at the trailing edges to engage with the oblong stops mounted on the cheek-pieces of the burgonet; two falling face-plates above; and two neck plates below. The upper face-plate is pierced at the top with four horizontal slits forming the sight (two on each side of the central bridge), the upper edge strongly roped and with a short projection in the centre which braces the peak; hinged steel clasps on either side (provided with a hole to fit over the stud on the cheek-piece), fastened with hooks, are employed to lock the buff onto the front of the burgonet. The face-plates are held in the raised position by spring-catches. The lower neck-plate is pointed and finished with roping and a row of brass-headed lining rivets. There are no breaths.

PLACKART, or reinforcing breastplate, shaped to fit very closely over the primary breastplate, to which it is secured by pierced studs and hooks. The folding lance-rest, pierced with four holes, is secured with two bolts; it is locked by a spring when in either a vertical or horizontal position. Crucially, the primary breastplate is fitted with its own tapped holes and bolts on the right side, so that the lance-rest can be used without the plackart. The two upper corners are cut away to accommodate the steel shoulder-straps.

STIRRUPS. Each arch-shaped, the sides widening towards the base, where they are pierced by three holes; the treads composed of two inner bars (twisted) between two outer bars, the front one serrated on the upper edge; fixed eye, or box, is provided at the top for the stirrup leather. Notably, these are the only pair of Greenwich stirrups known to survive. The stirrups belonging to the Cumberland garniture existed at least until the 1920s, when they were stolen when that armour was in the collection of the American media baron Clarence H. Mackay (between 1922 and 1932); their present location, if they still exist, is unknown (personal communication, Stuart Pyhrr).

CONFIGURATIONS
If this is indeed the field garniture of ‘Lord Buckhurst’ recorded in the Almain Album (see below), then it is complete apart from the saddle steels, which are lost. There is certainly no evidence on any of the extant parts that there ever were any other pieces for joust, tourney or formal combat on foot. As a small but very efficiently and elegantly conceived garniture for the field, A62 had at least four essential configurations: (1) for infantry service in the field, employing only the cuirass (worn without the skirt and tassets assembly), burgonet and gauntlets, the arms and shoulders being protected by mail sleeves; (2) light cavalry use, wherein the skirt and tassets could be added; (3) medium cavalry or ‘demi-lance’, adding the pauldrons, vambraces, cuisses and falling buff, and with the lance-rest mounted on the primary breastplate; and (4) heavy cavalry, with the plackart (the lance-rest relocated) worn over the primary breastplate and the greaves and sabatons completing the full leg armour.

The DECORATION consists of sunken bands, deeply etched and gilt on a formerly heat-tinted or blued ground (most of which has by now been polished away leaving bare steel). The broader vertical bands contain a flowing design of interlacing etched and gilt guilloche on a granulated and blackened ground, through which runs a narrow gilt zig-zag band; the borders have a smaller, simpler version of the same motif, consisting of single undulating riband threaded with a thin gilt line running through its midst, also on a granulated and blackened ground. The edges of the broad bands and the plates are decorated with even narrower borders, filled with minute etched foliage, fully-gilt. The smooth blued surfaces were once a rich, iridescent azure-purple, traces of which remain, especially on the helmet and gauntlet; in the Almain Album (see below), this cosmetic heat-treatment is indicated with a brick-red wash – feeding the myth that some Greenwich armours were ‘russeted’ or browned. The edges throughout are bordered with brass-capped rivets for the lining bands.

The workmanship of this armour is of a high quality, but like the other extant products of the Greenwich workshop, there are no armourer's marks. A62 is almost completely without restoration, except for the substitution of many modern brass rivets for the old steel brass-capped rivets during cleaning and re-strapping in the past, and the recent restoration of the posts on the steel straps of the backplate which carry the pauldrons.

English, made in the Royal Workshop, Greenwich under Jacob Halder, c. 1587.

Skelton I, pl. XXIX; Meyrick Catalogue, p. xiv and no. 740 (?); Dillon, Armourer’s Album, pls. XXX-XXXI; Laking, European Armour IV, pp. 17, 63-76, figs. 1151-3

Compare the slightly later gauntlet (A276) from the blue and gold Greenwich garniture in the Royal Collection, made for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.

This armour was produced during the time when Jacob Halder was Master of the Greenwich workshop. Halder is first mentioned in a list of workmen at Greenwich in 1553-4, and was almost certainly of German origin, like many of his fellow craftsmen. He is first recorded in a list of Almain armourers of about 1557. In 1531 an armourer of the same name, possibly his father, is recorded as residing in Augsburg in the house of Anna, widow of the armourer Briccius Helmschmid. Jacob Halder became Master Workman of the Almain Armoury at Greenwich in 1576, in succession to John Kelte (or Kelke), which office he held until his death in 1608.

PROVENANCE
A drawing probably of this armour is present in the Almain Album (see below), now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. D.593&A-1894, plate 43) and is inscribed ‘My Lorde Bucarte’, referring to Thomas Sackville (1536-1608) who was knighted and raised to the peerage on the same day, 8 June, 1567, when he took the title of Baron Buckhurst; he later became Earl of Dorset, in 1604. In early life he devoted himself to literature and music, then to politics and diplomacy. He entered into a vast inheritance upon his father's death in 1566, and, being sagacious, cultivated and of magnificent habits, found favour with Queen Elizabeth I, and was sent to France on official visits in 1568 and 1571. He was constantly employed as a Commissioner at State trials, and was deputed in 1586 to announce the death sentence to Mary Queen of Scots, a painful duty which he performed with much consideration for the victim, receiving from Mary a Calvary which is still at Knole, the house and estate (near Sevenoaks, in Kent) granted to Sackville by the Queen in 1566. His mission as ambassador to the Low Countries in 1587 was less successful: he had too literally obeyed his instructions and was reprimanded with scorn for the ‘shallow judgment which had spoiled the cause, impaired the Queen’s honour and shamed himself’. Buckhurst quickly came back into favour however, taking charge of the defence of the strategically important Sussex coast during the Armada invasion in 1588. He was made a Knight of the Garter the same year and was sent to the Netherlands again in 1589 and 1598. The accession of James I did not affect his fortunes, and in 1603 he was appointed Treasurer for life: he died suddenly at the Council Table at Whitehall in 1608.

Before it came into the possession of Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, the history of A62 has yet to be satisfactorily established. A62 was no. IV in the unpublished catalogue, prepared for Meyrick in 1818, of a collection of arms and armour belonging to Domenic Colnaghi. Meyrick states that it was ‘brought from a Château in Brie which belonged to the Ducs de Longueville’. A62 appears to have been no. 1 in a list of the Colnaghi collection acquired by Meyrick around that time, now in the Royal Armouries library. The catalogue by J. R. Planche of the Meyrick Collection, when at South Kensington in 1869, gives (on page xiv) the further particulars that it was taken from the Château de Coulommiers in Brie, when this was ‘dismantled during the first great French Revolution’, and had been the property of Helionorus, the 8th Duke de Longueville. Problematically however, in the strictest sense there was no 8th duke of this name. The 8th and last duc de Longueville was Charles-Paris d’Orleans, killed at the crossing of the Rhine in 1672. The Château of Coulommiers in Brie was built by Caterina Gonzaga, consort of the sixth duke. At the time of the Revolution at the end of the 18th century, it was indeed owned by a member of the de Longueville family – the 8th Marquis de Bucy; he was guillotined and the château destroyed in the French Revolution. The family emigrated to England, one branch of which gave its name to Orton Longueville in Northamptonshire. Major Sergius Mortimer Emmanuel Rinalt de Longueville, 11th marquis de Bucy, died in this country in 1929.

Since the confusion may stem from the conflation of the 8th Duc and the 8th Marquis, Meyrick’s statement that the armour ‘belonged to Helionorus, eighth Duke of Longueville . . . and came from the Château de Coulommiers en Brie, a castle belonging to the family’ must still be taken seriously; it is almost certainly not purely a fantasy dreamt up by a dealer, as Camp thought. Claude Blair has suggested that A62 might have been a diplomatic gift to Henri, 6th Duke of Longueville (1568-96), whose wife Caterina built the Château de Coulommiers, although, as he says, no record of such a gift survives. Alternatively, if the armour was that of Buckhurst, Blair proposed that it might have been passed on to his third son, Sir William Sackville (about 1568-1592), when he went to fight in France, where he was killed in the skirmish at Bures near Neufchâtel, in which the 6th Duke also took part on the same side. The Duke could therefore have been in a position to acquire this armour after the action, if it remained largely undamaged or if Sir William had been wearing another armour on the day of battle. It is possible, of course, that the armour was actually made for Sir William but under a royal warrant issued in his father's name.

There is little evidence to suggest an alternative history for the armour’s presence in England between the time of its making and its acquisition by Meyrick. Although Queen Elizabeth I granted a reversion of the manor of Knole to Sackville in 1566, it was not until 1603 that he came into legal possession of the property, and in 1605 (three years before his death) the rebuilding of the house was completed. Knole Park was raided for arms on the 14 August, 1642 (at that time the seat of Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset) by the Parliamentary forces; five wagon loads of weapons and armour were then removed. It was ordered:

That such as are rich Arms shall not be made use of, but kept safely for the Earl of Dorset: but such as are fit to be made use of for the service of the Kingdom are to be employed: an inventory to be taken and money to be given to the Earl of Dorset in satisfaction thereof.

Whether the Buckhurst armour was included amongst the rich arms kept safely for the earl is unknown. The Inventory of ‘ye arms from Knowl 15 August 1642’ contains an item ‘Whit tilting Armor 3’, although A62 was not white but blued (see C. J. Phillips, Arch. Cantiana, XXXIII, November, 1918). The absence of any armour identifiable as A62 in the inventory of arms seized at Knole in August 1642 may however only mean that it was, at that time, stored in another Sackville house.

THE GREENWICH ROYAL WORKSHOP
The Greenwich royal armour workshop was founded by King Henry VIII in 1515, following the example of the Emperor Maximilian I and the Imperial court workshop at Innsbruck. Successive Master Workmen were Martyn van Royne (until 1521), Erasmus Kyrkenar (c. 1495-1567; appointed Master Workman in 1521), John Kelte (Master 1567-1576), Jacob Halder (Master 1576-1608), William Pickering (1607-8), Thomas Stevens (1618) and Nicholas Sherman (1628 until about 1637), when the line came to an end.

The school, which developed a characteristic style early in its history –the recognition of which only occurred with the discovery of the Almain Album (see below)– is well-represented in the collections of the Royal Armouries, which includes armours of Henry VIII, Lord North, the Earl of Leicester, the Earl of Worcester, Sir John Smythe, and a helmet of Sir Henry Lee. In the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle there is another of Henry VIII’s Greenwich armours, along with garnitures made for Sir Christopher Hatton and Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. In the R. L. Scott Collection, now in the care of Glasgow Museums, there are two important examples: the equestrian anime armour of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1555), and the white armour of his son Henry, the 2nd Earl, c. 1575 (both preserved at Wilton House until the 20th century). Another, perhaps the Duke of Norfolk's, is in the possession of the Honourable Artillery Company, and the second armour of Sir Henry Lee is in the possession of the Armourers’ and Brasiers’ Company of London.

A great deal of research was conducted into the Greenwich royal workshop during the mid- and late 20th century; the work up to 1952 has been carefully sifted and collected in Cripps-Day’s monograph, An Introduction to the Study of Greenwich Armour, privately printed in his series Fragmenta Armamentaria (vol. I, pt. II, wherein the Wallace armour is discussed on pp. 88-9). See also C. R. Beard in The Connoisseur, LXX (1924), pp. 176-7. In 1951 An Exhibition of Armour made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich was held at the Tower of London, and included nearly all the surviving armours which are described in detail by Mann and Blair in the catalogue.

Most of the surviving armours of the Greenwich workshops derive from English families, or have been preserved at Windsor Castle or the Tower of London, but a number are now in collections overseas. These include armours of King Henry VIII, Sir James Scudamore, George Clifford 3rd Earl of Cumberland and Henry Herbert 2nd Earl of Pembroke in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. nos. 19.131.1; 11.128.1-.2; 32.130.6; 32.130.5), along with diverse other Greenwich armour parts; elements the ‘quatrefoils’ garniture of Sir Henry Lee, now in the Liverustkammeren, Stockholm; the blue and gold armour made for Friedrich Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick, preserved at Schloss Harbke until 1945 (Cripps-Day and Beard, Z.H.W.K., XI, p. 280; now in the Lauder Collection, New York, the gauntlets in the Metropolitan Museum, inv. no. 14.25.899); and the aforementioned parts now in Chicago.

Since the exhibition held at the Tower in 1951, more Greenwich armour has come to light, including a boy’s splinted armour of the ‘middle’ period, c. 1550, from Cotehele, now in the Royal Armouries and a close-helmet, etched with the same pattern as the Scudamore armour, from Hengrave Hall, Suffolk, later in the possession of Dr. Richard Williams.

THE GREENWICH ARMOUR ALBUM
The Greenwich Armourers’ Album now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, also called the Almain or Jacobe Album, formed part of the Paris dealer Frederic Spitzer’s collection until his death in 1890. It was acquired at the sale in 1893 (lot 3035) by the dealer, Stein, when it was recognised by the Baron de Cosson and acquired in 1894 by the Victoria and Albert Museum for 5,000 francs on the advice of Viscount Dillon.

At first glance it can appear as though the armours recorded in the Album are arranged in chronological order. However, this is probably not entirely the case, as there is evidence that in the course of rebinding certain pages were displaced, and some of the drawings appear to have been executed in a group together at the same time and so may not represent a strict chronology.
The Album, containing a series of watercolour designs for armours made at Greenwich, was compiled between 1557 and 1587. It contains twenty-nine armour designs on fifty-six sheets, each showing an armoured figure posed to delineate as much of the technical detail as possible. Additional associated sheets, facing or following the main design, depict any additional parts and pieces of exchange used to configure the armour for different forms of combat, including infantry and light, medium and heavy cavalry service, as well as form use in formal combats such as jousts, tournaments fought on horseback and on foot. The Album has lost some of its designs, the imprints of which can be seen on the reverse of some of the remaining pages. A number of the armours illustrated in the Album survive. Some of these exhibit minor differences from their Album representations, indicating that the designs were drawn up before the armours were made, rather than being some kind of record of work created later.

Although the decoration of A62 corresponds with that depicted on the page of the Album entitled ‘My Lorde Buckarte’ (Buckhurst), this is not in itself evidence of its identity. More than one armour was produced by the Greenwich workshops with the same zig-zag and guilloche ornament. In 1956 Claude Blair discussed the various surviving armours and armour parts bearing the this pattern in relation to contemporary portraits and to the drawings in the Album in his article ‘A new-found Greenwich helmet’ (Connoisseur Yearbook, 1956, pp. 79-84). Therein he listed the evidence for the existence of four armours decorated with this distinctive scheme. In a paper delivered in 1963 at the IAMAM conference in London, Blair modified his dating of some of this armours.

i. The burgonet and falling buffe, the right half of the waist-plate, both pauldrons and vambraces, but with extensive repairs and restorations, and a pair of laminated cuisses to the knee, of a white and gilt three-quarter armour for the field, dating from about 1595, are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 11.128.2). This armour came from Holme Lacey in Herefordshire, the seat of the Scudamore family, and is presumably the armour worn by Sir James Scudamore (1558-1619) in the full-length portrait once in possession of the family, dated 1619, long preserved at Holme Lacy and until recently the property of Lady Chesterfield at Beningborough Hall, Yorkshire (sold 10 -13 June 1958, lot 1182). It is presumably not recorded in the Album because the last surviving drawing of the series pre-dates the making of this armour.

Three armours, all blued and gilt and etched with the zig-zag and guilloche pattern, are depicted in the Album (Nos. ii, iii and iv below).

ii. Drawings nos. 51 and 52 show respectively a three-quarter armour of similar design to no. i, and its extra pieces, consisting of a falling buffe, plackart, the three plates for a saddle, and a pair of stirrups. Drawing no. 51 is inscribed ‘My Lorde Cumpton’, that is, either Henry, 1st Lord Compton (1544-89), or more probably his son William, 2nd Lord Compton (1568-1630), created 1st Earl of Northampton in 1618. Nothing further is known of the later history of this armour, although Blair tentatively suggested that this may be the armour depicted in a miniature of an unknown man, in the British Royal Collection (RCIN 420895). A previous identification of this miniature as Lord Buckhurst was based only on the resemblance of the armour in which he is represented to A62 and to the drawing in the Album. It is not borne out, however, by comparison with other portraits of Buckhurst. The miniature is now tentatively identified as possibly the 2nd Lord Compton, and dated c. 1600.

iii. Drawings nos. 54 and 55, which differ from no. ii only in being for a complete, head to foot armour. The owner's name is given as ‘My Lorde Buckarte’, that is, either Thomas Sackville (1536-1609), who was created Lord Buckhurst in 1567, or possibly his son Robert who was known by this title after his father had been created 1st Earl of Dorset in March 1603/4. Nothing is known for certain of the later history of this armour, although A62 has long been identified as the armour of Lord Buckhurst on the grounds of its similarity to these drawings.

iv. Drawing no. 46 which shows the extra pieces for an armour for the field, tourney course, tilt, and possibly barriers; consisting of the reinforce fit below the sights of the field or barrier helmet, a two-piece wrapper for the tourney course, a plackart, a right full pauldron for use on all occasions except with a lance, burgonet, falling buff without a pierced sight, grandguard, guard of the vambrace, and manifer, the last three all for the joust, and a set of saddle steels. The drawing of the armour itself is missing but has left an impression on the page originally facing it, which shows it to have been a cap-à-pie harness fitted with a close helmet for the field. The owner's name has unfortunately not been transferred.

The fact that the Scudamore armour is not recorded in the Album, at least in the book’s present form, indicates that it cannot be assumed that the surviving parts of the other armours of this pattern are necessarily those shown in its drawings.

In addition to A62 and the Scudamore armour, Blair listed surviving parts of two or perhaps three similarly decorated armours. Firstly are a field cuirass, a pair of pauldrons, and a pair of arms for field and now white and gilt (formerly blued and gilt, traces of bluing being preserved under some of the rivets; personal communication, Jonathan Tavares, 2018), formerly in the collection of the Duke of Ratibor at Schloss Grafenegg, Austria, sold at the Ratibor sale in Lucerne in 1933, and now in the Harding collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 2698; (Z.H.W.K., XIII, p. 247; Greenwich Armour Exhibition, Tower of London, 1951, no. 19, pl. XX). The left couter is pierced for the stud to secure the guard of the vambrace used for the joust. Secondly, there is a close-helmet for the field, joust and tourney, lacking its visor and upper bevor, the subject of Blair’s article, then in the collection of Dr. Richard Williams, but now in the Royal Armouries (inv. IV.577). Dr Williams bought it at the sale of the contents of Hengrave Hall, Suffolk, in 1952. Although it lacks its visor its purpose can be recognised by the fact that it is designed to turn on its gorget and has no neck-plates of its own, and by the presence of a pierced peg on each check-piece for the attachment of the wrapper for the tourney, and another on the left side of the skull for the lock of the grandguard for the joust. This helmet may originally have been blued. It is now covered with dark brown patination, with a considerable amount of gilding preserved in the strapwork and borders. Blair suggested that this might be part of an armour illustrated in a group of portraits of Peregrine Bertie, Lord Willoughby d’ Eresby (1555-1601), the original (or the earliest copy of the lost original) of which is probably the painting at Grimsthorpe; an 18th-century copy is in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. I.67). This shows him reclining on the ground wearing a tight-fitting peascod doublet of black cloth. This was painted over the cuirass, tassets, and pauldrons, but whether to represent some fine semi-transparent fabric or as a second thought on the part of the artist or of his patron is not clear. He wears vambraces and complete leg-harness with laminated cuisses. On the ground beside him are a close-helmet with jousting visor and a pair of field gauntlets. Suspended on a tree behind him on the right in the middle distance are a cuirass with its tassets, and a gorget. The helmet in the painting does not show the studs for the reinforces but, since it has a jousting visor and is, therefore, clearly not intended for use in the field, this is presumably due to inadvertence on the part of the painter, who has apparently placed the rivets of the hinge for the cheek- piece incorrectly. Blair very tentatively suggested that the armour in this portrait, and the drawing no. 46 in the Album (no. iv above) might be one and the same. Assuming that the Royal Armouries close-helmet was not part of the ‘one fayer tilt armor, furnished with head peece, shield and gauntlets’ of the post-mortem inventory of Sir Thomas Kyston the Younger (1541-1603) at Hengrave, somehow saved from the confiscation of the family armoury in 1643, Blair tentatively suggested that it might be the helmet in the portrait of Peregrine Bertie. The Grafenegg pieces, since they include a vambrace for the joust, may also have formed part of this garniture.

Thirdly, there is a left field gauntlet from a white and gilt armour of this group, formerly in the collection of the late R. M. Lebrun, and now in the Musée d’ Armes, Liège (inv. no. 10276M-Lb12). This might be part of the Grafenegg armour.

Since Blair wrote his article the identification of these armours has been further complicated by the appearance of a portrait of Sir John Burroughs with his son, dated 1619, showing the vambraces, gorget, and helmet with field visor of an armour decorated with this pattern (London art market in the late 1950s). A63|1|1|A63 CUIRASSIER ARMOUR

A very fine etched and gilded cuirassier armour, made between about 1620 and 1635 in Northern Italy, probably for a high-ranking member of the ruling House of Savoy.

Consisting of:

CLOSED BURGONET, ‘alla Viscontea’, the SKULL of which is forged in one piece, with a low piping taking the place of a comb or central ridge over the crown, incised with transverse pairs of lines imitating roping; VISOR in two parts: the FALL or PEAK over the eyes, and the VISOR or face-guard, which is barred with eight vertical slits on each side. The upper edge is rolled over and projects in a rounded section beneath the sight. The CHIN-PIECE moves on the same pivots as the visor, and is secured to the skull by a hinged and slotted metal strap held by a turning-pin on the right side near the neck. Blind lining rivets run around the jaw, and five lining rivets with rosette-shaped washers progress around the back of the neck. Riveted to the bottom edges of skull and chin-piece are sets of two neck-plates, front and back, the bottom edge in each case being rolled over to a semi-circular section.

The GORGET is formed of two single plates, front and back, fastened by a stud and keyhole slot on the right shoulder. The hinge formerly on the left shoulder is missing. The bottom edge is slightly rounded and incised to simulate roping. Gilded lining rivets accompany the lower borders and also the collar, where there are remains of the original crimson velvet pickadils. Metal D-rings are riveted on the shoulders for the attachment of the pauldrons.

The BREASTPLATE is of solid make, with a central ridge terminating in a small point near the waist. The borders are strongly turned over to a circular section and not roped. The bottom edge is turned outward to carry the LONG

TASSETS. These are each attached to the breastplate by a single hinge which is riveted to the breast and secured to the tasset by a butterfly nut. They are each formed of twenty plates, including the POLEYNS, but the latter can be detached, as they are attached with turn-pins on the eleventh lame. The knees have heart-shaped side-wings etched with a trophy of shield, quiver and arrows.

The BACKPLATE is in one piece of solid make, the edges are not turned. The waist-straps of leather covered with crimson velvet and trimmed with gold galoon, may be restorations. To its lower flange is attached by butterfly nuts a spreading rear skirt, or CULET. This consists of a broad top lame (it has been broken and repaired by an inside patch near the left nut) which extends from side to side, but the remainder is divided into two halves, each of six lames, joined down the centre. The bottom edge is turned and the lining rivets retain considerable remains of the original pickadils of crimson velvet.

PAULDRONS, each built up of a main plate and three large lames on the shoulder, and four smaller lames on the upper arm, the lowest of which is riveted to the circular turning-joint. The VAMBRACES, which are inseparable from, and incorporated as single assemblies with, the pauldrons, each consist of: upper cannon; elbow with small oval side-wing, articulated with two lames above and three below; and lower cannon, joined by two hinges on the inner side and fastened by a hinged loop and turning-pin on the outer. The inside of the arms is protected by a series of fourteen narrow gilt lames connecting the short, upper cannon to the lower.

DECORATION. The whole surface of the armour is covered with an etched network of diamond-shaped panels formed by double Savoyard knots enclosing gilt trophies, coronets ensigned with palm-branches, and pairs of conjoined hands, gilt upon a dark, granulated background, the granulations being not of the usual German type, but created by scribbled etching and probably originally blued. On the breast at the neck is a triple-towered castle. The borders are etched with bands of guilloche ornament, gilt, and on the metacarpal lames with scale-like arches. The clasped hands and fire of friendship form the central motif of the side-wings of the elbows. The borders, when turned over to a circular section, are plain. The original rivet-heads, where they remain, are not of brass, but of iron gilt.

North Italian, about 1620-35.

Provenance: The House of Savoy (?); Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frederic Spitzer. This armour cannot have been exhibited at the Gothic Hall, as was once tentatively suggested, because it is illustrated as no. 9 in Meyrick's unpublished catalogue of Domenic Colnaghi's collection, made in 1818, and was probably no. 4 of the list of the collection made when it was acquired by Meyrick shortly after this date, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries.

Skelton, pl. XXXVII; Laking V, fig. 1430; Thomas and Gamber, L' arte dell' armatura milanese, Storia di Milano, XI, 1958, p. 824; Blair, European Armour, 1958, fig. 214; Norman, Arms and Armour, 1964, pl. 92; Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pl. 208.

Exhibited: South Kensington 1869, cat., p. XVI, no. 864.

This armour is similar and generally comparable in build and decoration to various other armours falling within the years 1595-1635, which has been made the subject of a detailed monograph by C. R. Beard, entitled The Barberini and allied armours (Blackburn, 1924). Its ownership is there ascribed either to Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Oneglia and Viceroy of Sicily (d. 1624), a cadet of the ducal line, or more probably to his brother, Maurizio, to whom he assigned his offices and orders in the year before his death. See also A. Van de Put in The Burlington Magazine, XXI (1912), p. 311; XXV (1914), p. 59, for notes on the iconography of this prince.

Beard divided the group into: (1) cap-à-pie harnesses, i.e., those with close-helmets and complete legs, and (2) three-quarter cuirassier harnesses of a somewhat later date. The former are represented by two at Madrid, A360, A369 (bearing the initials of Emanuele Filiberto); the Hermitage, Leningrad (called the Duke of Alva); the Musée de l' Armée, G114 (Grimaldi); ibid., G190 (parts of a boy's armour); the Museo Poldi Pezzoli at Milan; and one in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac (ex-Estruch). Slightly different in decoration are Madrid, no. 1291 (cat. of 1849); Windsor Castle, no. 11 (Henry, Prince of Wales); and another in the Hermitage.

The cuirassier harnesses, to which class A63 belongs, are (i) the Barberini armour, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; (ii) Stockholm (later belonged to Charles XI of Sweden); (iii) Brussels, Porte de Hal (della Mirandola); (iv) the Musée de l' Armée, G106, and (v) helmets, ibid., H129, and (vi) ibid., H278; and (vii) Madrid, A422, a gift sent from Milan to Philip IV by his brother, the Cardinal Infante Don Fernando, when governor of that city, 1633-4. The Madrid examples have lost their bluing and gilding.

As important as Beard’s study was, it must be noted that the group of armours brought together in the Barberini monograph, which included A63, is not in fact homogeneous. The ‘Barberini armour’ itself is not in fact particularly like A63. The feature which these armours have in common is the all-over decoration which is simply a question of fashion and not of their all being made in a single workshop.

To those noted by Beard there can be added a number of examples in the Museo di Capodimonte at Naples, one being ascribed to Alessandro Farnese; the armour of the Duke of Feria, formerly in the collection of the Duke of Medinaceli and now in the Military Museum at Madrid; parts of an armour ascribed to Duke Vittorio Amadeo I at Turin (D159, E 18, etc.); in the former Litchfield Collection in New York; and some pieces in the Metropolitan Museum there; a right knee-piece and a greave in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich; a half-armour in the collection of Viscount Astor of Hever; another armour in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, and a boy's breastplate also. There are two pairs of small gauntlets of this style in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. nos. M 1386-1888 and M 304-1919); and there are detached pieces in many museums and collections.

Two paintings, one in the Dulwich Gallery ascribed to Van Dyck and representing Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Oneglia, and another, probably of Prince Vittorio Amedeo of Savoy, sold by the American Art Association in February, 1922, represent the sitters in decorated armour of this kind.
Many of these armours are connected with the House of Savoy, and Beard has suggested that they might have been made by Orazio Calino of Brescia, who was in the service of Duke Carlo Emanuele of Savoy from 1593 to 1623. In 1613 he made for the duke 43 muskets with their rests, 13 partisans, 12 corselets, 12 morions, 9 cuirasses, musket proof, 8 arquebuses and 1 musket with its flask. (Dufour and Rabut, Les Armuriers en Savoie, p. 160, C. Buttin, Les Armures a l' épreuve, p. 41.) Beard also suggested that the triple-towered castle of Castile on the neck might be connected with Emanuele Filiberto's office as Grand Prior of the Order of St. John of Castile, in which he was succeeded by Maurizio. It is also found on the boy's armour in the Musée de l' Armée, G190; Madrid, inv. no. A369; and M. Pauilhac’s armour already mentioned. But it should be noted that a castle occurs in the same place on many etched armours of the previous generation, in which case it may refer to the castle of Milan, where Pompeo della Cesa worked, or when triple-towered to Pompeo's office as Court Armourer to Philip III of Spain (see A51, A56). This would support a Milanese, rather than a Brescian origin for these armours. The tradition of Meyrick's time that this armour came from the Manfredi family of Faenza is clearly incorrect, as the last of that line died in 1500. The same provenance was given to an armour in the Hebray sale, 1838, lot 8 (Cripps-Day, Armour Sales). This group of armours has recently been discussed by Thomas and Gamber, op. cit., p. 815, where it is suggested that they were made at Eugui near Pamplona, but the very large number that survive in Italy makes an Italian provenance more likely.

1986 Supplement Note:
B. Thomas and O. Gamber (1958, pp. 811, 813-8) grouped the eleven armours then known with the castle mark together, but even here there are differences of construction and indeed in the details of the castle mark, both of which suggest that this group also is not homogeneous. For instance, compare nos. A56, A60 and A63 here (nos. III, VI and X of their list) which are all marked with different forms of castle. Incidentally, Thomas and Gamber did not suggest that the armours of this group were made at Eugui near Pamplona, as stated previously, but attributed them to Milan between 1580 and 1610, under the heading ‘armature con sigla di castello’.

The armour at Hever Castle, the original pieces of which consist of cuirass, symmetrical pauldrons, and arms, all for service on foot, was sold at Sotheby's, 5th May 1983, lot 49, repr. in cat. What may be the matching cavalry cuirass, infantry tassets, asymmetrical pauldrons for field, and symmetrical arms, were sold at Christie's, 20th June 1979, lot 9, repr. in cat. In this case the foot-combat helmet was for a very similar armour, and the gauntlets from yet another armour.

In addition to the armours listed in the various publications cited above three others are recorded in paintings. A half armour for service on foot is depicted by Zurbarán in The surrender of Seville (J. López-Rey, 'An unpublished Zurbarán', Apollo, LXXII, 1965, pp. 23-5). Another of the same type is shown in a portrait of Lorenzo di Ferdinando dei Medici (1599-1648) painted about 1611-15 in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence (inv. no. 1890/3778; Boccia, Rossi and Morin, 1980, pl. 206). A portrait of Alessandro Pico dclla Mirandola, Duke of Mirandola, in a half armour for service on foot with closed arms and symmetrical pauldrons is in the Worcester Art Museum (ex-Higgins collection, inv. no. 6047). A pair of asymmetrical pauldrons and right closed arm of this last armour, formerly in the Uboldo collection, are in the Musée de l’Armée, Brussels. A64|1|1|A64 PARTS OF AN ARMOUR

These elements belong to a once very rich French armour, probably made for one of the French kings or at least a high-ranking member of the royal court.

Consisting of :

PAULDRON AND RIGHT VAMBRACE, the pauldron of large, enveloping proportions, built of four large upper lames and four smaller, lower ones, the last being riveted to the turning-joint of the vambrace. The vambrace consists of an upper cannon, articulated couter with heart-shaped wing; lower cannon closed by a hinge and pin, and a set of twelve narrow lames forming a guard for the inner elbow.

Pair of long TASSETS. The left one is composed of eleven broad lames, pierced at the top with a boxed hole to accommodate the staple on the breastplate. It is detachable at the sixth lame, so that it could be worn as a short tasset without the lower part. Knee-piece with heart-shaped side-wing, articulated once above and below, with a lower lame shaped to a rounded point. The right tasset lacks its upper lames, and consists of the five lower lames and the knee only.

DECORATION. The whole surface is diapered with a pattern of strapwork, trophies and foliage on a scribbled granulated ground, gilt overall. The borders are turned over and lightly roped with a file. Brass-capped rivets.

French, about 1630.

Provenance: ?Comte de Belleval (these seem to be the pieces referred to under no. 46 in de Belleval's Catalogue of his collection in La Panoplie, 1873; ?Comte de Nieuwerkerke.)

The type of decoration is a late form of etched 'all-over' ornament, and allied to that on A63, though it retains certain earlier motifs, notably the borders of running foliage.

The close-helmet, breastplate with hinged attachment for the tassets, the backplate, and the back of the gorget of this armour are in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (respectively inv. nos. H.Po.584, G.Po.584, G.Po.1416, and G.Po.2579). Three lames from the upper section of the right tasset are in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 cat., no. 3266). A complete armour of very similar design is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Inv. no. 27.177.1; Bashford Dean, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, XXIII, pp. 16-24, fig. 7). This still has its shaffron (inv. no. 22.177.2), while what is almost certainly its saddle is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. no. G.577). Its strapwork has a plain surface and the background is rather less crowded than on A64. A pair of gauntlets decorated with a very similar design is in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. II.181; J. S. Gardner, 1898, fig. 22). The whereabouts of the front plate of the gorget, left pauldron, left vambrace and gauntlets, if they survive, are unknown.

Although the Wallace Collection pieces are now very worn, the areas between plates, where the original finish has been protected, reveal that this armour was once very elaborately decorated with etching and gilding over all of its exterior surfaces. The decoration takes the form of a characteristically French design comprised, on the main surfaces, of entwined plants, vines, trophies of arms and Classical figures, all gilt, against a ‘pebbled’ and blackened background. The borders of the armour meanwhile are emphasised with narrow bands containing a running-vine pattern against a contrasting hatched ground.

The complete armour of which these pieces were a part was designed for heavy cavalry combat, the domain in the 17th century of the ‘cuirassier’, sometimes still armed with the knightly lance but increasingly after c. 1610 with firearms. A65|1|1|A65 CUIRASSIER ARMOUR

Of white steel but originally left black from the forge, this armour belongs to a large group made for the military forces of Bavaria in the early 17th century. It has clearly been composed using parts from at least two armours in the same series.

Consisting of:

CLOSED BURGONET, ‘alla Viscontea’, the skull made in two halves joined at the comb, visor consisting of a peaked fall pivoted at the sides, to which is riveted a barred face-guard. The horizontal slits for the sight are very narrow. Chin-piece pivoted at the same points as the visor and fastened by a strap round the back and buckled on the right side; a single gorget plate, front and back respectively, is riveted to the lower edge of skull and chin-piece. On the front gorget plate is the arsenal number 10.

GORGET, associated, with roped circular collar hinged on the left side, articulated by one plate, back and front, to the two main plates, which are joined by a slotted pin on the right shoulder. It carries the straps for the pauldrons.

BREASTPLATE of very heavy make, short waisted, with central ridge descending to a sharp point, the edges turned. Two brass rivets fill the holes which originally held the hooks to secure the braces of the backplate, to which it is now joined by steel buckles on the shoulders. Two hinges with screw-nuts (probably once butterfly nuts) are riveted on either side of the lower flange to carry the tassets; these are probably 19th-century replacements. The breast is incised near the neck with the arsenal number 42. The right side of the breastplate carries a so-called ‘proof-mark’, a bullet-dent made to indicate that the armour had been certified as bullet-proof. However, recent investigation by Alan Williams has proved that many such marks, including this particular example, were created using only a partial charge of gunpowder in the proving weapon, in order to present the armour as being more protective than it really was. In reality this armour probably would not stop a direct shot.

BACKPLATE in one piece, incised with the arsenal number 13. To the lower flange is attached by slotted pins a rear skirt of one large, boxed plate, and two lower lames, divided in the centre. The boxed lame also bears the number 13.

PAULDRONS of large size, built of three large lames and four lower lames in each case. The left one bears the numbers 42 and 65, and is also struck by a row of three small punched dots, the right one 42 only.

VAMBRACES, both for the right arm, secured to the pauldrons by a turning-pin, and furnished with a turning-joint in the upper cannon. Couters with heart-shaped tendon guards encircling the joint, and articulated once above and below; lower cannons closed by a brass hinge and pin.

GAUNTLETS, with pointed cuffs; both bear the number 42 and a punched mark of eight dots in two rows. Six metacarpal lames, moulded knuckle lame, scaled thumb and fingers.

Long TASSETS, of twelve lames, reaching from the breastplate to the knee, detachable at the seventh lame, the border of which is finished by turning over. KNEE-PIECES, each with heart-shaped side-wing, with a broad lame above and below. The lowest, which bears in each case the number 42, has a slot for attaching greaves, but probably of recent make. This armour was, until recently, completed by greaves of a much earlier date. They have been removed and are now catalogued separately under A298-9.

The whole armour is bright and unornamented, except for a single engraved line running around the borders of the plates and the middle of the elbows. The bright polish probably dates only from the 19th century. The lames of the gorget have two lines, and it may not belong to the rest of the armour. The presence of four different arsenal numbers on most of the parts, namely: 10, 13, 42 (which appears six times) and 65, indicate that it was one of a series of exactly similar armours in a large arsenal, the parts of which have become intermixed.

The punched dots on the gauntlets suggest a possible Augsburg origin (see A44-5). The rivet heads, except the flat ones in the slots, are capped with brass throughout.

Ashdown, fig. 425; Z.H.W.K., III (1905), p. 228, fig. 6.
German (Augsburg?), about 1620.

PROVENANCE
A number of armours of this series, but still black and rough from the hammer, are in the Bavarian Army Museum at Ingoldstadt. According to R. H. Wackernagel (letter of 8 August 1980) they come partly from the Munich Town Armoury and partly from the Bavarian Electoral Armoury (see the exhibition catalogue (In Glauben und Reich, Kurfürst Maximilian I, Munich 1980, no. 612). Another armour made up of parts of this series, formerly in the collection of Archduke Eugen, is now in a private collection in Arlington, Virginia, and another is in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.
This armour almost certainly came from the collection of the comte de Nieuwerkerke. It or a very similar armour is visible in the painting of one of his rooms by Tetar van Elven now in the Museum at Compiègne (inv. no. C51-004; Savill, 1980). The painting is inscribed with the date 1866, and has been described as showing a room at 11 rue Murillo, but this house was not built for Nieuwerkerke until 1869; if the inscription is correct the painting shows one of Nieuwerkerke's rooms at the Louvre (Gaynor). A65 then had greaves and sabatons, presumably those now catalogued as A298-9. A66|1|1|A66 PARTS OF A CUIRASSIER ARMOUR

This composition is made up of parts from several different cuirassier armours dating from the mid-17th century.

Consisting of:

CLOSE-HELMET, of the typical French form, with wide sights and a fluted skull made in two pieces. Made of thin metal, with the SKULL fluted in gadroons, with roped cords between the flutes, and profusely studded with brass rivets. It is formed of two parts, joined at the comb, which has a pointed apex incorporating a tubular plume-holder. The fluting of the skull is interrupted at this point by a circular star-shaped pattern ornamented with brass rivets. Visor of two parts, the VISOR proper continues the fluting of the skull on the forehead, and has a row of brass rivets over each sight. Lifting peg on right side. The upper BEVOR, or face-guard, is pierced with a circle of holes on each side and the lower edge is engrailed. It is secured by a hook and staple on the right side to the CHIN-PIECE, which is pivoted from the same points as the visor, and held to the skull by a strap passing round the neck in front and buckled on the right side. It carries double GORGET plates, front and back, the lower ones are large, engrailed at the upper edge and bordered with a double row of roping. Repaired with a patch on the left side. The helmet is associated. It bears no trace whatsoever of the painting which covers the remainder of the armour.

GORGET of simple form, consisting of a single plate, front and back, the borders turned over, but not roped.

BREASTPLATE of narrow build, with central ridge prolonged to a narrow point in the civilian fashion of the early 17th century. It carries at the sides hinged straps, originally gilt, to engage with the backplate by means of a hook and staple; and riveted to the flange at the waist are hinges carrying screw bolts, intended for butterfly nuts, to carry the tassets. The cuirass of the armour shows significant traces of fire-gilding on its hinges and clasps, which would have stood out dramatically against the blackened surfaces of the plates themselves. The breastplate also retains a notable amount of painted decoration, in the form of heraldic lilies and letter 'r's in miniscule picked out in red and white. The left breast also carries two symbols, a star and what appears to be a harp.

BACKPLATE, narrow and moulded to the body, with roped borders. It has buckles on the shoulders and eyes at the sides for attaching the breast, and an additional eye over the left hip, possibly for the sword-belt.

PAULDRONS of large spreading form, built of four large and four smaller lames, the latter riveted to the upper part of the turning-joint of the

VAMBRACES, which consist of upper cannon; couter with roped horizontal ridge and heart-shaped wing, and completed on the inside with a series of twelve narrow splints, secured by a rivet with a rosetted washer; the lower cannon, which is reduced by the splints on the inside, closes by means of a hinge on the inside and a pin on the outside. The pauldrons and vambraces are also associated.

GAUNTLETS, the cuff made in two pieces riveted together, six metacarpal lames, moulded knuckle-plate, scaled fingers, and thumb plate. These do not belong to the rest of the armour and are earlier in date.

DECORATION. The whole surface is painted black, and on the breast, back and pauldrons it is decorated with fleurs-de-lys and the letter r in minuscule painted in gold, shaded and touched with red. On the upper left of the breast is painted a star and palm branch. The gauntlets have been painted black, probably in recent times, as the colour does not match the rest, which approximates to a very dark hammer-black finish. The original ground of the decoration of the cuirass is cream-coloured. The device on the breast is not at all clear and the ‘palm branch’ may in fact be a harp. The black paint covering the whole surface of this armour was applied relatively recently, and has now been removed.

French, about 1640.

Provenance: Comte de Belleval; Comte de Nieuwerkerke. It is probably the armour described under no. 30 in de Belleval's catalogue of his own collection printed in La Panoplie, 1873, and mentioned in a receipt dated 3 August, 1870, from de Belleval 'Reçu de Monsieur le Comte de Nieuwerkerke la somme de dix mille francs tour prise de deux armures que j'ai été chargé de lui vendre', the other suit would be A22, which is no. 1 in La Panoplie, or no. A64.

Examples of original painting on armour are now comparatively rare (see A150). The form of the helmet, with its flat pointed comb, is characteristic of armour made for France, and can be seen on the armour of Louis XIII in the Musée de l' Armée (inv. no. G121), also on Wallace Collection A179, on armours in the museums at Dijon and elsewhere.

On the right side of the breastplate about three quarters of an inch above the waist-flange and one inch behind the attachment for the tasset, is a stud with a transverse hole through it. This is presumably for the attachment of the diagonal sling of the sword, known as the side-piece.

This cuirass has the tassets held on by bolts and wing nuts, but on those armours on which the tassets are attached to the culet by hinges with removable pivot-pins, and which are buckled together at the front, a different method of attaching the side-pieces was adopted. When the tassets were worn the side-piece was hooked into a pierced stud on the top lame of the right tasset. When the tassets were removed for wear either for service on foot or as a mounted harquebusier the side-piece was hooked into a similar stud on the waistbelt of the cuirass. The two arrangements are illustrated by Jan Anthonisz. van Ravesteyn, the first in his portrait of Colonel Nicolaes Smelsinc, dated 1611 (The Hague, Mauritshaus, Cat. No. 419) and the second in his portrait of Sir John Burroughs of about 1615-20 (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Cat. No. 1978). The gilded armour of Charles I of about 1625 in the Tower Armouries (No. II.91; Duty & Reid, 1968, Pl. L), which has long tassets of this type, has a hole in the top lame of the right tasset for such a stud (see Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 295).

A small photograph of a line drawing of this armour, but fitted with the helmet now A179, is inserted on p. 196 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and annotated ‘anc. collect. de l'auteur’.

A comparable helmet in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv. no. Arm. 66) is painted black picked out in turquoise. A67|1|1|A67 HALF-ARMOUR

Of bright steel, the edges decorated with two lightly incised parallel lines, the borders lightly roped with a file and with steel-headed rivets; all the buckles show traces of gilding.

Consists of:

CLOSED BURGONET of the type known in Italy as ‘alla Viscontea’. The SKULL has a low comb slightly roped and pierced laterally at the back with a large round and a square hole; at the base a tubular plume-holder of steel obliquely fluted; the lower edge is hollowed to fit over the gorget; pointed PEAK formed by the projecting lower edge of a plate reinforcing the brow; to this is riveted a VISOR with two horizontal slits for the sight, and six vertical apertures in front of the face; it is fastened to the lower bevor with a hook on the right side; LOWER BEVOR, or chin-piece, with a group of seven holes in an embossed half-circle on each side, an oval-shaped aperture being cut in the skullplate beneath; it is secured to the latter on either side with a hinge (formerly gilt) fastening over a turning-pin; the lower edge is hollowed like the skull. The helmet retains its original quilted lining of canvas and tow faced with crimson silk. A hole on the right side of the cheek-piece shows that the helmet has been adapted from an earlier one.

GORGET, made up of front and rear assemblies of three plates each, hinged and fastening over studs; swivel-loops for the pauldrons on either side.

BREASTPLATE of late peascod form with central ridge, the edges of the arm-holes slightly raised and roped, but no ridge on the upper edge, which has a central notch; the base flanged to receive the FAULD of a single lame, which is bordered with a fringe of scalloped leather piccadills faced with green (? formerly blue) velvet and bound with gold braid; there are no tassets.

BACKPLATE with central groove and shaped upper edge, the lower edge flanged; it has piccadills like the breastplate.

PAULDRONS of seven plates, comprising two upper lames, one main plate and four lames on the upper arm. Two plates on the left have split and been repaired, the outer edges are fringed with leather piccadills like the breastplate; the uppermost and lowest lames are furnished with buckles, and the latter slotted to receive the turning-pin on the vambrace.

VAMBRACES, the upper cannon with turning-joint, couters completely encircling the joint, and lower cannons in two parts joined by hinges.

GAUNTLETS with pointed cuffs fringed with scalloped leather, six metacarpal and one knuckle-plate; the fingers are missing.

Italian, about 1630

The buckles and locks of this armour are of types indicating Italian manufacture, rather than German as once thought.

Provenance: comte de Belleval; a small photograph of a line drawing of this armour is inserted on p. 165 of the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and annotated 'ancien collect. de l'auteur'.

This armour is a good example of how subtle changes in the condition of an object over time can dramatically alter its appearance and visual impact. Today this mid 17th-century Italian field armour looks quite plain and unremarkable. The construction of the various pieces is typical and uncomplicated, and there appears to be no obvious decoration.

However, upon closer inspection this armour reveals itself to have once been quite rich and impressive. One remarkable aspect is the survival of the original decorative edgings or ‘piccadils’, which form an ornamental border around the outer edges of the pauldrons, cuirass and gauntlets. These piccadils, made of silk velvet embroidered with gilt metal thread (probably silver-gilt) , were originally a bright iridescent green; over time they have become stained and darkened. The piccadils would not only have emphasised the borders of the armour and added flashes of luxurious colour to the armoured body, they also had a practical function- to quiet the armour by inserting soft buffers between the overlapping plates. This is an armour that would certainly not have clanked; as the wearer moved, a quite clicking would have been the only sound it produced.

Another significant feature of this armour is the surviving helmet lining, a very rich example faced with crimson silk, rather than linen or some other more modest material. The lining is also very dense and thick, and would have provided a very effective shock-absorbing barrier between the steel of the helmet and the skull of the wearer. To achieve a strong, protective density, the lining was first quilted with stout lines of cross-hatched stitching. Each diamond-shaped parcel in the quilting was then individually stuffed with tow (flax fibres). This method of construction allowed the maker to determine the exact density and thickness of the armour lining with precision. The slashes in each of the parcels, through which the tow stuffing was pushed, can still be seen on the exterior surface of the lining (which would have faced the interior of the helmet and thus been hidden from view).

If one looks closely, a fair amount of fire-gilding is also in evidence. Most of the surviving gilding can be found on the hinges and clasp-fastenings of the armour, which alone would once have produced a magnificent effect. However there are also traces of gold on the main plates of the armour itself, suggesting at least partially gilding. What now appears to be a plain steel object once glittered with bright yellow-gold, alongside the colourful textile elements. A68|1|1|A68 INFANTRY ARMOUR

Possibly part of a large garniture made in Saxony for Duke Johann Philipp von Weimar (1597-1639). Of bright steel incised with pairs of parallel, vertical lines; the gorget differs from the remainder, in that instead of lines it has narrow, sunken flutes.

It consists of:

CABASSET, made in two halves joined together at the comb, which is only slightly embossed; at the base is a row of fluted steel rosette-washers secured by brass-capped rivets for the lining strap; the washers retain traces of gilding; slightly sloping, narrow brim of the same width all round. The rivets hold a strap on the inside which appears to have carried a fringe of green silk (cf. the other parts). The edge is turned under and bordered with brass-headed rivets; tubular steel plume holder at the back; the underside of the brim is painted green, and a quilted half-lining of canvas, stuffed with tow, remains. The washers of the helmet and the various buckles have been hatched with silver and then fire gilt and there are traces of gilding in the flutes of both the helmet and the left side of the breastplate.

Long GORGET, intended to be worn over a buff coat without other armour, of single plates front and back, the former extending over the chest; the back furnished with swivel loops for the pauldrons and turning-pins to lock the two parts together; both are flanged at the neck, the edges turned under and bordered with brass-headed rivets and furnished with escalloped leather piccadills bound with braid, formerly green.

BREASTPLATE of solid construction, the central ridge descending to a point at the bottom; the base is flanged to receive the tassets, the lower edge chamfered and turned under, with four straps (modern) for the tassets.

BACKPLATE of solid construction like the breastplate and weighing a pound heavier; the lower edge flanged; furnished with swivel buckles at the shoulders, and a waist-strap with a double-winged brass buckle.

TASSETS of six heavy lames, square with the corners rounded, the upper with two swivel buckles (formerly gilt). The edges are turned under and bordered with piccadills of scalloped leather round with green silk braid.

PAULDRONS of nine plates in all, comprising two upper lames, one main plate and seven covering the upper-arm to as far down as the elbows. The edges turned under, bordered with brass-headed rivets and with leather piccadills like the rest; buckles at the shoulder and on the last lame of the arm; the fifth and sixth lames of the right pauldron have been transposed.

Round SHIELD or buckler, of bright steel decorated with pairs of incised lines radiating from the centre; the spike (bearing traces of gilding) is square in section and projects from an eight-petalled rosette; the edge turned under, bordered with brass-headed rivets and fringed with scalloped leather, bound with green silk braid; the back retains the tattered leather lining (original) and some of the rosette-headed rivets which secured the arm and hand-loops.

Probably German (Saxony), about 1610.

Provenance: Henry Courant (?) (1 Armure gravé et son Bouclier, 2,500 fr.; Receipted Bill, 6 February, 1866; Comte de Nieuwerkerke; illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 1,000 f.

This armour compares very closely to a number of other pieces of armour of the same period, and all decorated with the same narrow vertical bands or ‘pinstripes’. The most important comparisons are now in the Worcester Art Museum (ex-Higgins collection): A jousting armour for the German joust of peace at the tilt, thought to have belonged to Duke Johann Philipp von Weimar (1597-1639)(inv. no. 2014.1136); a rear saddle steel (inv. no. 2014.960); and a shaffron (inv. no. 2014.73), on which the gilding is especially well preserved. These pieces were attributed to Saxony is by Higgins Armoury curator Walter Karcheski, based on the belief that they are part of a garniture with the diversity of further elements decorated in the same style that remain in the Kunstsammlung Veste de Coburg (inv. no. L9; communication with Jeffrey Forgeng 29 March 2022). Indeed, this single garniture could also have once included A68, since there is no duplication of parts. A69|1|1|Helmets of this dramatic form were used throughout Europe in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. The distinctive muzzle provided an excellent ‘glancing surface’, the pointed form making it difficult for incoming weapons to gain purchase. A problem with the design is that the field of view from inside is poor- the vision slits or ‘sights’ are quite far away from the face. Therefore the visor can be easily removed by pulling out the pins holding it in place, so that with the visor off, the wearer could see and breath much more easily. The visor might be worn early in a battle, when the wearer was more likely to be hit by fast-moving threats like arrows and javelins, but for close hand-to-hand combat vision and ventilation became more important, and the open-faced configuration more preferable.
This helmet is the only piece from Sir Richard Wallace’s arms and armour collection that has ever been lent to an outside exhibition. In Sir Richard’s lifetime it formed part of the historic ‘Helmets and Mail’ exhibition, curated by Charles Alexander, Baron de Cosson and held at the Royal Archaeological Institute in London in 1880. The exhibition’s catalogue features one the of the earliest images of the Wallace helmet, a line-drawing showing it without its present mail aventail, a patchwork of different mail fragments which was added by Sir Guy Laking in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Two types of visor were worn on bascinets during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. One form, often referred to generally by the wonderfully onomatopoetic German term Klappvisier, involved the visor being attached to the bascinet skull by means of a single pivot set centrally on the brow. In the second form, the visor moved up and down on a pair of pivots, one on either side of the skull. A hole in the brow of the Wallace Collection bascinet, filled with an old rivet, indicates that when this helmet was new, it carried a Klappvisier, and was later converted, undoubtedly during its working lifetime, into its present, side-pivoting form. A70|1|1|Evolving from the bascinet of the late fourteenth century, the sallet had by the middle of the fifteenth century become the most popular helmet everywhere in Europe for all classes of fighting man. Worn by the high nobility and common soldiery alike, sallets were produced in a number of regional styles according to local demand. They are characterised by a gracefully rounded skull following closely the contours of the head, and a recurved neck guard, sweeping out below the nape. Beyond these common features, they can vary enormously. Italian sallets, or celati, seem to have been direct descendants of the type of Mediterranean bascinet called a barbuta (Wallace Collection A74 is a typical example).
Three holes on the brow, forming an isosceles triangle, indicates that this fairly typical Italian sallet once included a hinged nasal, an iron or steel bar extending down to protect the middle of the face to the level of the mouth. Although quite narrow, such a nasal provided surprisingly effective protection for the face against the cutting blows of edged weapons. A71|1|1|While the sallets made in Italy for most of the fifteenth century extended almost to the shoulders and had only a very subtle tail at the back, by the 1490s German fashion was influencing Italian design, so that Italian sallets began to be given longer, articulated tails and brow reinforces, like their North European counterparts. This helmet is a very fine example of this late form. It bears an armourer’s mark of a castle with two towers, attributed to the da Castello family of armourers of Brescia. This helmet was perhaps made by or under Pietro Giacomo de Castillo, active in the last decade of the fifteenth century and whose other marked works include one of the armours from the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Curtatone near Mantua (c. 1490-1500; inv. B5, Museo Diocesano, Mantua). A72|1|1|For most of its history, the visored sallet had only partially protected the face, generally extending to just below the nose. When full facial protection was required, the sallet was worn with a bevor, which covered the neck and lower face and which was overlapped by the sallet’s lower edge. The bevor was however somewhat restrictive, of both head movement and respiration, and therefore was often left off. This was the sallet’s essential weakness- although in many respects it was a versatile, all-purpose helmet, it could not offer fully reliable facial defence. Even when worn with a bevor, a critical point of weakness yet remained along the juncture between the upper edge of the bevor and the lower edge of the sallet. Even a moderately powerful thrust, delivered with any sort of stabbing weapon, could push through the gap between the plates to pierce the face of the man inside.
It was not until the last decade of the fifteenth century that sallet visors began to be extended to cover the whole face with a single metal plate. Italian armourers followed this trend, making sallets with full visors for a short period in the early sixteenth century. This helmet is one of the best surviving examples, remaining complete with its distinctive ‘bellows’ visor. It compares very well to one depicted in a portrait (c. 1505-10; Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Inv. 1890 no. 911) probably of Bartolomeo d’Alviano, a Venetian military commander who defeated the forces of the Emperor Maximilian at the Battle of Cadore (1508); the portrait also includes the subject’s squire, who wears the bevor belonging with his master’s helmet. Like the German versions, this late bevor is cut high at the sides, but lower around the base of the chin. A73|1|1|In its shape and proportions this Italian sallet shows foreign stylistic influence. Throughout the 15th century Italian sallets had been drawn down to almost touch the shoulders of the wearer, and had only a very subtle recurving tail at the nape of the neck. West European and German sallets in contrast only extended to the level of the jaw and included a longer swept tail. As noted in reference to Wallace Collection A71 and A72, by the last decade of the 15th century Italian armourers had adopted the foreign style and created their own distinctive interpretations of it. This example is quite typical, having a one-piece pivoted tail and narrow, oblong brow reinforce. It appears to one have had some kind of a visor, since the sides of the skull are pierced for visor pivots, and the tail-plate exhibits a shaped recess on both sides to receive the lower corners of the visor, in a similar manner as that exemplified by A72.
A crucial new aspect of this sallet, however, an aspect not observed on Italian helmets before 1500 is the fluting and etching. The fluting of the skull, like the basic form, is the result of foreign (in this case specifically Germanic) influence. Armour of the so-called 'Maximilian' style, characterised by dense groups of parallel flutes, was quickly becoming the prevailing fashion throughout the German Empire and interest in the new designs extended well beyond its borders. The fact that this helmet almost certainly dates from the first decade of the 16th century also makes it a very early instance of acid-etched decoration, here in the form of bands filled with scrolling foliage against a hatched ground. A74|1|1|The term barbuta (Eng. ‘barbut’; Fr. ‘barbute’) is found in Italian documents as early as the middle of the fourteenth century. It seems initially to have referred sometimes to a piece of mail armour, while in other instances it clearly indicates a particular species of bascinet. The idea of a mail ‘beard’ (It. barba; barbute: ‘bearded’) agrees very well with the image of the fourteenth-century bascinet with its long mail aventail hanging, beard-like, over the chin and throat. Whatever its origins, the barbut had become a common helmet for men-at-arms in Italy by the late 1300s, to the extent that the term came to be used to refer to the man-at-arms himself, as well as his helmet.
With its graceful, rounded skull, swept gently into the nape of the neck, it is easy to see the barbut as the immediate precursor to the sallets of the fifteenth century, in fact it is quite difficult (and perhaps unnecessary) to determine where the bascinet/barbut ends and the sallet begins. A comparatively large group of these helmets, among some two hundred and fifty pieces of armour, was found in 1840 during building work at the medieval fortress at Chalcis (Gr. Chalkida) on the island of Euboea in Greece. Chalcis was a key point in the strategic containment by Christian forces of Turkish expansion during the fifteenth century, and the principle Aegean base held by the Republic of Venice, until its capture by Mohammed II in 1470. The armour found at Chalcis dates from the late fourteenth century to the time of the Turkish conquest. Several of the Chalcis barbuts have longer neck guards, making them look even more like sallets than does the Wallace Collection example. One of the Chalcis finds, now in the Archaeological Museum, Athens (B1), has a pair of studs on the brow as does the Wallace Collection barbut. These studs are clear evidence for both helmets once having been worn with a small ‘Klappvisier’. Barbut visors seems to have been of a very particular form, for the most part narrower than the bascinet klappvisiers worn in Germany and elsewhere. One such visor is today in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (Inv. 3575) while another, formerly in the Gwynn Collection, retains its hinged pivot, pierced with two slots designed to engage with the brow staples of the barbuta to which it belonged. A75|1|1|Sallet or ‘barbute’, Forged from one piece of low-carbon steel, closely resembling the Corinthian helmet of classical antiquity and probably suggested by it. A finely formed medial ridge divides the skull, while the face-opening is very narrow, with two oval holes for the eyes, separated by a nasal, and a long vertical gap below. The edges are not turned and there is no reinforcing band round the face-opening. Set at regular intervals around the skull is a row of fourteen small, rosette-headed rivets for the attachment of a canvas lining band, part of which remains. Below these rivets, on either side, are a pair of rivets for the attachment of a chin-strap. The back of the skull is struck with an armourer's mark comprised of a letter P within the split foot of a cross, thrice repeated; another mark on the right cheek represents the Lion of St. Mark. Compare the sallets A76 and A78.
Italian (Brescia), about 1470
De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. V; Viollet-le-Duc VI, 271-3; Laking, European Armour II, 4-5, fig. 335. Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 62, who attributed it to a 'Maestro P', Lombard, about 1460.
Provenance: E. Juste (Salade vénitienne à ouverture très étroite, 1,500 fr.; Receipted Bill, 11 September, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
L. G. Boccia (Dizonari terminologici, 1982, pI. 17, fig. E) called this type of helmet ‘celata alla veneziana’ rather than ‘barbuta’, which he confined to helmets fitted with aventails, such as Wallace Collection A74. The same mark of a P within a split cross is stamped twice, in conjunction with the mark of the two-towered castle, on: a 15th-century armet in the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, near Mantua (Mann, Archæologia, vol. 87, p. 340, fig. 44); a sallet in the German Historical Museum, Berlin; and on a barbute very similar to A75 in both shape and by having similar rosette-headed rivets, inv. no. 14.25.579 in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. It is marked with a twin-towered castle and a pair of split-legged crosses each bridging a single illegible letter. The letter P under a split-legged cross occurs without any other mark on two of the armets in the Sanctury of the Madonna delle Grazie (Boccia, Le Armature del '400 a Mantova, 1982, respectively, pls. 208-11, and p. 285, mark no. 43, and pls. 212-5, and p. 287, mark no.86). Two split crosses with Ps occur under the name Paulo on a pauldron in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. no. G.Po.2411; formerly in the Pauilhac Collection). The castle with one split-cross occur on an armet in the Carrand Collection in the Bargello, Florence; with two split-crosses on a sallet in the Royal Armouries, IV.18. The castle is found by itself on Wallace Collection A71; on a sallet in the Museo Civico at Venice; on a sallet from Norton Hall, now in Royal Armouries; and on an articulated 15th-century breastplate at Solothurn (Wegeli, cat. no. 1). The presence of the Lion of St. Mark suggests that this helmet at one time formed part of the armoury of the arsenal at Venice. Another barbute of this type, stamped with the winged lion, but without reinforced borders is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
F.H. Cripps Day identified the mark of the letter P under a split-legged cross, when accompanied by a second mark of a two-towered castle, as that of a Milanese armourer Giovanni da Castello, recorded 1456-68 (Fragmenta armentaria, VI, I, p.34). A. Gaibi however listed a Brescian armourer Peder da Castello, recorded in Brescia about 1450 (Armi antiche, 1961, pp. 67-93, particularly on p. 85), to whom the combined marks would be more appropriate. F. Rossi on the other hand attributes this combination to Pietro da Castello, (see A71). All this assumes that the P mark on A75 represents the same maker who elsewhere marked pieces with in addition a mark of a castle. Boccia, Rossi and Morin clearly doubt this connection.
The formal elegance and strong sculptural character of this helmet is a product both of its design as a functional object and of its status as a wearable work of art. In armour, form and function are inseparable. The iconic shape of the helmet of the Ancient Greek hoplite, from which the form of Italian Renaissance sallets or barbutes of the ‘Corinthian’ style was derived, was determined by the need to balance the protection afforded against the range of vision and degree of ventilation allowed. However, the subtleties of line and proportion far exceed what was necessary for protection, and instead were determined by the tastes and aesthetic orientation of the makers and users.
Separated from the ancient bronze helmets which inspired it by 2000 years, this helmet still bears a remarkable resemblance to its Hellenistic ancestors, and this is probably not simply the by-product of similar functional requirements. The Renaissance in Italy was defined by a deep fascination with the art and culture of the Classical world, including Greco-Roman armour and accoutrements. Indeed, ancient Bronze Age helmets are listed in a number of Italian Renaissance inventories, including those of the armouries of the Dukes of Urbino and the Grand Dukes of Tuscany at Florence. Admittedly, most of these documentary references appear to describe Roman helmets rather than Greek ones. However, it is probably significant that the fifteenth-century ‘Corinthian’ style of helmet is closely associated with Venice, which as a major imperial power in the Mediterranean ruled most of the islands in the Aegean for centuries. It is at least plausible that some ancient Greek helmets of the ‘Corinthian’ style found their way into Venetian armouries, just as Roman ones were preserved in central Italy. Certainly, the earliest examples of the re-emergent design, dating from c. 1420, come from an armour hoard found in 1840 on the site of a Venetian fortress in the Aegean, at Chalcis on the Island of Euboea. Wallace Collection A75 was probably made in Brescia, then within the Venetian dominion, by the armourer Pietro de Castello. Indeed, it carries what appears to be a Venetian arsenal mark, a stamp in the form of the winged lion of St. Mark, on the left cheek-guard. A76|1|1|Italian sallets were produced in a number of different basic designs. Wallace Collection A70 and A77 represent the typical open-faced form, while A75 and A78 illustrate the spectacled 'Corinthian' sallet or barbute, inspired by the helmets of the ancient Greek hoplite. This helmet exemplifies the third classic 15th-century type, the so-called 'T-faced' sallet or barbute, which still vaguely recalls the helmets of the Ancient Greece, but which expresses that inspiration somewhat less literally. The T-shaped face-opening is wider, allowing for better vision and ventilation, while the cheek-extensions will offer good protection. A77|1|1|In 1471, the famous Burgundian knight Olivier de la Marche sent a shipment of Italian armour to England for private sale which included a thousand sallets described specifically as being ‘for archers’. While it is difficult to be certain of the precise form of these helmets, it is possible that they were something like this example. He the right cheek extension, instead of being an integral part of the otherwise one-piece construction, is formed of a separate plate set on a hinge so that it can be raised out of the way. This would have been a useful feature on the helmet of an archer, who needed to be able to draw his bow back to his right cheek before loosing. While this helmet might be one of a special type made for archers, it is also possible that it would also have suited the needs of crossbowmen and handgunners, soldiers who needed to be able to raise the stocks of their respective ranged weapons to their right cheeks for sighting before a shot. A78|1|1|An exceptional example of the ‘Corinthian' Italian sallet form, this piece carries the famous crowned monogram and split-cross marks of the Missaglia workshop of Milan. The Missaglia were 15th-century Italy’s most successful dynasty of armourer-merchants. In 1463 Francesco Missaglia landed a shipment of armour in England which included among many other things twenty-eight sallets, including a highly decorated one for the personal use of King Edward IV.
The face-opening of this example has been made as narrow as possible to maximise protection for the face, while still offering good vision and ventilation. It has also here been strengthened by means of an applied reinforcing band of steel. The graceful raised crest in the skull offered additional stength while at the same time accentuating the sharp, sculptural form of the piece. A80|1|1|This helmet is unquestionably the finest of the 15th-century sallets in the Wallace Collection, being not only superb in its essential form and proportions, but also beautifully polished and decorated with sharp file-lines accentuating the medial ridge and sight. At some later date this sallet was modified for use in a German joust of the Rennen class, run with very large, body-formed shields which sometimes were designed to be thrown up into the air when struck. A roller has been installed on the lower edge of the helmet, probably to help ensure that the catapulted shield did not snag on the helmet as it shot skyward. It could alternatively have been intended simply to help the head move up and down behind the shield, which usually extended to the level of the eyes. A81|1|1|This helmet is the latest of the three 15th-century German sallets in the Wallace Collection and the only one to have a separate visor. It belongs to a group of inexpensive ‘munition’ helmets made for south German light cavalrymen, which today are preserved in a number of different collections around the world, including the Imperial Armoury, Vienna, and the Royal Armouries, Leeds. The helmets in these other collections retain their original painted decoration, which was used to indicate to which cavalry squadron the wearer belonged, while the Wallace Collection example does not; it would originally have been painted like the others. In keeping with its low-grade, munitions quality, this helmet has been produced with only the minimum amount of work required, since helmets of this form had to be supplied cheaply and in large numbers. Both its shape and finish are extremely rough; it has no turned edges, and the surface has been left unpolished and ‘rough from the hammer.’
The line of small stitching holes running all the way around the edges of the visor probably indicate that it was once covered in leather. A82|1|1|This rough, ‘munition’ sallet was in its working lifetime a common, unremarkable object. Its uneven lines, bumpy surfaces and jagged edges testify to the fact that its maker was working quickly. His workshop was no doubt making a large number of these helmets, and they had to be cheap, had to work, but did not have to be pretty. The grinding and polishing phase of the armour-making process, so vital to the creation of the mirror-bright harnesses associated with the knightly class, was here dispensed with entirely; the surface is still covered in hammer-marks. The so-called ‘owl-faced’ visor is of the simplest form possible, a bare, curved plate cut with two slots of the eyes and two for the mouth, with five holes pierced over the nose. The design gave basic protection to the face while requiring no more of the armourer’s time than was absolutely necessary. This is not the helmet of a knight, but rather of a lower-class man-at-arms, a rank-and-file heavy infantryman, light cavalryman or mounted crossbowman. Ironically, today what were the least numerous, most expensive armours are the most common in museum collections, while munition armours, which were substantially more abundant to say the least, are now rare in the extreme.
Even rarer is munition armour that, like this helmet, retains its original painted decoration. A great deal of armour left ‘rough-from-the-hammer’ seems to have been brightly painted, with heraldic devices or livery colours. The helmets were sometimes emblazoned with monstrous, scowling faces, a fashion still popular with some modern soldiers. This one can be compared to other contemporary German helmets, also retaining decorative paintwork, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg and Glasgow Museums. Paint was an inexpensive way of decorating low-grade armour, the rough, hammered surfaces being an ideal base onto which the slow-drying, linseed oil-based paint could adhere. A painted finish was still somewhat fragile however, and only a handful of early sixteenth-century helmets survive today with their original surfaces even partially intact.
The sides of this helmet are painted with large monogram N’s, which may indicate that its owner was in the service of the city of Nuremberg.
This helmet is also noteable since it retains its original padded textile lining and the leather loops for the chin-strap. A83|1|1|The latest sallet in the Wallace Collection can be seen as a fascinating mixture of old and new styles. It dates from the time when the older fashion for plainer, smooth-surfaced armour was rapidly giving way to the new taste for the heavily fluted designs referred to collectively as the ‘Maximilian’ style. In form it is very much like the other, slightly earlier full-faced sallets in the collection, composed of a gracefully rounded skull, gently sweeping, articulated neck guard, and flattish visor cut with a pair of sights and numerous ventilation holes and slots.
Though it is conventional, even conservative in its construction, it also embraces the latest decorative fashion. Its skull is embossed with three tight groups of four flutes each, one group positioned on either side of the crest-line, while the third group runs down along it. The middle two flutes of the central group have been raised higher than the others to form a wide medial comb, additionally decorated with pairs of diagonal file-strokes. As is typical of the Maximilian style, each of the flutes is given greater definition and emphasis by framing them on either side with bold file-lines. The sights and breath slots of the visor are augmented visually in the same way. Although simple in construction, the decoration marks this work as a helmet made for someone of notable rank, perhaps an infantry sergeant or captain. It probably would have been worn with a three-quarter armour decorated to match, very similar perhaps to one depicted in one of a series of woodcuts published in the first half of the sixteenth century by David de Negker of Augsburg and Niclas Meldemann of Nuremberg. The fact that the visor of this helmet has been carefully shaped to fit around and under the chin suggests that it was intended to be worn with a gorget, as pictured in the woodcut, rather than one of the late bevors discussed above. Soon the sallet itself would follow the bevor onto the scrapheap of history, to be replaced by the morion and burgonet.
In the present day, the sallet has in a sense been reborn, in the riot-helmets employed by many police forces around the world. These modern helmets, with their rounded skulls, rear neck-guards and pivoted visors, follow precisely the same design approach which informed the creation of the early sixteenth-century sallets in the Wallace Collection. A major riot today has much in common with a pre-modern battle, so it is perhaps not very surprising that contemporary helmet designers have returned to an ancient and highly functional form, even though they are probably unaware that they have done so. A84|1|1|Several of the surviving late, full-faced sallets, dating from the early 16th century, have visors which still bear some residual resemblance to their half-visor predecessors of the 15th century. In these cases, of which this helmet is a typical example, the visor is bisected by a horizontal ridge which traces what was formerly the line of the visor’s lower edge. Above this ridge, the visor looks very much like the old sallet half-visor. Below however, the visor is now quite different, extending to envelope the chin and pierced with a variety of holes and slots. Visors of this type tend to be somewhat strange in appearance. This strangeness becomes quite pronounced in the case of the more exaggerated examples, such as one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (c. 1500-10; 29.150.4), which bulges out dramatically both above and below the horizontal ridge, which in its case has become a recessed crease.
Helmets of this type were still worn with a bevor, albeit one cut lower around the face than earlier types. Bevors of this new form are illustrated on a number of German effigies, including those of Walter von Reifenberg (d.1506) and Philipp von Kronberg (d. 1510), both at the Church of St John in Kronberg, near Frankfurt. The Wallace Collection helmet was probably worn with something similar. A85|1|1|A number of other surviving helmets were once painted, but have lost their original surfaces. This unusual sallet, its visor decorated with embossed eyes and nose, was once at least partially painted. In the middle of the 19th century it was still painted with black and yellow flames flowing over the skull from the front and the back. Two other sallets, with skulls of the same, rounded form (now in the collections at Žleby Castle in the Czech Republic and the Worcester Art Museum, USA), retain very similar paint schemes. The decorative similarity between these three helmets is especially interesting since it seems that painted sallets were often used, in the German lands at least, as a sort of proto-uniform; there is pictorial evidence that all the members of a particular fighting unit sometimes wore matching or at least similarly coloured helmets, sometimes accompanied by uniformly designed coats, hose, and other equipment. A painting (c. 1505-10) of a battle that was fought on 19 June 1502 between the forces of Nuremberg and Ansbach, in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (GM.579), shows a band of light cavalry in action dressed in matching red coats and blue hosen, with red-painted sallets on their heads, while another group is similarly attired in grey. The famous Mittelalterliches Hausbuch (c. 1480; Wolfegg Castle, Regensburg, south Germany) illustrates the same practice (fol. 22r).
There is no evidence that the visor of this helmet was ever painted, although the rudimentary embossed nose and eyes would perhaps have been more aesthetically successful had they originally been intended to augment a painted design, rather than having to stand on their own. There are however a number of other examples of this primitive early embossing, which, though far below the standards achieved by both Italian and German masters later in the sixteenth century, nevertheless exude a certain liveliness. A fragment of another sallet visor of similar form, embossed with a nose (but no eyes) has been excavated from the site of a fortified manor house in Spytkowice in Poland, while an infantry breastplate, dating from the last quarter of the fifteenth century, has had a strange, tear-drop face hammered into its middle just above the waist. A86|1|1|The war-hat was one of the most popular and successful types of head protection worn on the battlefields of Europe throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. The concept was simple- just as a brimmed hat shielded the wearer's face from the sun and rain, so did the wide brim of the war-hat intercept the downward vertical paths of hand-weapon blows and flying protectiles. Such helmets were worn throughout the Middle Ages by a wide range of different classes of fighting men- archers, crossbowmen, gunners, and general infantry. They were also sometimes worn by high-ranking warriors- knights and men-at-arms fighting in full armour.
Although this example probably dates from the early sixteenth century, helmets of this general form had been in very wide circulation throughout Europe since the twelfth century. A87|1|1|An extremely fine example of a decorated Renaissance war-hat, almost certainly once part of a presentation panoply of arms, the entire surface of this helmet is very slightly embossed with ribands, and richly overlaid with arabesques and trophies of arms in gold. A quatrefoil panel on either side contains the standing figures of two of the three Theological Virtues: Faith (inscribed FEDES), and Hope (SPES); in the front, in an oval cartouche, are the arms of the family of the Bernardo (or Bernardi) of Venice (Per bend: in chief checky of five, argent and four sable, in base gules; owing to the transverse halving of the arms it is hardly possible to render more than two out of the four points sable specified in the blazon), surmounted by the Lion of St. Mark, the open Gospel inscribed–
PAX T MC VEN MS ([pax tibi marce evangelista meus) (see also A1054). Below, on an inscribed tablet, is the motto:
MAXIMO NON · MAGN.
On the brim are four cartouches with symbolical figures, masks and trophies of arms.

The matching shield, long missing after its theft from the Museo Civico, Bologna, appeared on the art market in 1982 and has since been restored to the museum's collection. It bears four quatrefoil panels containing figures representing the four Cardinal Virtues: Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Fortitude, with the same shield of arms in the centre encircled with the words: POPVLVS UNIVERSVS AGRI BERGOMENSIS.
The Registers of Venice (Registri Ducali, MS. R 99, 15, Vol. I, foll. 257a- 60b) contain several references to a Francesco Bernardo, Captain of Bergamo (Franciscus Bernardus, Capitaneus Bergami). He was Captain from July, 1552 to 30 August 1553, and sent a letter of congratulations (dated 8 June 1553) to the new Doge Marco Trevisan upon his election; he also issued a proclamation (dated 19 August, 1553) settling the differences about taxes which had arisen between the Commune of Bergamo and the military (la gente d'arme). This helmet and shield were probably presented to him by the Commune of Bergamo in recognition of the services he had rendered to the city.

This helmet is an important early example of the use on European armour of the decorative technique often called false- or counterfeit-damascening, a form of overlay in which gold and/or silver is pressed onto the surface of the object, which was prepared to receive it with a matrix of fine cross-hatched scratches which allowed the soft precious metal to adhere. This technique, called 'koftgari' in India, only appeared in Europe in the middle of the sixteenth century, although it had been known in the east much earlier. A88|1|1|The surface of this fine pikeman's helmet is ridged and fluted, the flutes radiating from the apex to within an inch of the brim; the ridges are roped with a file, and alternate ridges and flutes have been fire-gilt. The apex is capped with two steel discs with scalloped edges, superimposed one upon the other, both formerly gilt; on the top is a steel vase-shaped finial. At the back of the skull is riveted a large, tubular plume-holder of copper alloy, chased with intertwined foliage in low relief. Around the base is a row of steel-headed lining-rivets.
The broad sloping brim, which curves upwards at either end, is made in one piece with the halves of the skull. The surface is hatched and overlaid with silver with panels of flowers and foliage. The edge is bordered with a double border line of roping, the inner line being embossed, and the outer rolled over a wire. Between the two runs a row of closely-set, steel-headed rivets; the surface between the ropings was formerly gilt.

The ornament applied on top of the skull is probably a 19th-century replacement.
This helmet is too rich to have been worn by a pikeman of the regular rank and file. Rather it was probably an alternative helmet for a rich cuirassier armour, and intended to be worn when on foot. It compares well to those accompanying the armours of the Infante Philip IV of Spain at the Real Armería, Madrid (inv. nos. A416 and A417), and to armours of the Stuart dynasty in the Royal Armouries. A89|1|1|This piece is an important early example of the Renaissance type called a burgonet. This specific form, sometimes referred to as a 'casquetel', is characterised by its multi-plate rear construction and wide peak.
The surface has been acid-etched with bands of scrolled foliage on a hatched ground in the early Italian style. On the peak is etched the branches of an oak tree and two clusters of flames along with scale ornament and acanthus leaves.
A mark resembling a G on the peak which has been thought to be either an armourer's mark or a blemish in the metal is undoubtedly a punched mark. The punch has jumped slightly and the bulge caused by the blow is clearly visible inside. Presumably it is either that of an armourer or, possibly, that of an owner.
The burning logs device may refer to the Caldora family. This helmet compares well with a similar etched burgonet in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris ( inv. no. H 38); another, but undecorated, is in the British Museum (Burges Bequest; inv. no. 81.8-2.37).
The articulation high up the back of the nape is also found on some close-helmets of the time (cf. Mann, Surrey Arch. Collections, Vol. XLVII, 1941, pp. 84-7).This type of headpiece was worby Landsknecht infantry, and also by horsemen in preference to the heavier close-helmet. For the style of etching on a hatched ground, compare the armours of this date at Churburg Castle (inv. nos. 69 and 70).
L. G. Boccia and E. T. Coelho (1967, PI. 236, pp. 228 and 236-7) suggested that this helmet once formed part of the Medici armoury, dispersed in 1775, which included the Ducal armoury from Urbino. They further suggested that the mark of a G might indicate that this helmet originally belonged to Guidobaldo I da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (1472-1508).
Similar gouts of flame are etched on a breastplate in the British Museum (inv. no. 81.8-2.51), on loan to the Royal Armouries since 1976. This also has the mark of G and a second mark of a cross in outline with open ends to the equal arms. The mark of a G also occurs on two breastplates in the Royal Armouries (inv. nos. III.85; Dufty and Reid, 1968, PI. CXII, below left, and No. III. 76). Both also bear a mark of a cross. The comparable helmet in the British Museum has also been on loan to the Royal Armouries since 1976. Another is in the Musée de l' Armée et de l'Histoire Militaire, Brussels (inv. no. II. 192) and yet another, complete with ear-pieces shaped like cockle shells, is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. no.16.1642; 1924 Cat., no. B II). A similar helmet complete with an ear-piece like a cockle-shell is depicted in a portrait of an unknown knight being armed by his two pages, painted about 1540 by Paris Bordone (Metropolitan Museum, New York, No.1973.311.1). A90|1|1|The bright skull of this plain but striking helmet carries a high, file-roped comb, a pointed peak over the eyes, and a flange at the back over the neck, all beaten out of one piece of metal. The edges are bordered with steel-headed rivets for the lining strap. The hinged cheek-pieces, each pierced with a circular group of holes, have upper edges moulded to embrace the sides of the peak, their hinges protected by flanges with serrated edges. They come forward to a point on each side of the face. A plume-holder of steel is riveted to the rear of the skull. A fragment of the padded canvas and tow lining remains. The surface is rough from the hammer. A91|1|1|The surface of this helmet remains somewhat rough and was once heat-blued (now a dull black). The skull has a central ridge and a pointed apex, and a narrow peak over the eyes, 1.5 inches deep, forged in one with the skull. There is a pair of holes on each side of the skull for lacing in the padded lining cap. The skull carries hinged cheek-pieces, and a single-neck plate is riveted to the back. The edges are roped. A plume-holder is fixed on the left side behind the ear. Most of the rivets retain their original copper alloy caps. A92|1|1|The skull of this fine burgonet has been forged in one piece in a sweeping line to a point over the eyes, and embossed with parallel flutes or ridges, possibly with the intention to suggest the helmet of a Classical hero. The roped comb is etched with birds, monsters and trophies, including a scroll bearing the letters T.G. (possibly the signature of the artist-etcher). The hinged cheek-pieces are restorations, and are continued by three plates backed with leather designed to meet at the chin, and fluted like the rest of the helmet. The borders are roped. The piece carries modern brass-capped rivets and rosette-washers. The etched decoration is strong and spirited.

In general form this helmet resembles that on one of the Martinengo armours in the Armeria Reale at Turin (inv. no C11). A93|1|1|Of quite a small size and having a form which has been described as 'jaunty', this burgonet is of unclear origins. Its high comb and broad roping are in general keeping with European styles of the time, while the overlaid silver stars are highly unusual, and may be a modern addition. The curved peak and neck-guard are forged in one piece with the skull and have double sunk borders and roped edges, all skilfully executed. The lower lames of the hinged are now missing. A94|1|1|Designed to convey a Classical association, this burgonet is sharply pointed in front, with a roped comb, the sides of which are incised with a cross patée among foliage. The skull has been embossed on either side with a spray of five oak leaves, which have also been selectively fire-gilt. The sunken borders (also gilt) have turned-under and roped edges; the whole, including the projecting neck-guard has been made in one piece, but the top of the peak has been added. A shield-shaped plume-holder has been riveted onto the back of the skull. A row of round-headed, gilt-steel rivets, used for attachment of the lining band, remains. The hinged cheek-pieces have been shaped to accept the peak and are each embossed with a gilt and pierced rosette. The chin-straps, which would originally been composed of three plates on each side, are now detached. The two bottom plates are missing on one side; and a single plate has been lost from the other. A95|1|1|Of bright steel, with a tall semi-circular comb, standing 2.5 inches high and boldly roped. The prominent pointed peak and neck-guard, which are forged in a sweeping curve in one piece with the skull, have sunk and roped borders. Hinged cheek-pieces, of which the lower corners have been cut off. The rivets of the lining band and for the hinges have steel washers (instead of the more usual brass) stamped as rosettes. A96|1|1|Burgonet, of tall, pear-shaped form, the apex formed into a backward-pointing peak. It is made in two parts, front and back, joined at the sides with flush-headed rivets. The surface is divided by engraved lines into four panels, each embossed with a fleur-de-lys (two in front and two behind). Flat, pointed peak, and prominent neck-guard in one with the rest. Hinged cheek-pieces with leather chin-straps, from which the two small final lames are now missing. Plain, brass-capped, circular rivets. The plume-holder is missing from the back. The surface is blued, with traces of gilding on the fleur-de-lys and on the borders. A97|1|1|Burgonet, having a hHigh roped comb embossed with gadroons; the skull has been embossed with entwined acanthus leaves and fleurs-de-lys, and turned outwards at the back to form a short neck-guard; the peak is riveted to the skull and embossed en suite; the hinged cheek-pieces are embossed with fleurs-de-lys, the edges turned under and roped, and the borders pierced with small holes for sewing in the lining; a row of holes, and four rosette-headed rivets at the back and on the comb, are for a similar purpose. A plume-holder is riveted at the back. The comb and embossed surfaces formerly gilt. The peak and probably also the cheek-pieces are later restorations. On the skull the letters G P roughly incised.

Charles Buttin stated that this burgonet was one worn by the Gardes du Palais of Christine de France, Duchess of Savoy, sister of King Louis XIII, and wife of Victor Amedée I, Duke of Savoy. The first half of the seventeenth century would normally appear to be too late for a helmet of this kind, but Buttin's knowledge of the history of the House of Savoy was so profound that his statement must be taken seriously.
A similar helmet is in the R. L. Scott Collection, Glasgow Museums.

The letters GP refer to the Galleria Primi at Pisa, where armour used for the Giuoco del Ponte di Pisa was stored. This was a mimic battle between the citizens of the north and south banks of the Arno, held annually until the year 1807. It commemorated a tradition that the King of the Saracens attacked Pisa in 1005 at night, sacked and burned the southern portion of the town, and then advanced to cross the bridge, where he was assailed and put to flight by the citizens aroused by the noble matron, Chinsica Gismondi. Borghi, in his book on the subject (1713), states that the combatants (soldati) wore a closed helmet with barred visor (called by the Pisans a 'morion'), a brayette, and were armed with a long, wooden, shield-shaped 'targone', intended as much for thrusting and clubbing as for parrying. A burgonet was worn by the players, called celatini, who were without offensive weapons, and whose duties consisted of the reception of prisoners and the sending forth of reinforcements. In the Museo Civico at Pisa are some hundreds of helmets, breastplates and wooden shields, relics of the Giuoco; of these many have come onto the commercial market, and are usually found to have been adapted from helmets of much less merit than this one (see W. Heywood, Palio and Ponte, 1904, pp. 93-137; Cripps-Day, The Tournament, 1918, pp. 22-3; Camillo Ranier Borghi, L' Oplomachia Pisana, Lucca, 1713). A98|1|1|Burgonet, of good quality, having of a high roped comb, the peak and neck-guard made in one with the skull; shield-shaped plume-holder on the right-hand side of the skull; hinged cheek-pieces connected by red velvet straps (modern), the left cheek-piece clumsily patched. The entire surface is decorated with fine arabesque tendrils overlaid in silver, with a few of the details in gold, on a black, matted ground. Although this decoration has been very well executed, it is probably a nineteenth-century addition. The gilding in the sunk bands of the edges to the plates appears to be gold leaf, and therefore also modern.The edges of the helmet have been turned under, roped and bordered with sunken bands, flat gilt, with rows of conical-headed, fluted rivets round the head and on the cheek-pieces. A99|1|1|Burgonet, of bright steel, with a comb and peak made in one piece with the skull, the neck-guard formed by a separate plate. Hinged cheek-pieces of unusually large size, each perforated with a circle of nine holes incorporated in an etched star-shaped arabesque. Decorated with bands of etched ornament with animals, birds and running foliage on a gilt, granular ground. On the left side of the comb is the Imperial double-eagle between two sea-monsters, and on the other, a double-tailed mermaid among drums and trophies. At the back of the comb is a brass plume-holder. There are the remains of two marks stamped on the peak but only that on the left is even partly legible.

The quality of the etching is unusually poor. A somewhat similar mark, also partly obliterated, appears on the breastplate of an armour in the Historical Museum, Bern (Wegeli Cat., no.128).
There are twenty-five helmets very similar indeed to No. A99, with some half armours to match, in the Kunstsammlung der Veste Coburg in Germany. On some of these it is possible to see that the partly legible mark is in fact a demi-man, his right arm raised, standing on a crenellated wall. The Veste Coburg pieces also bear the Nuremberg town mark. A100|1|1|Exhibiting the surface finish often referred to as 'black from the hammer', the skull of this helmet has been made in two pieces joined along the comb, which itself is high and narrow. The flat pointed peak has been made from a separate piece of metal. The hinged cheek-pieces have sunken borders and roped edges, and on each is embossed a six-petalled rose incorporating six holes for ventilation and improved hearing. The borders and contour of the head are decorated with strips of silver galoon affixed by copper rivets, the heads of which take the form of six-pointed gilt stars. The rear of the neck-guard has been restored. A101|1|1|Zischägge, or burgonet of East European/Ottoman form. To the front of the hemispherical skull a narrow, pointed peak has been applied; this plate has been pierced for a nasal, now missing, and the edge turned under and decorated with a row of brass-headed rivets. A neck-guard of two plates is attached at the back of the skull, the lower plate secured by sliding rivets and decorated like the peak; the surface is divided vertically into eight fluted segments radiating from the apex of the skull, and is decorated with small arabesque strapwork etched and gilt, with a broad band of strapwork arabesques round the lower part. At the apex is a finial comprising a fir-cone and leaves made of brass; around the brow are flat-headed, brass-capped rivets. Applied to the skull are a number of brass plaques, incised with swastika-shaped grooves. The ear-pieces are missing. The piece is probably intended to follow the Polish or Hungian style, but possibly was made in Germany.

The brass plaques are secured on the inside by projecting screws and washers, and like the acorn finial are almost certainly later additions. Similar brass plaques are sometimes found nailed to the staves of staff weapons. Denkmaler, 1896, No. 85, relates a similar helmet in the Hofjagd -und Rüstkammer, Vienna, to the equipment of the 'hussar' tournaments held by the Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol at Prague in 1549 and 1557. Similar helmets, together with their laminated cuirasses, are at Vienna (inv. no. A1618) and in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, (Cat. no. 31, PL XXIX; inv. no. 1977-167-31). Other helmets are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 14.25.601), and in the Bayerisches Armeemuseum, Ingolstadt (inv. no. A11667). Another cuirass is in the Odescalchi collection at the Palazzo Venezia, Rome (inv. No. 1567; Carpegna, 1969, No. 111). A102|1|1|Hemispherical skull with low comb, the front turned outwards to form a small peak, and pierced for a nasal guard (now missing, but the butterfly nut for securing it remains); the crest-hole in the comb has been filled with a flattened, spherical knob; at the base of the skull is a row of round-headed, steel rivets for the lining strap. The surface is decorated with elongated scrolls, a broad band of scales on either side of the comb, and a row of gadroons at the base, the whole formerly gilt. The areas in relief are blued against a fire-gilt ground. Hinged cheek-pieces of three plates (the two lower ones are restorations), the upper decorated with a pierced circle of rays, the borders fluted, sunk, and studded with rivets for the lining; the pointed neck-guard is plain and is a restoration. This helmet can be compared to the armour of King Louis XIII of France in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris (inv. no. G. 123; Reverseau, Les armures des rois de France, 1982, p. 96). A103|1|1|Zischägge, or burgonet in the Hungarian or Turkish style. Comprised of a pointed conical skull with an acorn at the apex; the surface is embossed with vertical flutes, or ribs, and around the lower part is a band of arabesque strapwork etched and gilt; pointed peak (attached by brass-headed rivets) through which passes an adjustable nasal of triangular section, trident-shaped at the top, secured by a staple and spring-catch; at the side are hinged ear-guards, the centres are each embossed with a kite-shaped panel, and decorated at the borders with sunken bands of small arabesque scrollwork, etched and gilt. They are each prolonged by a small triangular plate for the chin-strap; curved and pointed neck-guard riveted to the back of the skull, etched with a spray of conventional foliage, gilt on a granulated ground (this decoration is repeated at the apex of the skull); sunken band of gilt arabesque at the border, the edge turned under and roped. The ear-guards are lined with leather; the straps for sewing in the lining remain.

Although this helmet is of the Eastern European or Ottoman Turkish style, the precise interpretation, with the deep flutes of an angular cross-section precisely similar to those found on German armours of the 'Maximilian' style, is European in origin. The decoration, especially the spray of conventional foliage on the neck-guard, is of the style closely associated with the workshop of Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg (see also inv. no. A39), and can be compared to the South German helmets in the Turkish style at Vienna (Boeheim, Album I, Pl. XVIII, Fig. 1; and II, Pl. XXVI), one of which belonged to Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol. There is a helmet of this type in the Army Museum at Warsaw. See also the open helmet in the Wallace Collection (inv. no. A104). The adjustable nasal is probably of nineteenth-century manufacture.

This helmet belongs to a specific weapons configuration used by Hungarian light cavalry consisting of a shield of special form (Flugelschild), a lance, sabre, and mace. On the point of the brim over the face-opening is stamped the Nuremberg town-mark and a maker's mark identical to that on Wallace Collection A114; a shield containing a cherub beneath the letters H.M. Reitzenstein has suggested that this might be the mark of the Nuremberg armourer Hans Michel, whose dates he gave as 1539-99 (Beitrage zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte Nurnbergs, II, p. 709).
The markn Royal Armouries inv. no. II.33 occurs on the associated left gauntlet only, the other being lost. This gauntlet is now on loan to Canterbury Museum, New Zealand. The pieces bearing this mark in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, are a gorget of a seventeenth-century armour (inv. no. 14.25.702); a left pauldron of about 1570 (inv. no. 29.158.315); and ami sixteenth-century gorget (inv. no. 29.158.361). A deep zischägge and an armour are in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Lenz, 1908, p. 276, No. 1.136, and p. 243, No. 1.14, respectively). A morion of the Saxon Trabantenleibgarde by this maker is no. A114 in the Wallace Collection. Other examples are in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Cat., No. 102, PI. LIII), the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (inv. no. 1966.254; Norman, 1972, No. 11, illus.); London art market, 1967; Harding collection, Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 1914); and Musée de l'Armée, Paris (inv. nos. H.I 90 and H.05037). J. Schobell (letter of 16th December 1963) stated that no Guard morion bearing this mark still survived in the Electoral Armoury and that the inventories do not make clear when they were bought. This armourer also worked for the Bavarian court (R. H. Wackernagel, Das milnchner zeughaus, 1983, p. 160).

Almost identical decoration occurs on a garniture at Dresden (inv. no.M29), bearing the Augsburg mark, which is thought to have been made in 1588 by Anton Peffenhauser, and it is possible that the present helmet once formed part of the same garniture, providing a matching piece for use in the hussar tournament. A bridle-gauntlet of the Dresden garniture is in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris (inv. no. G.543), where there is also a similar one with the same decoration on the bands but with elaborate scrolls flowing over the plain areas, presumably from a second garniture (inv. no. G.PO. 733).

Recent research has shown that Anton Peffenhauser sometimes bought individual elements from other armourers, specifically in Nuremberg, for inclusion into larger garnitures or series of garnitures commissioned from his workshop (forthcoming, Holger Schuckelt, Dresden). This zischägge, made in Nuremberg, where certain craftsmen specialised in such helmets, could therefore have been acquired by Peffenhauser and later decorated in his workshop, to match into a larger garniture for the field and tournament. A104|1|1|This helmet is likely to have been made in southern Germany in the Hungarian/Turkish style, probably in Nuremberg, where many such pieces were made for the eastern European market and for the 'hussar' tournaments fought in Hungary dress popular in the imperial and ducal courts of the German Lands at this time. The pointed conical skull is surmounted with a knob at its apex, while the main surfaces have been embossed with dense fluting; around the lower part is a broad sunken band etched with interlaced strapwork and arabesques in the south German style and fire-gilt (the same decoration is on the ear-guards); the small pointed peak is riveted onto the front of the skull and pierced for an adjustable nasal of triangular section secured by a staple and spring-catch. The ear-guards are hung on leather straps and extended in each case by a small triangular plate to protect the chin-strap. Riveted on at the back is a curved and pointed neck-guard of two plates, the lower secured by sliding rivets, which is decorated like the peak, with arabesques of foliage on a granulated ground, etched and gilt; the strap on the inner side, intended for sewing in the lining, is modern. On the lower edge of the skull inside at the back is a mark resembling the N in a circle used at Nuremberg. The plume-holder formerly riveted over the left eye is now missing.

Unlike Wallace Collection A103, which has a distinctly European character, the skull of this helmet is a more faithful representation of the Turkish zischägge. It may even be a genuine Ottoman 'turban' helmet skull, which was then redecorated by German craftsmen, who added the floral decoration on the peak and neck-guard, gilded the skull, and added the cheek-pieces. The nasal and the lowest lame of the neck-guard are 19th-century restorations.
This example and A103 show a type of helmet derived from the East, which influenced the shape of the cavalry helmet of the 17th century represented in England by the so-called 'lobster-tail' or 'triple-bar' helmets of the Civil War. The decoration of strapwork arabesques was already well established in Europe, having been first introduced from the East early in the 16th century.

A very similar helmet from the Radziwill armoury at Niesweiz, now in the Wawel Castle, Cracow, is dated 1561. It presumably belonged to Nikolaus 'the Black' Radziwill, Grand Marshal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Duke of Nieswiez and Olyka (died 1565) (inv. no. 2370; see Z. Bochenski, Armi Antiche, 1965, pp. 103-28, and 1966, pp. 57-60). A105|1|1|This helmet is a spectacular example of the way in which the work of the Renaissance armourer could be at once a superbly functional piece of equipment and a dramatic work of art.
The foundation is formed by a very fine steel skull, with an integral brow plate or peak and articulated neck-guard. Onto this base are attached beautifully-sculpted decorative plates, cunningly embossed, heat-blued, and fire-gilded. The edges of the skull have also been ‘roped’ with great skill, while the back has been embossed with the image of a large scallop-shell. Continuing the marine theme, the three main applied plates which decorate the brow of the helmet combine to represent a monstrous, double-tailed dolphin, while the sweeping, dramatic lines are both emphasised and balanced by a pair of gilded fins placed at the temples.
The decorative plates are made separately, attached by means of turn-pins and therefore removable. This allowed the artist to create a visual effect that would have been impossible to achieve simply by embossing the skull itself, as Italian armourers usually did.
The Helmschmid family of master armourers is known to have made several other helmets in this fantastical style. Another, perhaps made by Lorenz Helmschmid between 1490 and 1500 for Philip the Handsome, King of Castile (1478-1506) (Real Armeria, Madrid, Inv. C.11) employs the same design approach as the Wallace Collection helmet, in which a plain, functional sallet is used as the base onto which embossed, blued and gilt plates forming the face and wings of a fierce beast or monster are applied. Designs for similar winged helmets are also found in the ‘Thun sketchbook’. In fact, the dolphin-headed, winged helmet, derived from earlier Italian models, was so popular in German Renaissance art that it became something of a stock image. A106|1|1|This boldly-embossed ‘parade’ helmet, finely sculpted in steel (probably originally heat-blued since no traces of gilding can be found), was made by an unknown master-craftsman probably in northern Italy; no other work quite like it has been identified, although in skill and confidence it ranks with the products of the Negroli family of Milan, perhaps the finest craftsmen of their era in Italy. A pair of cheek-pieces in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, appear to belong with the helmet; since they are known to have come from the old Medici armoury, it is likely that it too may have a Medici provenance. A107|1|1|For the Renaissance prince who wished to build a relationship between himself and the heroes of the ancient world in the eyes of his people, armour was an essential part of public life. As an expressive art-form it could be used as a to hide the mortality of the human being inside it, or as a way to intensify and glorify, the wearer’s identity, virtues and associations.
By the middle of the sixteenth century, artists had developed a rich Classical vocabulary, their imaginations stimulated by the study of ancient monuments and works of art. Greek and Roman myths and literature was another important source of inspiration, summoning up images of the ancient heroes in all their superhuman splendour. Taking their themes directly from these sources, Italian Renaissance armourers taught themselves how to work steel into dynamically expressive forms which at their best rivalled any sculpture in marble or bronze. All ‘antica armour also had one quality which other forms of sculpture did not possess, a quality of crucial value to the Renaissance prince. It was wearable.
The Wallace Collection includes a number of helmets and other pieces of armour of the ‘Heroic’ style, stunning demonstrations of metalworking virtuosity. This piece makes a direct visual reference to ancient mythology- its brow is embossed and gilt with a lion’s head, no doubt intended to invoke the Greek hero Hercules, who was generally depicted wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion which he had killed in the first of his twelve labours. Lion masks are one of the most common all ‘antica motifs, being also a more general symbol of nobility, power and ferocity. A108|1|1|Parade burgonet of embossed steel, the surface russeted, with traces of gilding. The skull has a scaled ridge, and the front is embossed in low relief with a grotesque, bearded mask, from whose mouth extend two stalks ending in scrolled acanthus leaves and conventional flowers; hinged ear-pieces embossed with masks (the left ear-piece has been patched and is without gilding and appears to be a later replacement). A small peg on the right cheek-piece is probably for the attachment of a buff. Crest-holes in the ridge, one on either side, and two pairs of twin-holes at the back for a plume-holder. At the base is a row of rivets for the attachment of the lining, and two rivets on the ear-pieces for a chin-strap. Beneath the peak, in front, an additional band with a roped edge has been applied.
The decoration of this helmet is especially lively, the embossing well controlled and of excellent workmanship. C.Blair (1974, No. l, p. 27) attributed it to Caremolo Modrone of Mantua and gave a list of other pieces attributable to him.
J. F. Hayward (Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1982, pp. 1-15 and 87-102) has drawn attention to a certain similarity between some of the embossed armours attributed to Caremolo Modrone of Mantua, for instance that of Carlo Bozzolo di Gonzaga (died 1551) at Vienna (Waffensammlung, Inv. No. A632), and the drawings of Filippo Orsoni or Ursoni, the Mantuan painter, whose design book survives in two versions; one dated 1554 in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Murray 7A; Nos. E.I 725 to 2031-1929), and the other, dated on different pages 1540, 1558 and 1559, in the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel (Cod. Guelf 1.5.3. Aug 2°). Among the pieces which Hayward attributes to Modrone, possibly based on designs by Orsoni, are the Wallace Collection burgonet A108, and the shaffron A353, and, perhaps with less conviction, the group of Farnese guard burgonets such as A112. A108 is paralleled quite closely by one of the Orsoni drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum (No. E. 1780-1929; Hayward, Armour, 1951, p. 45, PI. 19).
Caremolo Modrone (or di Mondrone), the court armourer of the Dukes of Mantua, was born in Milan in 1489. He worked principally for Federigo Gonzaga, from 1521, making personal and munition armours, but he also carried out commissions for the Emperor Charles V and for Alfonso d'Avalos, marchese del Vasto. Of two armours made by him for Charles V, the first, presented in 1534, is still in the Real Armeria, Madrid (No. A112); the second, delivered in 1536, is believed to be No. A114 at Madrid. Modrone died in Mantua in 1543. Of Filippo Orsoni, the Mantuan painter, very little is known except from his own statements on the title pages of his two surviving design books. He is, however, recorded as living in the Mantuan district of Rupe in 1559. The devices used to decorate his armours include those of Charles V and Henri II of France, indicating his aspirations if not his actual achievements. A.V.B. Norman suggested that the very restrained and elegant embossing of A108 seemed to resemble more closely that on the armour 'de los mascarones relevados', made for Charles V by the brothers Filippo and Francesco Negroli in 1539 (Madrid, Real Armeria, No. A139), although less crisply rendered, rather than the relatively crude and pedestrian embossing of A112 at Madrid, and of the armour of Carlo Bozzolo di Gonzaga at Vienna. A109|1|1|The skull of this dramatic parade helmet has been embossed on the brow with a large acanthus leaf and on either side with a winged sphinx, seated, with a spray of honeysuckle at the back. There is a short, gilt fruit-shaped knob, forming an apex. Around the head runs a band of gilded guilloche ornament. The peak is boldly embossed as a monster- or dolphin-mask; the neck-guard is decorated with parallel lines of tegulation or brick-work, the border roped. Twin-holes for the crest, and rows of brass-headed rivets (probably replacements, those on the neck showing little regard for the decoration) for the lining and chin-strap. Pieces of leather and canvas still remain pinned down under the rivets. A gilded plume-holder is riveted to the back of the helmet. There is a pair of holes, one on each side of the comb to secure the plume. A fragment of a broad leather chin-strap survives
S. Pyhrr believes that A109 is identical to a helmet described in an inventory of the Medicean armoury (personal communication, 1983).
The rather clumsy design of this helmet and the pedestrian drawing of the sphinx are reminiscent of Filippo Orsoni of Mantua (see Hayward, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1982, pp. 1-16, Pis. 7-10). A110|1|1|The skull, having a high roped comb, has been forged in one piece and has been extended in front into a peak over the eyes, and at the back for form a neck-guard. At the back is attached a plume-holder in the form a Medusa's head; the hinged cheek-pieces are shaped to fit around the edge of the peak on either side.
The entire surface is richly embossed, chased, damascened, blued, and plated with silver and matte gold; the comb is decorated on either side with cartouches containing representations of the stories of Leda and the Swan and Cupid and Psyche, between trophies of musical instruments and arms. The roping of the comb is formed by entwined snakes incised with small scales and silvered. The skull is embossed with a large circular panel on either side, containing a representation of Marcus Curtius leaping into the pit, and Horatius Cocles defending the Sublician Bridge, among bands of trophies of arms; the peak is embossed in front with the head of Medusa, supported by griffins on either side, the neck-guard with a female mask, similarly supported; the cheek-pieces are embossed with griffins. The edges throughout are turned under and bordered with round-headed rivets for the lining straps.

Although the workmanship of this helmet is technically very good, its design an inconsistent compilation of elements taken from the distinct all antica and Mannerist styles, combined with fanciful motifs not found on any genuine helmet of the sixteenth century. When it was purchased by Sir Richard Wallace from the dealer Henry Durlacher in 1876, this 'very fine repousse helmet of the 16th century, damascened in silver and gold' was probably less than twenty years old. There is a tradition that Durlacher acquired this burgonet from an Italian collection.

The embossed subjects on this burgonet are the same, but of rather different form, as those on one made for the Archduke Charles of Styria at Vienna (Böheim, Album, Pl. XXVI; G. & T., No. III, 66). The Vienna helmet has inspired at least one copy in modern times. Other instances of contemporary repetitions of a design occur in the case of the embossed-lion helmet and shield of the Archduke Ferdinand at Vienna (Laking IV, Fig. 1237), of which versions of the former are in the Metropolitan and the Fitzwilliam Museums, and of the latter in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, and the former Beardmore Collection.

A very similar helmet is in the Museum at Lund (No. K.M.25.517; Blomquist, Kulturen 1958, 1959, pp. 20-35). Its cheek-pieces are missing. Yet another unfinished version was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay. A111|1|1|The original owner of this characteristically French helmet cannot be identified, but we can understand something of its original context by looking closely at the helmet itself, as well as armour and pictorial depictions relating to it.

The helmet itself is very thin and lightweight, weighing only 0.85 kg. It cannot therefore have been intended as anything other than a costume piece, in an age when the bullet-proof helmets of the heavy cavalry or cuirassiers typically weighed between 2.5 and 5 kg. It is embossed with foliage and fan-like patterns, gilt against what was probably once a heat-blued ground. Such rich decoration suggests a very high-ranking, if not royal owner. The high comb, which still carried vaguely classical associations at this date, is surmounted by a wide scroll which can only be considered a product of the seventeenth-century imagination. The crest is also pierced with a number of small holes indicating that it once carried a tall ridge of ostrich-feather plumes. Such crests had been a popular ingredient in artistic conceptions of ancient heroes since the Renaissance, appearing for example in the design album of the Italian artist Filippo Orsoni (dated 1554; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, E.1725-1929- E.2031-1929). They derived ultimately from original Roman sources such as the Arch of Constantine (315 AD). A similar helmet crest appears in Pierre Mignard’s equestrian portrait of Louis XIV (1692; Musee National du Chateau, Versailles), worn by the airborne personification of Victory, who crowns the king with a laurel wreath.

Several other French helmets of a similarly unusual form survive. A three-quarter armour of King Louis XIII (French, c. 1620-30; Musée de l’Armée, Paris, G123) may have been made in the same, possibly Parisian, workshop as the Wallace Collection piece; its helmet bears a number of closely comparable features- the embossed decoration, the lines of small, brass-capped rivets, and perhaps most characteristically, the scrolled terminals on the brow, nasal, plume-holder and tail. Two more helmets, again probably from the same workshop and both of the same ‘close-burgonet’ construction are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; one carries a scrolled ornament on the peak, while the other features a high comb à l’antique, and both feature lightly-embossed decoration. (c.1620-30; Inv. 1997.341 and c. 1640; Inv. 14.25.604). Like the Wallace Collection helmet, they are very light in construction. However another very similar example, probably made around the same time as the Wallace Collection helmet and exhibiting the same fan-like pattern, was certainly intended for battlefield use, as it weighs nearly 5 kg (Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester USA, Inv. 702.a). Similar helmets also sometimes appear in French portraits of the time, associated with the three-quarter armour of the cuirassier. A112|1|1|Triple-combed morion, embossed with three roped combs, the whole made in one piece. The central comb has been roughly pierced at the sides for a crest; the brim (scooped over the ears) is pointed at the front and back, the lower edges turned under, roped and bordered with a row of rivet-holes for the lining strap; at the back is fixed a tubular plume-holder. The whole surface, originally gilt and now bright, is embossed and chased with a bearded mask in front, and a Florentine fleur-de-lys (or giglio) at the sides; the sides of the combs are chased with ovals, and between them are alternately rosettes and clef-shaped scrolls; round the brow is boldly embossed a band of roping, below which is a row of star-headed rivets for the lining.

This helmet belongs to a group which J. F. Hayward identified as made for the guard of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (b. 1525, reigned 1545-7, until he was assassinated); see Armes Anciennes, VII, 1956, p. 151. They were formerly attributed wrongly to the Medici on account of the use of the Florentine giglio.
Similar morions are in the Armeria Reale, Turin (E 52-3); the Museo Stibbert at Florence (inv. no. 927); the Metropolitan Museum, New York (duc de Dino, ex-Lord Londesborough, and Riggs Collections, see de Cosson, Dino Collection, p. 36, Pl. 34, 62, Fig. B 33 - Nos. 04.3.219 and 14.25.615); in the Hermitage at Leningrad (two examples- Z.O. nos. 3380 and 3390); in the Farnese armoury in the Museo di Capodimonte at Naples. Further examples are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M. 141-1921 Currie Bequest; Hayward, Armour, 1951, p. 46, pI. 20), and in other museums (see C. Buttin, Les Arts, September, 1910, p. 24, and Revue Savoisienne, No. 4, 1897). Another is in the Museo Civico at Piacenza (inv. no. 344), and another was at Hever Castle, Kent (sold Sotheby's, 5th May 1983, lot 39, repr. in cat.). Hayward later suggested that the helmets of this group may have been made in the workshop of Caremolo Modrone in Mantua (Waffen -und Kostümkunde, 1982, p. 90, Fig. 23). A114|1|1|One of the greatest historical collections of arms and armour was that which, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, formed the arsenal or Rüstkammer in Dresden of the Dukes of Saxony, of the House of Wettin. The Duke of Saxony was one of a group of seven high-ranking noblemen who each held the title of ‘Prince Elector’ and who held the responsibility of selecting the Holy Roman Emperor, this title not being automatically hereditary. The Duke of Saxony, who served as Imperial Archmarshal, was joined by the other hereditary Prince Electors: the King of Bohemia (Archbutler); the Margrave of Brandenburg (Archchamberlain); the Count Palatinate of the Rhine (Archsteward) and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. As befitted such a powerful Prince, the Saxon armoury was legendary for its size and quality, and in 1831 it was made into a historical museum. This did not however prevent it from being repeatedly plundered; in the 1830s helmets from its stores were being used as theatrical props at the State Opera House in Dresden; when its importance was recognised, this material, along with a great many other pieces, found its way onto the commercial market. After the sequestering of the former royal collections following the First World War, the Weimar Republic held several fundraising sales of pieces selected from what was now the Historisches Museum in Dresden, while the jousts and parades organised for Hitler’s medieval festival of 1937 also drew on a great deal of equipment from the old Saxon armoury. The armoury was evacuated during the Second World War and thus saved from total destruction, only to be confiscated by the Soviet Union. Partial restitutions began after 1958, only for the then East German government to resume sales from the Dresden Rüstkammer in the 1970s. Thanks to this long history of ransacking, today high-quality arms and armour from the Saxon court can be found in museums and private collections all over the world.

Many of the dispersed arms from Dresden were originally commissioned to equip the palace guards maintained by the Prince Electors of Saxony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most famous of whom was the elite Trabantenleibgarde. These trusted bodyguards were equipped by the Elector August I with flamboyant uniforms and armour in black and gold, the heraldic colours of Saxony. This rich apparel, along with the fine-quality weaponry which went with it, was maintained and perhaps added to by August’s successors Christian I (r. 1586-91) and Christian II (r. 1591-1611). While many public museum collections contain Saxon guard material, the group now in the Wallace Collection is especially extensive and well-preserved.

The dashing black and gold morions of the Trabanten guard are today perhaps their best-known attribute. Although these helmets were in their basic form entirely typical and unremarkable, the Trabanten series is easily identified by its distinctive etched and gilt decoration even when, as is the case with many surviving examples, the black surface finish has been lost. The ornamental scheme consists of large circular cartouches on the front, back and sides of the skull, with smaller versions positioned centrally on either side of the high medial comb. The cartouches on the comb contain the heraldic arms of the Archmarshalcy of the Holy Roman Empire on the left side and those of the Dukes of Saxony on the right. The large cartouche on one side of the skull is filled with a depiction of Gaius Mucius and the burning brazier, while the other carries a representation of Marcus Curtius before the flaming chasm (some helmets carry the former subject on the left, the latter on the right, and others are arranged vice versa). The stories from which both of these scenes derive are essentially lessons in courage, duty and loyalty- apt subjects for the equipment of trusted bodyguards. Gaius Mucius was a mythical Roman youth who, during the Etruscan siege of Rome in the sixth century BC, tried to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. He was captured and threatened with torture if he did not reveal all details of the Roman murder plot. In response Mucius thrust his right hand into a burning brazier, convincingly demonstrating that he had no fear of pain. The king was so moved by this act that he freed Mucius and ceased his attack on Rome, Mucius being subsequently known as ‘Scaevola’ (‘left hand’), reminding us that the injury he endured was no small thing. The story of Marcus Curtius is similarly fiery, although with a less happy ending for the protagonist. A bottomless flaming pit or chasm opened in the midst of the Forum in Rome. The augurs (clairvoyant priests) prophesied that the pit would only close after Rome’s most precious treasure was cast into it. After all manner of material possessions had been thrown into it, to no avail, the young Marcus Curtius declared that Rome’s most precious treasure was not gold, jewels, or any precious object, but rather the loyalty and prowess of her warriors. Marcus, fully armed, then jumped his horse into the chasm and was lost, but the gaping maw of the pit then closed and disappeared. A115|1|1|One of the greatest historical collections of arms and armour was that which, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, formed the arsenal or Rüstkammer in Dresden of the Dukes of Saxony, of the House of Wettin. The Duke of Saxony was one of a group of seven high-ranking noblemen who each held the title of ‘Prince Elector’ and who held the responsibility of selecting the Holy Roman Emperor, this title not being automatically hereditary. The Duke of Saxony, who served as Imperial Archmarshal, was joined by the other hereditary Prince Electors: the King of Bohemia (Archbutler); the Margrave of Brandenburg (Archchamberlain); the Count Palatinate of the Rhine (Archsteward) and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. As befitted such a powerful Prince, the Saxon armoury was legendary for its size and quality, and in 1831 it was made into a historical museum. This did not however prevent it from being repeatedly plundered; in the 1830s helmets from its stores were being used as theatrical props at the State Opera House in Dresden; when its importance was recognised, this material, along with a great many other pieces, found its way onto the commercial market. After the sequestering of the former royal collections following the First World War, the Weimar Republic held several fundraising sales of pieces selected from what was now the Historisches Museum in Dresden, while the jousts and parades organised for Hitler’s medieval festival of 1937 also drew on a great deal of equipment from the old Saxon armoury. The armoury was evacuated during the Second World War and thus saved from total destruction, only to be confiscated by the Soviet Union. Partial restitutions began after 1958, only for the then East German government to resume sales from the Dresden Rüstkammer in the 1970s. Thanks to this long history of ransacking, today high-quality arms and armour from the Saxon court can be found in museums and private collections all over the world.

Many of the dispersed arms from Dresden were originally commissioned to equip the palace guards maintained by the Prince Electors of Saxony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most famous of whom was the elite Trabantenleibgarde. These trusted bodyguards were equipped by the Elector August I with flamboyant uniforms and armour in black and gold, the heraldic colours of Saxony. This rich apparel, along with the fine-quality weaponry which went with it, was maintained and perhaps added to by August’s successors Christian I (r. 1586-91) and Christian II (r. 1591-1611). While many public museum collections contain Saxon guard material, the group now in the Wallace Collection is especially extensive and well-preserved.

The dashing black and gold morions of the Trabanten guard are today perhaps their best-known attribute. Although these helmets were in their basic form entirely typical and unremarkable, the Trabanten series is easily identified by its distinctive etched and gilt decoration even when, as is the case with many surviving examples, the black surface finish has been lost. The ornamental scheme consists of large circular cartouches on the front, back and sides of the skull, with smaller versions positioned centrally on either side of the high medial comb. The cartouches on the comb contain the heraldic arms of the Archmarshalcy of the Holy Roman Empire on the left side and those of the Dukes of Saxony on the right. The large cartouche on one side of the skull is filled with a depiction of Gaius Mucius and the burning brazier, while the other carries a representation of Marcus Curtius before the flaming chasm (some helmets carry the former subject on the left, the latter on the right, and others are arranged vice versa). The stories from which both of these scenes derive are essentially lessons in courage, duty and loyalty- apt subjects for the equipment of trusted bodyguards. Gaius Mucius was a mythical Roman youth who, during the Etruscan siege of Rome in the sixth century BC, tried to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. He was captured and threatened with torture if he did not reveal all details of the Roman murder plot. In response Mucius thrust his right hand into a burning brazier, convincingly demonstrating that he had no fear of pain. The king was so moved by this act that he freed Mucius and ceased his attack on Rome, Mucius being subsequently known as ‘Scaevola’ (‘left hand’), reminding us that the injury he endured was no small thing. The story of Marcus Curtius is similarly fiery, although with a less happy ending for the protagonist. A bottomless flaming pit or chasm opened in the midst of the Forum in Rome. The augurs (clairvoyant priests) prophesied that the pit would only close after Rome’s most precious treasure was cast into it. After all manner of material possessions had been thrown into it, to no avail, the young Marcus Curtius declared that Rome’s most precious treasure was not gold, jewels, or any precious object, but rather the loyalty and prowess of her warriors. Marcus, fully armed, then jumped his horse into the chasm and was lost, but the gaping maw of the pit then closed and disappeared. A116|1|1|One of the greatest historical collections of arms and armour was that which, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, formed the arsenal or Rüstkammer in Dresden of the Dukes of Saxony, of the House of Wettin. The Duke of Saxony was one of a group of seven high-ranking noblemen who each held the title of ‘Prince Elector’ and who held the responsibility of selecting the Holy Roman Emperor, this title not being automatically hereditary. The Duke of Saxony, who served as Imperial Archmarshal, was joined by the other hereditary Prince Electors: the King of Bohemia (Archbutler); the Margrave of Brandenburg (Archchamberlain); the Count Palatinate of the Rhine (Archsteward) and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. As befitted such a powerful Prince, the Saxon armoury was legendary for its size and quality, and in 1831 it was made into a historical museum. This did not however prevent it from being repeatedly plundered; in the 1830s helmets from its stores were being used as theatrical props at the State Opera House in Dresden; when its importance was recognised, this material, along with a great many other pieces, found its way onto the commercial market. After the sequestering of the former royal collections following the First World War, the Weimar Republic held several fundraising sales of pieces selected from what was now the Historisches Museum in Dresden, while the jousts and parades organised for Hitler’s medieval festival of 1937 also drew on a great deal of equipment from the old Saxon armoury. The armoury was evacuated during the Second World War and thus saved from total destruction, only to be confiscated by the Soviet Union. Partial restitutions began after 1958, only for the then East German government to resume sales from the Dresden Rüstkammer in the 1970s. Thanks to this long history of ransacking, today high-quality arms and armour from the Saxon court can be found in museums and private collections all over the world.

Many of the dispersed arms from Dresden were originally commissioned to equip the palace guards maintained by the Prince Electors of Saxony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most famous of whom was the elite Trabantenleibgarde. These trusted bodyguards were equipped by the Elector August I with flamboyant uniforms and armour in black and gold, the heraldic colours of Saxony. This rich apparel, along with the fine-quality weaponry which went with it, was maintained and perhaps added to by August’s successors Christian I (r. 1586-91) and Christian II (r. 1591-1611). While many public museum collections contain Saxon guard material, the group now in the Wallace Collection is especially extensive and well-preserved.

The dashing black and gold morions of the Trabanten guard are today perhaps their best-known attribute. Although these helmets were in their basic form entirely typical and unremarkable, the Trabanten series is easily identified by its distinctive etched and gilt decoration even when, as is the case with many surviving examples, the black surface finish has been lost. The ornamental scheme consists of large circular cartouches on the front, back and sides of the skull, with smaller versions positioned centrally on either side of the high medial comb. The cartouches on the comb contain the heraldic arms of the Archmarshalcy of the Holy Roman Empire on the left side and those of the Dukes of Saxony on the right. The large cartouche on one side of the skull is filled with a depiction of Gaius Mucius and the burning brazier, while the other carries a representation of Marcus Curtius before the flaming chasm (some helmets carry the former subject on the left, the latter on the right, and others are arranged vice versa). The stories from which both of these scenes derive are essentially lessons in courage, duty and loyalty- apt subjects for the equipment of trusted bodyguards. Gaius Mucius was a mythical Roman youth who, during the Etruscan siege of Rome in the sixth century BC, tried to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. He was captured and threatened with torture if he did not reveal all details of the Roman murder plot. In response Mucius thrust his right hand into a burning brazier, convincingly demonstrating that he had no fear of pain. The king was so moved by this act that he freed Mucius and ceased his attack on Rome, Mucius being subsequently known as ‘Scaevola’ (‘left hand’), reminding us that the injury he endured was no small thing. The story of Marcus Curtius is similarly fiery, although with a less happy ending for the protagonist. A bottomless flaming pit or chasm opened in the midst of the Forum in Rome. The augurs (clairvoyant priests) prophesied that the pit would only close after Rome’s most precious treasure was cast into it. After all manner of material possessions had been thrown into it, to no avail, the young Marcus Curtius declared that Rome’s most precious treasure was not gold, jewels, or any precious object, but rather the loyalty and prowess of her warriors. Marcus, fully armed, then jumped his horse into the chasm and was lost, but the gaping maw of the pit then closed and disappeared. A117|1|1|One of the greatest historical collections of arms and armour was that which, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, formed the arsenal or Rüstkammer in Dresden of the Dukes of Saxony, of the House of Wettin. The Duke of Saxony was one of a group of seven high-ranking noblemen who each held the title of ‘Prince Elector’ and who held the responsibility of selecting the Holy Roman Emperor, this title not being automatically hereditary. The Duke of Saxony, who served as Imperial Archmarshal, was joined by the other hereditary Prince Electors: the King of Bohemia (Archbutler); the Margrave of Brandenburg (Archchamberlain); the Count Palatinate of the Rhine (Archsteward) and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. As befitted such a powerful Prince, the Saxon armoury was legendary for its size and quality, and in 1831 it was made into a historical museum. This did not however prevent it from being repeatedly plundered; in the 1830s helmets from its stores were being used as theatrical props at the State Opera House in Dresden; when its importance was recognised, this material, along with a great many other pieces, found its way onto the commercial market. After the sequestering of the former royal collections following the First World War, the Weimar Republic held several fundraising sales of pieces selected from what was now the Historisches Museum in Dresden, while the jousts and parades organised for Hitler’s medieval festival of 1937 also drew on a great deal of equipment from the old Saxon armoury. The armoury was evacuated during the Second World War and thus saved from total destruction, only to be confiscated by the Soviet Union. Partial restitutions began after 1958, only for the then East German government to resume sales from the Dresden Rüstkammer in the 1970s. Thanks to this long history of ransacking, today high-quality arms and armour from the Saxon court can be found in museums and private collections all over the world.

Many of the dispersed arms from Dresden were originally commissioned to equip the palace guards maintained by the Prince Electors of Saxony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most famous of whom was the elite Trabantenleibgarde. These trusted bodyguards were equipped by the Elector August I with flamboyant uniforms and armour in black and gold, the heraldic colours of Saxony. This rich apparel, along with the fine-quality weaponry which went with it, was maintained and perhaps added to by August’s successors Christian I (r. 1586-91) and Christian II (r. 1591-1611). While many public museum collections contain Saxon guard material, the group now in the Wallace Collection is especially extensive and well-preserved.

The dashing black and gold morions of the Trabanten guard are today perhaps their best-known attribute. Although these helmets were in their basic form entirely typical and unremarkable, the Trabanten series is easily identified by its distinctive etched and gilt decoration even when, as is the case with many surviving examples, the black surface finish has been lost. The ornamental scheme consists of large circular cartouches on the front, back and sides of the skull, with smaller versions positioned centrally on either side of the high medial comb. The cartouches on the comb contain the heraldic arms of the Archmarshalcy of the Holy Roman Empire on the left side and those of the Dukes of Saxony on the right. The large cartouche on one side of the skull is filled with a depiction of Gaius Mucius and the burning brazier, while the other carries a representation of Marcus Curtius before the flaming chasm (some helmets carry the former subject on the left, the latter on the right, and others are arranged vice versa). The stories from which both of these scenes derive are essentially lessons in courage, duty and loyalty- apt subjects for the equipment of trusted bodyguards. Gaius Mucius was a mythical Roman youth who, during the Etruscan siege of Rome in the sixth century BC, tried to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. He was captured and threatened with torture if he did not reveal all details of the Roman murder plot. In response Mucius thrust his right hand into a burning brazier, convincingly demonstrating that he had no fear of pain. The king was so moved by this act that he freed Mucius and ceased his attack on Rome, Mucius being subsequently known as ‘Scaevola’ (‘left hand’), reminding us that the injury he endured was no small thing. The story of Marcus Curtius is similarly fiery, although with a less happy ending for the protagonist. A bottomless flaming pit or chasm opened in the midst of the Forum in Rome. The augurs (clairvoyant priests) prophesied that the pit would only close after Rome’s most precious treasure was cast into it. After all manner of material possessions had been thrown into it, to no avail, the young Marcus Curtius declared that Rome’s most precious treasure was not gold, jewels, or any precious object, but rather the loyalty and prowess of her warriors. Marcus, fully armed, then jumped his horse into the chasm and was lost, but the gaping maw of the pit then closed and disappeared. A118|1|1|One of the greatest historical collections of arms and armour was that which, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, formed the arsenal or Rüstkammer in Dresden of the Dukes of Saxony, of the House of Wettin. The Duke of Saxony was one of a group of seven high-ranking noblemen who each held the title of ‘Prince Elector’ and who held the responsibility of selecting the Holy Roman Emperor, this title not being automatically hereditary. The Duke of Saxony, who served as Imperial Archmarshal, was joined by the other hereditary Prince Electors: the King of Bohemia (Archbutler); the Margrave of Brandenburg (Archchamberlain); the Count Palatinate of the Rhine (Archsteward) and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. As befitted such a powerful Prince, the Saxon armoury was legendary for its size and quality, and in 1831 it was made into a historical museum. This did not however prevent it from being repeatedly plundered; in the 1830s helmets from its stores were being used as theatrical props at the State Opera House in Dresden; when its importance was recognised, this material, along with a great many other pieces, found its way onto the commercial market. After the sequestering of the former royal collections following the First World War, the Weimar Republic held several fundraising sales of pieces selected from what was now the Historisches Museum in Dresden, while the jousts and parades organised for Hitler’s medieval festival of 1937 also drew on a great deal of equipment from the old Saxon armoury. The armoury was evacuated during the Second World War and thus saved from total destruction, only to be confiscated by the Soviet Union. Partial restitutions began after 1958, only for the then East German government to resume sales from the Dresden Rüstkammer in the 1970s. Thanks to this long history of ransacking, today high-quality arms and armour from the Saxon court can be found in museums and private collections all over the world.

Many of the dispersed arms from Dresden were originally commissioned to equip the palace guards maintained by the Prince Electors of Saxony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most famous of whom was the elite Trabantenleibgarde. These trusted bodyguards were equipped by the Elector August I with flamboyant uniforms and armour in black and gold, the heraldic colours of Saxony. This rich apparel, along with the fine-quality weaponry which went with it, was maintained and perhaps added to by August’s successors Christian I (r. 1586-91) and Christian II (r. 1591-1611). While many public museum collections contain Saxon guard material, the group now in the Wallace Collection is especially extensive and well-preserved.

The dashing black and gold morions of the Trabanten guard are today perhaps their best-known attribute. Although these helmets were in their basic form entirely typical and unremarkable, the Trabanten series is easily identified by its distinctive etched and gilt decoration even when, as is the case with many surviving examples, the black surface finish has been lost. The ornamental scheme consists of large circular cartouches on the front, back and sides of the skull, with smaller versions positioned centrally on either side of the high medial comb. The cartouches on the comb contain the heraldic arms of the Archmarshalcy of the Holy Roman Empire on the left side and those of the Dukes of Saxony on the right. The large cartouche on one side of the skull is filled with a depiction of Gaius Mucius and the burning brazier, while the other carries a representation of Marcus Curtius before the flaming chasm (some helmets carry the former subject on the left, the latter on the right, and others are arranged vice versa). The stories from which both of these scenes derive are essentially lessons in courage, duty and loyalty- apt subjects for the equipment of trusted bodyguards. Gaius Mucius was a mythical Roman youth who, during the Etruscan siege of Rome in the sixth century BC, tried to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. He was captured and threatened with torture if he did not reveal all details of the Roman murder plot. In response Mucius thrust his right hand into a burning brazier, convincingly demonstrating that he had no fear of pain. The king was so moved by this act that he freed Mucius and ceased his attack on Rome, Mucius being subsequently known as ‘Scaevola’ (‘left hand’), reminding us that the injury he endured was no small thing. The story of Marcus Curtius is similarly fiery, although with a less happy ending for the protagonist. A bottomless flaming pit or chasm opened in the midst of the Forum in Rome. The augurs (clairvoyant priests) prophesied that the pit would only close after Rome’s most precious treasure was cast into it. After all manner of material possessions had been thrown into it, to no avail, the young Marcus Curtius declared that Rome’s most precious treasure was not gold, jewels, or any precious object, but rather the loyalty and prowess of her warriors. Marcus, fully armed, then jumped his horse into the chasm and was lost, but the gaping maw of the pit then closed and disappeared. A119|1|1|Combed morion having a high comb, chased with a series of oval, conjoined cartouches enclosing representations of weapons. The skull, now blackened, has been embossed with a depiction of the Rape of Helen on the one side, and a battle scene, with the city of Troy in the background on the other; the close-set compositions are bordered by scrolled strapwork, with masks above and below, and supported on either side with figures of captives seated; the brim, peaked in the front and rear, is engraved with foliage, bordered with a band of guilloche and roped. There is a small break in the comb and another on one side of the brim.

In the past this helmet has been thought to be Italian or Flemish, but has now been firmly identified as a French work, decorated in the style of Etienne Delaune. The style of decoration, with embossed figures in very low relief, combined with both etched and engraved decoration, indicates very strongly the French origin of the piece. The scroll beside each of the captives is engraved H, or HP in monogram, possibly the initial or initials of the decorator. A120|1|1|Morion with a comb of unusual height, the brim peaked in the front and rear. The comb is embossed on the one side with seated figures of Justice and Fortitude on either side of an oval panel, damascened with gold, containing a standing military figure with baton; on the other side, Victory and Fame with a similar figure armed with shield and sword, on a gilt ground. The skull is embossed on each side with a scene of combat between mounted men, gilt; the brim is embossed with gadroons, piqué with gold spots, and roped. The embossed decoration is enriched both with counterfeit-damascening with gold and by plating in silver on a hatched ground. The edge of the brim is turned under and roped).

The embossing is not as good as that found on Wallace Collection A182. The low relief of the figures on the comb has been obtained chiefly by depressing the background, a method required by the difficulty of working this part of the helmet from the inside. The hide of the horses is indicated by gold strokes (cf. A133). A121|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' or 'cabasset' style, having a curved stalk on the apex of the tall skull, the sides of which have been embossed with two triangular panels containing trophies of arms, the remainder of the surface with grotesque figures, animals, masks, cornucopias, strapwork, etc., showing a few traces of gold, damascening; the central area contains, on the one side, a figure of Charity (?), and on the other, Victory (?), both beneath canopies with bearded masks in front and behind. The brim is peaked both in front and at the back, faintly embossed with gadroons, and roped. This helmet has suffered from neglect, but there are a few traces of counterfeit-damascening.

The contemporary name in English for a morion with a pointed skull such as this one was apparently 'Spanish morion'. A122|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' form, having a stalk on the apex of the tall skull, shaped to resemble an eagle's claw above acanthus; the skull on one side is prominently embossed with an image of Europa on the back of the Bull, with her mourning sisters on the right, trees and a castle in the distance. The scene on the other may represent Arria presenting the sword to her recumbent husband, Caecina Paetus of Padua, but it is perhaps more like that it depicts Thisbe falling on the sword of Pyramus, suggested by the lion, fountain and trees in the background; the brim, which is peaked front and rear, is embossed with running foliage. The whole piece has been skilfully embossed in low relief, engraved, and enriched with counterfeit- damascening. A123|1|1|Morion having a high roped comb with a broken hole at the top; peaked brims front and rear, the lower edges turned under and roped; made in one piece. The surface has been etched overall with strapwork and scattered trophies; on either side are two small oval panels containing, respectively, depictions of a juvenile Marcus Curtius and Cain and Abel, on a granulated and gilded ground; a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining strap (parts of which remain).

The style of decoration in which the strapwork spreads over the whole surface of the skull, as here and on Wallace Collection A126-9, may have been intended for the French market. A124|1|1|Morion with a high roped comb, the brim having a curved peak at the front and the back swept like a classical helmet, the whole made in one piece; the lower edge is turned under and roped, there is a row of rivets with gilt rosettes, the centres of which have originally held jewels in a claw setting (one on either side which held the chin-straps, has been repaired with an ordinary brass rosette); tubular, brass plume-holder at the back. The left side of the skull has been damaged and repaired.
Decorated with broad bands, slightly sunk and etched with scattered pieces of armour on a granular ground and gilt, with borders of guilloche ornament; on either side of the comb, oval panels containing depictions of Leda and the Swan and a nymph and satyr with Cupid in the background.
On loan to thRoyal Armouries (from William Burges since 1976, previously loaned to the British Museum) is a splinted breastplate having rivets with a claw setting very like those on this morion; the few that still retain their filling are set with coloured glass; a Zischägge and breastplate, also with glass jewels, is in the Kienbusch collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch cat., no. 31, pI. XXIX). A125|1|1|Morion with a high, roped comb, made in one piece; peaked in front and back, the lower edge turned under but not roped; scrolled plume-holder of iron at the back, roughly incised with a gateway or castle; both skull and brim are bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining strap, parts of which remain. The surface has been partly engraved and decorated with four large oval panels containing architectural compositions and trees counterfeit-damascened with gold and silver; the enclosing bands are enriched with minute arabesques, counterfeit-damascening and small diamond-shaped panels in silver and gold; the ground darkened, and except on the surface remaining undecorated, is now bright but probably was originally blued; the brim gadrooned in light gold and silver.
Comparwith the shield A341. A126|1|1|Morion with a high roped comb, made in a single piece; sloping brim peaked front and rear, the border channelled, turned under over a wire and roped. Around the base of the skull is a row of brass-headed lining rivets with brass, rosette-shaped washers (cf. those on inv. nos. A138-9, 140, 146). The edge of the brim is pierced with a row of small rivet holes.
The surface is etched with a strapwork panel, enclosing in the centre a mounted warrior. This is surrounded by four smaller panels containing classical warriors and recumbent nude figures, and four circular medallions etched with portrait heads. The comb has a central panel containing a Roman warrior flanked by two medallions and two shaped panels enclosing harpies. On the other side the central panel contains a representation of Mucius Scaevola. All free spaces are filled with scattered pieces of armour, and similar decoration is repeated on the brim. The ground is granulated and the entire surface was gilded, considerable traces of which remain. The plume-holder is missing. On the edge of the comb towards the back at a later date, has been soldered a brass loop. A127|1|1|Morion with a high roped comb, made in two pieces; sloping brim peaked front and rear, the lower borders of the brim deeply sunk, turned under and roped; brass, leaf-shaped plume-holder at the back. The surface is decorated with blued strapwork cartouches, the remainder etched with plants on a rough, granular ground, gilt; the central panels on both sides contain figures of Pegasus on one side, the brim etched with acanthus leaves; a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining strap of canvas (parts of which remain). A129|1|1|Morion with a high comb, roughly roped and pierced in two places for a crest; at the base a plume-holder of brass and a row of rosette-headed rivets for the lining strap; brim peaked front and rear, turned under and roped; the whole made in one piece. The surface has been etched all over with strapwork, enclosing standing classical figures and trophies of detached pieces, on a blackened and granulated ground. There is no evidence of gilding.
The decadent etching suggests a late date, very much like the saddle-steels A413-4. A130|1|1|Morion with a high roped comb; brim peaked front and rear, the lower edge turned under and roped, the whole made in one piece. Etched with vertical bands of scattered trophies and fully gilt, except for the band, borders and the bare limbs of the figures; on one side in the central band, Atlas, and on the other side a Roman warrior, and similar heroic figures within circles on either side of the comb, the etching deep but of poor quality. At the base is a row of rosette-headed rivets for the lining strap, parts of which remain; brass plume-holder at the back. The brim is ornamented with acanthus leaves. A131|1|1|Morion, having a very high comb, flat at the sides, and roped; the plume-holder is missing; at the base is a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining strap; brim peaked fore and aft, the edge turned under and roped; the whole made in one piece. The surface is etched overall: the comb with bold, scrolled foliage enclosing a medallion head, the sides with vertical panels of foliage with a heroic Roman figure in the central one, on a blackened and granulated ground; no trace of gilding remains. A132|1|1|Morion, having a very high roped comb with flat sides; the plume-holder is missing; brim peaked front and rear, turned under and roped; the whole made in one piece. Crudely etched all over with entwined strapwork framing circular oval panels filled with figures and trophies of armour on a granular ground; on either side of the skull within an architrave or lintel, supported by two pairs of Corinthian columns, is a horseman prancing over a fallen foe, flanked by seated female figures holding banners bearing a cross. In the centre of the comb is etched a representation of Saint George wearing sixteenth-century costume and holding a banner. The brim is carefully lapped over and joined near the point on each side. There are minute traces of gold decoration in some areas. A133|1|1|Morion, having a high pear-shaped skull in the 'Spanish' style, with a stalk at its apex, decorated with acanthus. The embossed design on the right side is now thought to represent the Conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus -fallen from his horse with the almighty in the heavens- rather than the Conversion of the Emperor Constantine. The design of St. Paul is apparently based in reverse either on an engraving by Etienne Delaune, or on the copy by Mario Cataro published in Rome in 1567. The design on the left side was also thought to be from the life of Constantine: showing Constantine a meeting of soldiers with the Emperor in the background, though due to the re-attribution of the scene on the right, the scene on the left is now obscure. The surface is incised and counterfeit-damascened in gold and silver, the figures enriched with diapers, scales and scrolls in gold, the horses with short lines to render their coats (see also inv. nos. A120, A133, A328).

Parts of the decoration have probably been reworked; the cloak of the bearer of the blank standard has some gold dots where it should have silver ones. The brim is peaked front and rear, and embossed with gadroons like A120. Scrolled and gilt plume-holder at the back engraved with a trophy. Chin-strap of three lames on each side, embossed and damascened with trophies. The earpieces are nineteenth-century additions, that on the right was newly made, while that on the left, although old, does not match. It comes from a child's embossed morion in the style of Lucio Piccinino of Milan, possibly from the morion No. B5 in the Real Armeria, Madrid, which belonged to Philip III of Spain, and which is illustrated by Justus Tiel in his 'Allegory of the Education of Philip III', in the Prado, Madrid (Grancsay, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s. XXII, pp. 257-71, Fig. 15). A round target based on the same engraving but in the correct sense is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (No. 25.163.1; exhibited The Art of Chivalry, 1982, no. 17, where the source is identified). A second round target in the Armeria Reale at Turin is also based in part on one of these engravings but also in reverse (inv. no. F21; Mazini, 1982, No. 104).

This helmet has been described as coming from the Casa Gonzaga at Mantua. It appears twice in the drawings by Dassi of the Uboldo Collection in the Castello Sforzcesco in Milan, and it also appears held by Uboldo's small son, in the frontispiece to the drawings. This morion was exhibited with the embossed half-armour, Wallace Collection A51, but does not belong to it. A134|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' style, having a pear-shaped skull with a stalk at its apex, sloping brim peaked front and rear, the edges turned under and roped. At the base of the skull is a row of brass capped rivets (without rosettes) for the lining strap, a small portion of which remains on the right side. A second row of rivets borders the edge of the brim. The plume-holder is missing. The surface decoration is outlined with an etched line and is fire-gilt on a blued ground; it consists of twelve oval, strapwork medallions on each side containing figures of warriors in classical and contemporary armour. The style of decoration is similar to that of Wallace Collection A135. A135|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' style, having a pear-shaped skull with a stalk at its apex, sloping brim peaked front and rear, the edges turned under. At the base of the skull is a row of brass-headed lining-strap rivets with brass washers with scalloped edges (see also those on Wallace Collection A138, etc). Several of the rivets are missing. Below the lining rivets, at the junction of skull-piece and brim, is a row of small rivet holes. At the back is fixed a tubular, brass plume-holder.
The surface is blued and etched in outline with gilt strapwork, the ends terminating in winged monsters and putti, and enclosing in the centre an oval panel containing an equestrian warrior in classical dress.

This kind of Italian blued and gilt decoration was the alternative to the so-called 'Pisan' style found on North Italian armours of the second half of the sixteenth century. It is exemplified in the series of so-called 'Papal' armours (e.g. Museo Stibbert, No. 3964, one in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and one at Abbotsford), bearing a design of sabres and balls on the breasts, which Cav. Marzoli believes to have been made at Brescia (cf. No. A134). A136|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' form, with a pear-shaped skull forged in one piece, with a short stalk at its apex. This example has been patched in two places with white metal. The sloping brim is peaked front and rear, the lower edge turned under and roped. The surface is blued and etched in outline with foliage, and in the centre of each side are laurel wreaths enclosing pairs of figures in Roman armour could be emblematic of Peace and War, but may also be more general figural decoration. In the areas of the two patched pieces of the helmet the surface has been re-engraved. There are traces of gilding on the foliage. Around the base of the skull are set rivets capped with lion's masks of brass for the lining strap. The lining of crimson velvet has been quilted in a diamond pattern; in the centre of each diamond is a tuft of crimson silk, made by the quilting. Since the lining leaves no place for ear-pieces and has an irregular join near the top, it is presumably a later replacement. A137|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' style, with a high pear-shaped skull with a short stalk on the apex; sloping brim curving upward slightly at the ends, the edge channelled, turned under and roped. Around the base of the skull is a row of steel lining rivets and brass washers stamped with rosettes. Small portions of the lining strap remain. At the back is a crudely fashioned plume-holder of thin brass. The surface is decorated with vertical bands of etching in the so-called 'Pisan' manner which divided the surface into four. The bands are filled with trophies and pieces of detached armour, and at the bottom of each of the two side bands is a figure in a classical armour on a granulated ground. On the plain surface between the bands are four small shaped panels etched with similar trophies. The brim is etched with a row of acanthus leaves.
At the base of the skull are faint traces of the original blued surface. A139|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' style, having a stalk at the apex of its pear-shaped skull; curved brim peaked front and rear; the lower edge turned under but not roped; made in one piece. Etched with segmental panels containing trophies of arms fire-gilt on a blackened, granulated ground. The panels are framed by bands etched with interlaced knots, and classical figures and musicians in cartouches. Alternating with the base is a row of brass, rosette-headed rivets for the lining strap (parts of which remain); at the back a brass, shield-shaped plume-holder with riband edges in scroll form, the centre incised with an S many times repeated.

This helmet is from the same series as Wallace Collection inv. nos. A138, 140 and 177. The brim of A139 is etched with two interlacing bands instead of acanthus. A140|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' style, similar to A138, having a curved brim peaked fore and aft; the lower edge turned under but not roped; the whole made in one piece; at the back a brass, shield-shaped plume-holder with riband edges of scroll form, the centre incised with the letter S many times repeated. Etched with segmental panels containing trophies and allegorical figures (Fame, Charity, War, etc.) alternating with others with C-shaped scrolls in pairs addorsed and cartouches containing classical figures; fire-gilt against a blackened, granulated ground; at the base a row of brass, rosette-headed rivets for the lining strap (parts of which remain). A141|1|1|Morion of the 'Spanish' style, having a pear-shaped skull with a stalk at its apex; sloping brim curved slightly upwards at the rear and downwards in front, the edge channelled, turned over and roped. Around the base of the skull is a row of brass-headed lining rivets with circular brass washers stamped as rosettes. At the back is a brass, escutcheon-shaped plume-holder. The surface has been blued and subsequently painted black. A142|1|1|Morion in the 'Spanish' style, having a pear-shaped skull with a short stalk at its apex. The sloping brim curves upward at the pointed ends, with the edges channelled and turned over wire. Around the base of the skull is a row of lining rivets with the remains of brass washers. The plume-holder is missing from the back of the helmet.

The surface is decorated with vertical etched bands containing interlaced strapwork on a plain ground. The brim is etched at either end with a fleur-de-lys. The etching is almost certainly nineteenth-century, although the helmet itself is probably old. A143|1|1|Cabasset, having a pear-shaped skull, with a stalk and acanthus at the apex, the whole surface blackened and embossed with strapwork cartouches, false-damascened with gold arabesques, containing in the centre of each side a pair of winged putti supporting a square tablet, overlaid in gold with a monogram in Roman letters
D L R A M
(the order of the letters is uncertain); at the sides are embossed pairs of seated figures of Victory and Fame, two captives, also trophies of arms and male and female masks before and behind. The narrow flat brim is embossed and damascened with gadroons.

The French word, cabasset (Spanish cabacete, a headpiece), is usually employed in modern usage to denote this type of open helmet with a flat, narrow brim, but the contemporary English term, according to F. M. Kelly, appears to have been 'Spanish morion'. A144|1|1|Cabasset, having a tall, pear-shaped skull, with a stalk at its apex, lining rivets, the plume-holder missing; the apex has been damaged in front and repaired; narrow brim, pointed at both ends, the edge turned under, roped and bordered with holes for the lining, the whole made in one piece.
The darkened surface is embossed in very low relief, with a large oval reserve on either side enclosing a representation of the Rape of Helen enriched with false-damascening or overlay in gold and silver, with a figure of Lucretia, and possibly Fortuna in an oval above. The remaining surface is decorated with interlacing strapwork filled with gold arabesques enclosing silver dots and flowers; at the back is a cartouche with a winged bust. There are four groups of buildings on the brim.

Compare the workmanship of the Wallace Collection saddle A410, and a pair of small boy's gauntlets in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (inv. no.1878.52.5 and A.V.B. Norman, 1972, No. 13, illus.). The scene on the side of A144 is The Rape of Helen from a series of engravings so far unidentified. A photograph of the engraving in question, no. 10 of the series, is in the photographic library of the Warburg Institute. It is inscribed on the reverse 'G. Jode'. The series is not identifiable in F. W. H. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish etchings, etc., 1949. A145|1|1|Cabasset, having a pear-shaped skull with a slight stalk at its apex. The surface has been etched with vertical bands, in turn etched with interlaced knots and cartouches containing Roman warriors; the background gilt. The bands are framed with toothed borders. The plain surface between the bands was probably originally blued; the edge of the narrow brim has been turned under and roped, and a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining strap remains; brass plume-holder with scrolls, and incised with the letter S repeated in a circle (compare the plume-holders on Wallace Collection nos. A139-40, 146, 177). A146|1|1|Cabasset, having a pear-shaped skull with a slight stalk at the apex. The surface has been etched and gilt against a blackened granulated ground with vertical bands of addorsed Cs, knots and scrolls, the borders toothed. In the intervening spaces are pear-shaped panels enclosing military figures bordered by grotesques, and suspended from entwined serpents. The gaps also show traces of original blueing; the narrow brim has a turned-under and roped outer edge, bordered with a row of brass-headed rivets; the brass, shield-shaped plume-holder is edged with scrolls and incised with the letter S (compare the plume-holder on no. A145). At the base a band of entwined guilloche decorated with brass, rosette-headed rivets for the lining strap (parts of which remain). A147|1|1|Cabasset, having a pear-shaped skull, with a stalk at its apex. The blackened surface is embossed in low relief with strapwork enclosing on one side a horseman wearing a morion, and on the other side one with both morion and shield. The background has been stippled. Neither horse has a bridle and one has no saddle. At the front and behind is a reserve containing a trophy of arms. The brim is flat, narrow and embossed with small gadroons, the edge roped. No traces of gilding remain. The plume-holder is missing. The decoration is probably 19th-century although the helmet itself may be old. A148|1|1|Morion, having a pointed skull, made four-sided by a ridge in the middle of either side; there is no stalk at the apex. The sloping brim is embossed to form a small bulge at the point at either end, the edge turned under and strongly roped. There is a repair on the left side. The lining-band rivets around the base of the skull have spiked, pyramidal, brass heads backed by circular washers stamped with a pattern. A small portion of webbed lining band remains on either side together with a fragment of the leathers for the ear-pieces. At the back is a shield-shaped plume-holder of steel. The surface is covered with etched decoration. On each of the four facets of the skull is a leaf-shaped panel, or reserve, containing trophies of arms and allegorical or biblical scenes, one apparently representing Hercules or Samson and the Lion, another Mars. The rest of the surface is decorated with a somewhat roughly etched design of trophies of arms, armour and musical instruments on a granulated ground.

Morions of this particular type are distinguished by being unusually heavy and solid. This piece can be compared with others of the same form in the Doge's Palace in Venice. One with similar spiked rivets (but made of steel) is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Another was in the Whawell Sale, Sotheby's, May, 1927, no. 88. A149|1|1|Cabasset, forged in one piece, of simple form, with pear-shaped skull and narrow brim. Etched with narrow vertical bands of trophies bordered with cables and meeting at the apex, and also placed around the brim in the so-called 'Pisan' style. Brass washers to the lining rivets, and brass, shield-shaped plume-holder at the back. At the bottom of the centre front band of etching is a device consisting of an eagle displayed upon two clubs in saltire.

A similar helmet with the same device beneath a coronet is in the collection of Glasgow Museums (inv. no.1911.29.ea). A151|1|1|Armet, composed of five parts: skull, with a boxed medial ridge (pierced with a keyhole-slot for a plume or crest) ending in a narrow tail beneath the cheek-pieces, which are kept in position by an oval stud, which replaces the original post for a rondel; strong brow reinforcing plate in front, similarly ridged to fit over the brow, cusped, and turned over to form a flange along the upper edge of the face-opening; cheek-pieces, hinged at the top, the left overlapping the right in front, turned-over edges at the face-opening, the lower edge being holed for the attachment of a mail aventail, the edges meet at the back over the tail-piece of the skull, the lower edge at the neck is not turned over, and there is a piece cut out in front opposite the mouth; visor, with the sight formed by the aperture between its upper edge and the brow; there are no breaths, but a hole on the right side shows where a tilting peg was fixed; it is pivoted at the sides and made detachable on the hinge-and-pin principle (see also Wallace Collection A152-3). It is secured to the right cheek-piece by a hook-and-eye. The helmet is held together around the neck by a strap which issues from slits in the left cheek-piece. There is a badly stamped armourer's mark at the back of the skull.
The skull illustrates the later evolution of the fifteenth-century armet, as illustrated by the skull of Wallace Collection A152. The visor of A152 like this one dates from the early sixteenth century, and both have convex profiles to the lower part of the visors. The visor of this example is very heavy, and the thickness varies drastically from the front (6mm thick) to the sides (-2mm). The guarded visor pivots are also typical of the very late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A similar helmet is shown in the portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale by Parmigianino, dated 1524, in the Galleria Nazionale, Naples (cat. no. 111). A152|1|1|Apart from the sallet and bevor, the other type of helmet favoured by knights and men-at-arms during the fifteenth century was the armet. Hinged cheek-pieces were first fitted to bascinet skulls in the 1390s, producing a helmet that could enclose the head and neck fully while also offering a close fit. The cheek-pieces allowed the helmet to be opened to accept the wearer’s head, then closed and secured tightly around the throat and face. Worn with a visor, a mail aventail and a bevor-like reinforcing piece called a wrapper, the armet gave substantial, multilayered protection to the whole head and neck. This kind of heavier armour was especially favoured by Italian and Iberian men-at-arms who fought primarily on horseback, although there is evidence that armets were also worn in France, Burgundy and England. Italian armourers also made armour for export, some even establishing workshops outside Italy better to serve their foreign clients.
This armet is an excellent example of its type, composed of a heavy skull, brow reinforce, and cheek-pieces. It is missing its original visor, wrapper, aventail and rondel, but its essential parts remain in excellent condition, complete with the original rivets, visor pivots and hinges. The brow reinforce has never been removed; a thin line of dark colour on the skull just behind its trailing edge strongly suggests that the whole helmet was once blued or blackened.
The skull carries three Italian armourer’s marks, possibly of Giacomo Cantoni, a Milanese master documented between 1478 and 1492. The same marks appear on two very similar armets, in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (c. 1470; inv. no. G.PO 672) and the Museo Diocesano, Mantua (c. 1460, inv. no. B1). These both retain their original visors, giving a good idea of what the visor of the Wallace Collection armet might have looked like. The marks are found again on a cuirass of the Portuguese hero Duarte of Almeida, called ‘O Decepado’, who lost both hands fighting the Castilians at the Battle of Toro (1 March 1476) and whose armour, taken from him by his enemies, is now in Toledo Cathedral. Its cuirass is extremely important because it shows how Italian armourers adjusted their armour designs to suit foreign taste. While Italian men-at-arms tended to prefer clean, simple lines, their Iberian counterparts had a liking for barbed or scalloped edges. Made for export to the Iberian peninsula, the Toledo cuirass has a plackart with a flamboyantly cusped top edge, a feature never found in Italy. The design of the Wallace Collection armet’s brow reinforce has been modified in the same way, with an additional point on either end at the back, where neither the Paris or Mantua armets have this feature. It is possible therefore that the Wallace Collection armet was also made for export to Iberia. A153|1|1|Armet, composed of five parts: skull, with a high, roped medial ridge, continuing in a tail-piece to the neck, which ends in a crescent-shaped finial fitting over the cheek-pieces. The skull is stamped on the left side with an armourer's mark and the comb is pierced on the top of the head by a small hole for a holder for a plume or for the top of the lining; reinforcing brow plate with turned-over edges at the face-opening, crest-hole and deeply scalloped edges at the back; cheek-pieces, hinged at the top, the lower edges being roped, or twisted, and pierced with a series of small holes for the attachment of the lining (in the left cheek-piece this is an addition); on the right cheek-piece is a hole now filled with a rivet, probably originally for the spring of the catch keeping the visor in the closed position; there is a cross of five holes at each side for ventilation; visor, strongly salient, with two sights, the lower part embossed with a series of horizontal ridges. There are twelve holes on each side for breathing purposes; it is pivoted with an invisible pin and hinge, and secured with a spring-catch on the right side. The sights are on a slightly raised step. The lifting-peg for the visor has been broken off. A strap and buckle (which issues from slits in the left cheek-piece) binds the whole together. The whole surface is blued, the roping and edges are marked by engraved lines, and in some parts with a series of incised crescents.

The armourer's mark, much worn, appears to be the letters M F R crowned. In the Real Armería, Madrid (inv. no. A 4) is an armour which bears the same mark. Its general form and serrated edge resembles one of the marks attributed by Gelli (probably incorrectly) to the brothers Francesco and Gabriel Merate of Milan. Lakinwas right in calling this a distinctively Spanish type, although it may have been made in Milan for the Spanish market; helmets of this form were also common in the Low Countries, especially those areas under Habsburg rule. This type of visor, pointed and horizontally fluted in the lower part, besides occurring on an armet in the Real Armería, is found on a sallet there (inv. no. D 14); on a Spanish helmet in Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. no. H.Po. 554; formerly in the Pauilhac Collection), with NI and compass mark, and the name, SILVA, which suggest a Portuguese agent; on a close-helmet in the late Mr. Cripps-Day's collection; and a detached visor (formerly belonging to the Baron de Cosson, and then in the collection of Dr. Richard Williams, F.S.A) now in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. IV.579).

A comparable armet forms part of a complete armour, said to be that of Karel, Duke of GeIre (died 1538), preserved in Arnhem Cathedral. It is thought possibly to be of Netherlandish manufacture. (Anon., Legermuseum,1963, pp. 22-4). Another is preserved in an English family armoury. An example is depicted by a follower of Bernard van Orley in The Virgin and Child with Herman Gomez as a donor, painted about 1516 (Prado, Madrid, inv. no.1934). A154|1|1|This armet, together with the matching pair of complete leg defences with sabatons (A286-7), is almost all that is left of a once spectacular armour made in the court workshop of the German Emperor Maximilian I (1459- 1519). The only other surviving piece appears to be a gauntlet, bearing the date ‘1511’, in Abbotsford in Scotland, part of the collection formed by Sir Walter Scott in the early nineteenth century.

The armour was the work of Konrad Seusenhofer, Maximilian’s court armourer and master of his famous workshop at Innsbruck. The pieces are decorated with acid-etching, an early instance of this form of armour decoration, the etched bands containing scrolling foliage and pomegranates. The pomegranate was one of Maximilian’s personal devices; many of his portraits show him holding one of these seed-filled fruits, a symbol of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus, the husk as it splits reveals the red droplets inside-an immediate reminder of the Passion.

Maximilian was a great armour-enthusiast. He worked closely with his court armourers to create new, ground-breaking armour designs. He had many armours, for war, jousts, tournaments and parades, including several others in a very similar style to the one to which these pieces once belonged. Parts of another of these armours, the leg armour, vambraces, and gauntlets, now are incorporated into a composite armour at Vienna (inv. no. A110), while Maximilian is depicted wearing similar armours in numerous printed portraits and on the kneeling figure that surmounts his cenotaph at Innsbruck (c. 1555-65). A similar helmet, attributed to Konrad Seusenhofer, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. M2708-1931). A155|1|1|Armet, having a slightly ridged skull which rises to a sharp point at the apex; twin crest-holes on either side and at the back, for attaching the lining; chin-pieces hinged low down at the back, each pierced with a group of holes, meeting at the chin and secured by a stud. The pointed visor, made in one piece, is cut with horizontal sights and pierced with holes for breathing; it fastens with a spring-catch on the left side, where there is also a lifting-peg, an unusual position. The spring-catch and peg may have been added later, as a notch in the eye suggests there may formerly have been a hook-and-eye. The alteration to the method of locking the visor down suggests that the present visor is not original to this helmet. The line of the cheek-pieces is carried on across the visor. The left side has been repaired near the pivot. The lower edge is flanged to revolve over the gorget. The pivots of the visor are decorated with later brass rosette-washers and round-headed rivets round the neck for the lining strap. A156|1|1|Armet of the 'Maximilian' style, the skull deeply fluted and distinguished by an impressive triple comb, the central ridge higher and scaled, the ones on either side roped en torsade. The visor has a sharply-ridged bellows form, pierced with pairs of slits for breathing; spring-catch and hole on the right side for lifting-peg (missing); cheek-pieces hinged at the sides, overlapping in front and fixed by a turning-pin, with a large head like a thumb-screw; the bottom edge, like the lower edge of the skull, is roped and hollowed to fit over the top plate of the gorget. The top of the central comb is pierced at the centre by a hole for a plume or for the top of the lining. There are four small holes at the nape of the neck for the lining laces. Compare to the Wallace Collection close-helmet A162. A157|1|1|Armet in the 'Maximilian' style, having a skull with two groups of flutes on either side of the heavily roped and twisted medial ridge. At the back are eight pairs of small holes for lacing in the lining. At the back of the neck is a single hole for the missing rondel; bellows visor pierced with two horizontal sights, and circular holes between the ridges, the upper edge cusped, six additional breaths have been pierced at a later date on the right side of the visor; cheek-pieces hinged near the back and overlapping at the chin, where they are secured by a hook-and-eye. The jaw is quite narrow. Each cheek-piece is pierced with a rosette of nine holes for hearing. The lower edge is circular and embossed to rotate on the upper rim of the gorget, and chiselled with lines to represent roping (see also inv. nos. A168 and A187). The pivot of the visor on the left side has been restored (before 1962), that on the right taking the form of a brass rosette (later). The top of the medial ridge is pierced at the centre by a hole for a plume or for the top of the lining. There are four small holes at the nape of the neck for the lining-laces.

In outline and certain of its details, this helmet resembles in general form one formerly in the Rotunda, Woolwich, and now in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. IV.412). A158|1|1|Although the Maximilian style was introduced by Imperial court armourers working in Augsburg and Innsbruck, it was in Nuremberg that the vast majority of pieces in this style were made. Many Nuremberg craftsmen made low- or medium-grade armour in vast quantities, although higher-quality equipment for wealthy patrons was also made there.

This beautifully sculpted close-helmet exemplifies the best Nuremberg work. Although this example is not marked, several other helmets carrying marks and clearly by the same master, survive in other collections. Three of these, two in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (inv. nos. H.66 and H.79) and one in the Royal Armouries, Leeds (IV.501), carry the ‘pearled N’, a Nuremberg quality mark.

The visor of this piece is one of only a few known specimens embossed in the German ‘vernacular’ style incorporating human or animal masks. Such visors were worn on a variety of ceremonial and festive occasions. Comparable works are the fox visor for an armet made for the Emperor Ferdinand I by Hans Seusenhofer between 1526 and 1529 (Hofjagd -und Rüstkammer, Vienna A461) and another armet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (29.150.3) which has a visor skilfully formed into the head of a cockerel, wattles and all. Like other surviving animal mask visors made in South Germany around the same time, the Wallace Collection helmet represents its subject, in this case an eagle’s head, through an impressive demonstration of steel embossing. The sculpted head is further embellished with delicately-etched plumage and detailing and with two original copper alloy rivets forming the eagle’s eyes. A159|1|1|Close-helmet, having a flattened, globular skull fully fluted all over, with no medial ridge or comb; small crest-hole and four pairs of holes for lacing the lining; pointed visor in one piece with horizontal sights, slits and holes for ventilation; small hole on the right side, perhaps for a lifting-peg (missing), but no catch to keep the visor down; chin-piece of one plate pivoted at the same points as the visor, with a spring-catch on the right side; neck-guard of three lames fluted like the skull, with turned-up edges. A160|1|1|Close-helmet, having a skull entirely fluted, with a roped comb or medial ridge, three pairs of holes and one group of three for lacing in the lining; the skull is pierced by four pairs of holes for the laces securing the lining. Bellows visor with pairs of horizontal slits for ventilation; lifting-peg on the right side, but no spring-catch or other fastening; the chin-piece, pivoted at the same points as the visor, is secured by a spring-catch; the lower edge is turned under, the roping roughly struck with a chisel. Struck on the lower right side of the visor with an illegible punch, presumably the mark of a maker or a town; neck-guard of three lames fluted like the skull, the lower edge turned under and roped. A162|1|1|Close-helmet, having a low, globular skull embossed with five combs puffed and slashed and pierced by two pairs of holes behind the ears for laces securing the internal cross-straps (now missing). It is also etched with alternate bands of candelabra-ornament and of floral scrolls. The visor in one piece, of bellows form, with two narrow apertures for the sight and eight horizontal slits on each side of double key-hole shape along the four ridges; on the right side is a spring-catch and the left lower edge is doubly notched, presumably to engage the visor-prop; a hole for pivoting this is in the chin-piece below. The lower edge of the visor is etched with flowers, rows of disks threaded on a central cord, and various kinds of scale-work. The chin-piece is of the general form typically found on German close-helmets of this period, but, unusually, it is hinged on the left side in the manner of a contemporary armet, and is fastened by means of a spring-catch with projecting flat-headed knob on the right side of the skull; the lower edge, like that of the skull, is slashed and hollowed to fit over a gorget; the borders are etched with bands of conventional flowers; round-headed rivets for the lining straps, parts of which remain.

The visor, chin-piece and skull show numerous repairs and the etched decoration is much rubbed. Each of the rivets around the neck is surrounded by a circle of petals so that it appears to be the centre of a cinquefoil. A lifting-peg is presumably missing from one of the holes on the right of the visor. Compare with the close-helmets A156-7; the latter is of somewhat similar workmanship.

A chin-piece hinged on one side is rare (see also Musée de l' Armée, No. G 5). This construction is found only on a small group of German close-helmets, the earliest of which is one made for the Emperor Maximilian I, probably made in 1492, by Lorenz Helmschmid of Augsburg (Hofjagd -und Rüstkammer, Vienna, inv. no. A79; Thomas & Gamber, Katalog der Leibrustkammer, I, 1976, pp. 111-13). The etching on the Wallace Collection example is of a rather unusual type. The motifs are outlined with a fairly broad line and the ground is not recessed.

This helmet is exhibited with the puffed and slashed armour, No. A28, which, though appropriate, does not belong to it. A163|1|1|Armet for the field, having a plain skull with a sharp medial ridge and with each side formed into two boxed planes; the lower edge hollowed and roped like the skull.
This helmet was for many years mounted on the fluted armour A26, and was so illustrated by Skelton (1830). It has since been removed and a fluted helmet substituted. A163 can never have belonged to this armour, being of quite a different style and workmanship, but, as Meyrick pointed out, the hollow, roped edge of the base happened to fit precisely the upper rim of the gorget on the fluted armour.
This helmet is very similar in construction and form to that on an armour formerly in the Zeughaus at Berlin which bears the mark of Valentin Siebenbürger of Nuremberg, and the arms of Joachim II Hector, Kurfürst von Brandenburg (1531-71). It is now in the State Historical Museum at Moscow (see 'Spoils of war in the State Historical Museum, Moscow', Connoisseur, CLXV, 1967, p. 2). A biography of Valentine Siebenbürger, one of the leading Nuremberg armourers of his day, is given by A. von Reitzenstein, in Beitrage zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte Nürnbergs, II, 1967, pp. 720-22. Valentin Siebenbürger is first mentioned in 1531, possibly at the time that he became a master. He had a house in Nuremberg in the upper Schmiedgasse below the castle, where he died in 1564. His wife, Anna, younger daughter of the armourer Wilhelm von Worms the elder, had probably died in 1547. From 1536 he is frequently found petitioning the City Council to be allowed to employ more than the permitted number of journeymen, because of pressure of work. In 1537/8 he was working for the Stuttgart court, in 1541 for the gentlemen of the Imperial court, and in 1543 for Albrecht, Duke of Prussia. In 1544 he delivered a Rennzeug to Jacob Rosenpusch, the court Armourer of the Duke of Prussia. In 1545 he was working for the Emperor Charles V himself. Apart from personal armours, Siebenbürger also made munition armours, as when he delivered one hundred armours on the order of the Imperial Master of the Horse, Herr von Andelot, in 1551. (Von Reitzenstein, 1967, pp. 720-22). Among other things, he refurbished the series of joust armours of the City of Nuremburg and extended it (see under No. A23). A field armour made by Siebenbürger about 1530, apparently for Phillip, Count Palatine of the Rhine, was published by Von Reitzenstein (Waffen- und Kostümkunde,1973, pp.99-108). A164|1|1|Richly etched with foliage, flowers, hares, and hounds, the armour to which this fine helmet and gauntlets belong is a testament to the virtuosity of South German armourers in the sixteenth century. It was made by the great Landshut master Wolfgang Grosschedel, probably for Pankraz von Freyburg (1508-65) of Schloss Hohenaschau. Wolfgang Grosschedel was one of the most famous armourers of his age. The favourite of King Philip II of Spain, he also made rich garnitures for the Emperor Ferdinand I and his son and successor Maximilian II. He appears to have served as a journeyman or apprentice at the English royal workshops of King Henry VIII at Greenwich, being named in a royal workshop list of 1517-18. Yet by 1521 he was back in Germany, when he was recorded as a citizen of Landshut. The Freyberg armour demonstrates that by the 1530s, if not before, he had become a master in this own right. His works exhibit a harmony between their distinct elegance of form and their complex, yet restrained, etched decoration.
The armet is significant since it is the only one in the Wallace Collection with two visors. By the early sixteenth century knights had to be prepared to fight in a number of different ways, each form of combat requiring specific armour and weapons. These two visors are interchangeable, both fitting perfectly onto the same helmet skull, each designed for a particular combat use. The first is made in two parts, a lower face-defence and an upper guard for the eyes and brow, and for use in war. It offers good protection from a wide variety of weapons while also allowing reasonable vision and ventilation. The upper part of the visor can also be raised while the lower part remains locked in place, or alternatively, the whole visor can be raised as a single unit. The second visor is quite different, being made in a single piece and pierced with many more holes and slots. The wearer’s ability to see and breathe are therefore much improved, but the protection it can provide is reduced by comparison with the war visor. It was almost certainly designed for the tourney, a type of tournament combat fought in teams with rebated swords or clubs.
This garniture’s etched decoration features hunting as its primary theme; packs of hunting dogs pursue their prey through the beautiful bands that decorate the helmet’s borders and medial ridge, while birds peck through the undergrowth along the cuffs of the gauntlets. Human figures and ornaments are taken from engravings by the German printmaker Barthel Beham. One of the most striking ornamental details is the boarhound collar, complete with fearsome spikes, etched so as to encircle the wearer’s own neck. It is almost as though the knight himself has become a furious hunting dog, straining to be let loose by his feudal master. Similar collars appear on a number of other Landshut helmets, including the bevor of a close-helmet in the Victoria and Albert Museum (c.1530-50; inv. M538-1927).
The whole Freyburg garniture was probably decorated by Ambrosius Gemlich, a master of the difficult art of acid-etching. Here he employed two distinct etching techniques. The first, ‘basic’ etching, involved the ornamental design being burned into the metal through the selective application of acid, perhaps nitric acid. The second, more advanced technique –usually called ‘raised’ etching– is a more complicated process, in which the background is etched into the steel rather than the design itself, allowing the design to remain proud against a sunken ground. In this case the very detailed contents of the ornamental bands are picked out using the raised etching technique, while their edges are framed and accentuated with further embellishments created in basic etching. The Freyberg garniture is a fine example of the dramatic effect to be achieved by using both forms of etching together.
The helmet and gauntlets appear to have been separated from their armour since at least the 1850s. They appear in two studies, probably by an English artist, drawn around 1855. The Wallace Collection helmet is shown mounted on an Italian armour now also in the Wallace Collection (c. 1570; inv. A54), while the rest of the armour is shown mounted with a different helmet and a later horse armour attributed to Wolfgang Großschedel, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (horse armour dated 1554; inv. 23.261). A165|1|1|The Helmschmid family were defined as armourer-artists by their highly original designs and constructions. Their work usually displays a startling level of mechanical precision, combined with an utterly natural and intuitive feel for aesthetics. This fusion of engineering and artistry makes pieces by the Helmschmids stand out as exceptional amongst the works of even the best of their contemporaries.
This armet, the design of which may be unique, is everything one would expect from a Helmschmid piece. The cheek-pieces are cut very low around the face, so that the wearer’s chin would protrude beyond them. The visor has then been extended downward, the base being carefully sculpted to envelope the exposed chin. Although no other helmet displaying this construction survives, something very similar is illustrated in the famous ‘Thun sketchbook’, an album of heterogeneous sixteenth- and seventeenth-century armourer’s drawings, the majority of which depict the work, both preserved and lost, of the Helmschmids.
The technical distinction and high quality of this helmet suggest that it may therefore be a previously unrecognised work by Kolman or Desiderius Helmschmid, or one of their relatives. It certainly is etched in the style of Daniel Hopfer, the master etcher who worked closely with the Helmschmids. The key elements of the etched decoration –the ‘wolf’s teeth’ borders, the extremely fine stippled grounds, the spray of foliage at the brow, the beasts with the heads of human females, complete with contemporary headwear, are all characteristic of Hopfer and his followers. A166|1|1|Close-helmet for the filed, having a skull with a graceful medial keel, the ridge slightly roped and pierced with two small holes, and on either side at the back four more arranged in two pairs. Further forward are two pairs of brass-headed rivets, one of each having an exceptionally large head. The skull is secured to the chin-piece by a spring-catch. At the base is a row of steel-headed lining rivets. The helmet is of the type which fits over the top plate of the gorget, and in this example the circular hollow rim is made of a separate piece riveted to the base of the skull. At the base of the comb is a gilt-brass plume-holder stamped with arabesques and strapwork. There are faint traces of the original blued surface round the lining-strap rivets above the face-opening. The visor is cut with two horizontal sights, below which it is thrown out a strong protective ridge. On the right side are five slits for ventilation. The short lifting-peg also actuates a spring-catch which secures the visor to the upper bevor. This latter is pierced on the right side with eight key-hole slits and four holes for ventilation, and a hole for the spring-catch which secures it to the chin-piece. The chin-piece or lower bevor is pierced on either side with a circle of eleven holes for hearing, and furnished with a spring-catch for the bevor. The base is bordered with steel-headed lining-strap rivets, and the flange for the gorget is riveted on like that of the skull. All four parts of the helmet turn on the same two pivots, which are capped with hemispherical, slotted nuts.
This helmet has been converted to turn on the gorget. Originally it was fitted with its own gorget-plates. The spring-loaded catch locking the skull to the lower bevor on the right side was originally secured by means of a hook, the point of which passed through the end of the locking-pin. The visor-prop is missing. A167|1|1|The North German armourer’s penchant for exaggeration of the form or character of his work can be seen in the design of helmets. This example has a stretched, almost distorted quality in its profile. Its skull has been pulled up and back, making the head look larger and longer, while the visor has been drawn out and down, the point or ‘nose’ being much longer and sharper than those made anywhere else in Europe. The face has also been made very narrow side-to-side, further exaggerating its forward-extension. A168|1|1|Like Wallace Collection A167, this helmet is a good example of the pronounced, stretched, and perhaps slightly strange visual qualities of helmets made in north Germany.
The form of this helmet is perhaps little less extreme than A167, but its appearance is still quite distinctive. The point of the visor drops very drastically down from the sights, and has been stretched forward quite considerably, necessitating a deep, scooping curve in the lower face, so that the visor can meet the chin correctly. This example also includes a highly unusual form of double sight, the slots of which are cut into a visor that is, strangely, designed to sit over the upper bevor at the sides, an overlap that reverses half way towards the front by means of small vertical slits, through which the edge of the visor passes. Both features, the double-sights and the overlapping/underlapping visor, appear to be found only in north German work. A171|1|1|Close-helmet, characteristically French in style, having a skull made in two halves joined along the high, roped comb. There is a long rectangular slot cut on top of the left side of the skull just below the comb which was probably for the attachment, possibly at a later date, of the special form of skull-reinforce apparently used in France for the tourney. The visor, with single aperture for the sight, has a prominent, roped ridge on its lower edge; rounded in front of the face where it is fluted and pierced with twelve vertical rows of holes; it fastens to the chin-piece with a pierced stud and hook; chin-piece with roped upper edge secured to the skull with a long hook-and-eye; two gorget-plates, front and back, the border sunk and the lower edge turned over on a wire to a small roping.

The plates of this helmet are thin, the workmanship delicate. Additional holes in either side of the lower bevor suggest that originally this helmet had a different form of closure. The gorget- plates are nineteenth-century replacements.

The entire surface has been etched overall with a small diaper ornament of a reticulated pattern containing rosettes, and fully gilded; on the brow of the visor is a linear composition of nude figures with trumpets and cornucopias.

This reticulated pattern of ornament is characteristic of French armour of this date and resembles that upon the armours made for François II and Charles IX (Musée de l' Armée, Niox, Pls. XVIII, XIX, and XX); its contour is like that of a helmet in the Wartburg which belongs to an armour made for Henri II (see Mann, The Connoisseur, XCII (Dec., 1933), pp. 414-17). The three lames forming the original rear gorget-plates of this helmet are in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., No. 2424; Boccia, 1975, No. 96). Helmets with the reinforce on the left side of the skull, such as was apparently originally fitted on No. A171, are Nos. G.85 and H.108 in the Musée de l' Armee, Paris. A172|1|1|Close-helmet, of characteristically French form, with a skull made in two pieces, joined together along the comb, which is roped and roughly pierced with three holes for a crest, flanged and produced in the lower part at the back to form a neck-guard; the visor is flanged to fit into the bevor, has a wide aperture for the sight (see also A174) and also a lifting-peg on the right side; salient bevor furnished with a pierced stud at the lower edge to engage the hook on the chin-piece; the latter like the skull, is turned outwards at the base to form a gorget-plate, and lined with crimson velvet (? modern); the lower edge is roped like the comb, and has rosette-headed rivets for the lining band.

The entire surce, now bright, has been embossed overall with scenes in relief of combats fought by figures in Roman armour, mounted and on foot; on the comb are embossed and chased cherubs' heads and strapwork, and on the gorget, trophies of arms, each including a sleeping lion. The centre of the front gorget-plate is embossed with a female figure bearing laurels in each hand, seated between scrolls from which swags of fabric hang, all flanked by military trophies. Traces of gilding remain on the plain bands and borders, and it is likely that the piece was once fully-gilt like other surviving examples of the highest-quality French work.

This helmet belongs to the same group as the embossed armours of Erik XIV (formerly called Charles IX's) at Stockholm, and three in Paris, two of which are in the Musée de l' Armée (G 50 and G 259), and the other (Henri II) in the Louvre. Baron Cederström has shown that details of the ornament of the Stockholm armour are based on engravings in the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung at Munich (Z.H.W.K. XV, 42-3, and in his monograph Skokloster Sklöden, 1945; see also Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LV (1959), pp. 31-74). The Stockholm armour was bought in 1562 from an Antwerp goldsmith named Eliseus Libaerts for 1,300 taler. Compare also the embossed half-armour (lacking its helmet), which was in the Magniac (1890) and Mackay Collections (Christie's, 1939, lot 58); and an embossed comb morion in the Warsaw Museum.

The Wallace Collection shield A321 is another example of the style (see Grancsay, Met. Mus. Bulletin, New York, Summer,1959).

This helmet corresponds with the description of lot 1641 in the Pourtalès-Gorgier sale, Pillet, Paris, 8th March 1865, bought by Juste for 3.190 fr. (marked catalogue in the library of the Wallace Collection). This would then correspond with Juste's receipted bill of 19th June 1865, 'Un casque en fer repoussé, 9000 fr.' with other pieces including Nos. A416 and 417, and possibly A1248. The Magniac/Mackay armour mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue is now in the Higgins Armory, Worcester, Mass. (Inv. No. 2549; 1961 Cat., pp. 80-1).
There are, in fact, two morions embossed in French style in Poland; one in the Polish Army Museum, Warsaw, Krasiński collection, No. 87, the other in the Czartoryski collection, Cracow, No. XIV-409 (B. Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LXI, 1965, pp. 41-90, Figs. 114 and 115 respectively). Another is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 3419). The Lochorst cuirass in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, is No. 38.137a-c, and was published by S. V. Grancsay in the Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum, XXXVI, 1939, pp. 84-8. The scheme of decoration on No. A172, with its classical battle scenes covering all the main surfaces, differs from that of the surviving pieces of armour based on the approximately 146 drawings attributed to Etienne Delaune, in the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, and elsewhere.

The quality of the embossing on A172 is not of the exceptionally high standard of the pieces thought to have come from the presumed French Royal Workshop nor from the workshop of Libaerts, either in the accuracy of its line or the crispness of the hammer-work. It should, therefore, probably be regarded as the work of someone very strongly influenced by the fashion of the French Court.

Elements of armour which are strictly comparable in being decorated all over with battle scenes uninterrupted by scrollwork or other ornament except at the edges are: 1) A close-helmet, the two main plates of a gorget, and a pair of vambraces in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (No. H.93; Reverseau, Les armures des rois de France, 1982, pp. 62-3); 2) A close-helmet in the Armeria Reale, Turin (No. E24; Mazzini, 1982, No. 71); 3) A left pauldron with cavalry combats, including elephants, in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (No. CL712). 4) A close-helmet, peascod cuirass, a pair of pauldrons and arms (lacking couters), and a pair of gauntlet cuffs, all of about 1575-80, in the Army Museum, Warsaw (No. 209/l-9x; Zygulski, Stara broń, 1982, PI. 138). It has been suggested that they are from an armour of Henri III of France (1574-1589), who was for a time also King of Poland (Reverseau, op. cit. 1982, PI. 35); 5) A round target in this Collection No. A321, but with landscape represented above the scenes of combat.

By the 1580s this particular style, little altered, had reached the German Lands; compare, for example, a gilt brass burgonet with silver mounts made in Augsburg, in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden. This was given to Christian I by his wife at Christmas 1589 (Inv. No. 141; Haenel, 1923, PI. 30; and Schöbel & Schaal, 1981, PI. 3). A173|1|1|Close-helmet, of the typically French style of the late sixteenth century, with a skull made in two halves joined at the comb, the sides of which are nearly vertical. It has a roped edge, and is roughly pierced with eight holes, possibly for the attachment of a plume. The comb shows traces of repair by brazing. At the back is a rough, steel plume-holder. Around the base is a row of modern, brass-headed lining-band rivets, the flush rivets for the same purpose running over the forehead being of copper. Part of the lining band remains.
The visor's single, wide sight has been enlarged beyond its original width. On the right side of the visor is a turned peg for raising (this is modern, as are the visor-pivots). The upper bevor has been notched to take the lifting-peg, and it carries on the right side an eye to engage the hook on the lower bevor. The latter is secured to the skull by a strap and buckle; the hook to fasten the bevor is missing. The top edge of the upper bevor is rolled outwards over wire to form a stop-rib, partly broken away near the point and crudely replaced.

The ground of the etching in the narrow bands is cross-hatched. Narrow bands of interlacing riband ornament border the lower edges of the rear gorget-plate, and the upper edges of both the upper bevor and the sight.
The helmet was originally completed by triple gorget-plates; two of those at the back remain, but on the front only one. The lower of the two at the back has been patched on the left side with a plate cut from a piece of etched and gilt Milanese armour of another style.
The etched decoration, which covers the whole surface, consists of broad and narrow bands, the former filled with freely flowing scroll foliage, the tendrils ending in dolphins, human heads and monsters. At intervals is introduced a monogram of the nine letters: CTEBMNTRC. Owing to the interlacing of the letters the correct sequence is uncertain. The narrow bands are lightly etched with running foliage, and on the comb with a mask and bound captives. The edges of most of the plates are bordered by narrow bands of interlacing riband ornament.

Although now in a damaged condition, this helmet is of fine form, and the etching on the broader bands especially is of good quality and design. It was probably originally gilt overall and intended for parade use. A174|1|1|Close-helmet for the field, in the French style of the late sixteenth century, the skull made in two pieces joined along the comb; the latter is narrow, and pierced at the side with five holes for the crest. It is turned outwards at the base to form the back of a gorget, and is damaged on the left side (see also A172). This has a doubly-roped border with a plain band between. The visor has a wide sight, and is flanged to fit into the bevor; a hole for a lifting-peg remains; the upper bevor is without holes for breathing, and has on the right side an eye to take a hook (missing); the upper edge has a band roped on each side, as has the gorget; the lower bevor, working on the visor-pivots, is bent outwards at the base to form a frontal gorget. This was originally held closed by a strap and buckle around the front of the throat. The ends would have been secured to the skull by means of the rivet with a large decorative washer on each side.
The entire surface is embossed with tongues of flame, chased and formerly gilt, much of which remains.

A portrait of Marshal Agrippa d'Aubigné by Bartholomaus Sarburgh, dated 1622, shows him wearing a deep gorget with very similar decoration to that of A174 (Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel, inv. no. 538). A plain burgonet with 'Hungarian visor' stands on the table beside him. He was a distinguished Protestant poet and commander under Henri IV of France and Navarre (1552-1630).
A couter of so-called 'bracel'et type, decorated in the same manner, is in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., No. 1030). A175|1|1|Close-helmet, the skull with a high, roped comb. A shield-shaped plume-holder of steel is riveted low down on the left side at the back. There is a row of brass-capped rivets for the lining band. Visor with two horizontal sights, the lower edge flanged to fit inside the bevor. On the right side there is a short, turned peg for raising it (this and the visor-pivots are modern). Upper bevor, pivoted at the same points as the visor. It is secured to the lower bevor by a hook-and-eye on the right side. Lower bevor, also pivoted at the same points as the visor. The edge of the face-opening is turned over, roped, and bordered with eight blind rivets for the lining band. Skull and lower bevor are held together by a strap. Two neck-plates respectively, in front and back, the lower in each case embossed with a shallow, roped, inner ridge, like the lower bevor; the bottom edge is turned over, roped, and bordered with holes for the lining rivets, which are missing.

The decoration consists of bands of etched ornament, composed of scattered pieces of armour mingled with urns and grotesque animals on a granulated ground, in the so-called 'Pisan' style. This decoration also appears on the comb, and in two panels on either side of the forehead. The borders of all the other plates are etched with bands of running foliage. The ventilation holes in the upper bevor are arranged round an etched rosette of conventional foliage which is duplicated on the opposite side. The holes, which are found on the right side only, appear to have been roughly pierced at a later date. A176|1|1|Close-helmet, apparently of the French style, the skull made in two parts joined along the ridge of the comb. The sides of the latter are nearly vertical, and pierced with a single, small hole in the centre below the roped cresting. There is a second hole pierced on top of the roping towards the back. There is a sunk border round the face-opening, the edge of which is roped. On the right side of the skull at the back is riveted a brass escutcheon-shaped plume-holder. At the base are six modern, brass-headed rivets for the lining band, and another six round the brow of the face-opening. On the right side of the skull are the marks of several cut-marks, such as might have been made by a sword blade.

Visor, with a single slit for thsight, flanged to fit the upper bevor, the leading edge being roped. The keel on the forehead which fits the comb of the skull is roped to match the latter. On the right side is a turned lifting-peg. The pivots are fluted and fitted with rosette-shaped, gilt washers, probably modern. The upper bevor is notched on the right side for the lifting-peg of the visor; the upper edge is turned over and roped below the sight. There are no ventilation holes. On the right side is a brass eye for the hook on the lower bevor. The lower bevor has a sunk border roped at the edge round the face-opening, like the skull. There are five blind rivets for the lining band. The lower bevor is secured to the skull by a hook on either side; that for securing the upper bevor is missing. Two neck-plates, front and back, the lower plates have sunk borders, the edge being turned under and roped. Modern brass rivets for the lining.

The helmet is quite plain except for the comb, which is etched with interlacing strapwork and foliage on a granulated ground, showing traces of gilding. In the centre, on either side, is an oval cartouche enclosing seated classical figures, probably representing the elements of Earth and Water. Where not roped the edges of all plates are bevelled, and those of the visor, lower bevor and neck-plates are cut to resemble a bracket in the centre.

Although the skull is made in two pieces, this helmet is solidly constructed and of good form. It is undoubtedly a field piece made for use in combat. A177|1|1|Close-helmet, composed of four parts: skull with low comb (not roped), and pierced laterally at the back for a plume, with a tubular plume-holder of brass stamped with diagonal S's (compare the plume-holder of A138). The lower edge roped and hollowed to fit over the top plate of the gorget; heavy visor reaching far back over the brow, with two horizontal sights, the lower edge salient and pierced roughly at a later date, with holes for ventilation. The upper bevor is a restoration; chin-plate or lower bevor, the lower edge hollowed to receive the gorget, and bordered with steel-headed rivets for the lining band; on the right side is a steel hinge pierced with a keyhole slot to engage the turning-pin on the skull; it has been damaged and repaired at the chin. This lower visor is an inaccurate restoration.
The surfachas been etched with bands of trophies on a granulated ground, formerly gilt; the salient, lower part of the visor also bears a band of acanthus leaves. It shows the marks of nine cuts on the brow.

This helmet was probably originally intended for tournament combat on foot at the barriers. A number of other surviving examples are similarly of heavy construction and scarred with multiple sword-cuts. A178|1|1|Close-helmet, the skull made in two halves joined down the ridge of the comb, which is flat-sided, has no roping, and is pierced with a single transverse hole. Around the base is a row of steel rivets for the lining band, most of which remains. At the base of the comb are two rivet holes for the attachment of the missing plume-holder. The skull is secured to the chin-piece by a spring-catch on the right side.
Visor with two horizontal sight It is secured to the bevor by a spring-catch of which the stud is missing. Upper bevor pierced on the right side with twenty-two ventilation holes arranged in a rosette, and on the left with seven large S-shaped openings. The lower bevor has a row of steel lining rivets round the base, most of the lining band being preserved. On the right side is a spring-catch to secure the bevor. Double gorget-plates, the lower ones being deep and pointed. The borders are sunk, the edges turned over but not roped. Of these, only the plate at the back is old and retains its pickadils of dark red velvet. Steel lining rivets.

This helmet, though poor in form as is often the case at this late date, is well and solidly constructed, the plates having neatly bevelled edges. A179|1|1|Close-helmet, the skull made in two pieces joined down the ridge of the comb. The latter is pointed at the apex in the French manner, where is fixed a spirally twisted, egg-shaped finial. The surface is faceted and engraved with lines radiating from the apex. At the back is a large, pierced, tubular plume-holder of steel. The skull is secured to the lower bevor by a strap and buckle. Bordering the sides and face-opening is a row of blind rivets for the lining band.
Visor with slightly cusped upper edge, the surface faceted and incised to match the skull. Two horizontal sights, their upper edges bordered with brass-headed rivets. On the right side is a short lifting-peg of brass. The upper bevor, concave in profile, is profusely studded with brass-headed rivets grouped to form a pattern on either side. It is secured to the lower bevor by a hook-and-eye. There are no openings for ventilation. Lower bevor, the face-opening is bordered with blind rivets for the lining band. On the right side is a steel hook to secure the bevor.
Two gorget-plates, front and back, the lower ones deep and coming to a point in front and back, the bottom edge sunk, turned under, roped, and bordered with brass rivets which secure a lining band. These bottom plates are modern. The surface of the helmet is corroded and is now dark brown in colour.

A comparable helmet in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris, is dated 1604 (inv. no. H.Po 154; Reverseau, Musée de l' Armée, 1982, p. 111 and PI. 47). Of the same type as Wallace Collection A66. A180|1|1|Close-helmet, the skull made in two halves joined at the comb. The join is very skilfully made and almost imperceptible. Low, narrow comb, without roping, pierced transversely with a single hole in the centre. The lower edge of the skull is splayed out to form a gorget-plate and has a sunk border edged with brass-headed rivets for the lining band. On either side, near the ears and close to the forward edge, the surface is slightly bossed out and pierced with three holes for hearing. Pivoted peak with sunk border. On the point is affixed a vertical steel spike, three inches long, formed as an ascending series of flattened balls diminishing in size and ending in a point. This can serve no useful purpose and must have been added to increase the grotesque appearance of the helmet.

Visor pivoted to the skull, with two oval apertures for sight, the centre embossed in the shape of a human nose, pierced underneath with circular ventilation holes, below which are six holes set within an engraved line to suggest a mouth. Pivoted bevor, the lower edge splayed out to form a gorget-plate, and sunk border with brass-headed rivets. It is secured to the skull by a hook-and-eye on the right side. There is a second hook on this side to secure the visor. The entire surface of the helmet has been blackened.

This helmet is of the so-called 'Savoyard' or 'Todenkopf' type, and was intended for use in siege warfare, hence its heavy weight. The term 'Savoyard' derives from the siege or 'escalade' of Geneva by the troops of the Duke of Savoy in 1601. A large quantity of their armour, captured on the occasion by the Genevese, and now exhibited in the museum of that city, shows helmets of this kind. A good example of this type of armour, bearing the monogram of Charles Emanuel of Savoy is in the Armeria Reale at Turin, inv. no. B 39. A181|1|1|Close-helmet of burgonet form, of very large size. Ridged skull, pierced with a small crest hole and twelve pairs of holes for the lining-laces, and with four sunken parallel bands etched with masks, nude figures, shields, musical instruments and trophies of arms on a granulated ground fully gilt (it appears to have been retouched in places); the raised surface is blackened; pointed peak or fall with roped edge, pivoted on rosette-headed rivets; falling-buffe of two plates which are held in position by spring-catches: the upper pierced with four vertical rows of holes, the lower with twenty-four vertical slits; the lower bevor fastens to the skull by a spring-catch on the right side, and is extended downwards so as to dispense with a gorget-plate; gorget of two plates, the lower edges, like those of the chin-piece, turned under, roped and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining straps (of which parts remain); decorated like other parts with sunken bands etched and gilt; it retains its quilted lining. The decoration matches the gauntlets and cuirass of A29 in the Wallace Collection.
The size and the style of the gilt-etched decoration of this helmet suggest that it is part of the same garniture of Otto Heinrich from which these parts come, although it does not appear to have come with the rest of this composite equestrian armour from the Meyrick Collection. A182|1|1|Possessing an elegance which immediately catches the eye, this fine south German helmet has been expertly sculpted in steel and decorated with great skill by a master etcher and goldsmith. It is a luxurious wearable art-work, and also a practical helmet designed to be used in anger on the Renaissance battlefield.

This piece is one of several fragments of a once very impressive garniture for the field, that is, a war armour equipped with additional pieces used to convert it for different military roles. A single armour, through its exchange pieces, could serve in light, medium and heavy cavalry actions as well as for combat on foot. The surviving pieces can only hint at the magnificence of this now predominantly lost masterpiece. The maker cannot be firmly identified, but a good case might be made for the great Landshut master Wolfgang Grosschedel, court armourer to King Philip II of Spain.

Parts of this armour were even once thought, mistakenly, to have been made for King Philip himself. Nevertheless, this helmet and the other pieces belonging to the same armour, are certainly of the very high quality for which Grosschedel became famous.

The original owner remains unidentified, although one candidate is Wilhelm V ‘The Rich’, Duke of Jülich, Cleves and Berg (1516-92), brother of Anne of Cleves (fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England) and a powerful militaristic ruler of his territories, which now comprise parts of north-western Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The attribution of this armour to Duke Wilhelm is based on a bronze medal which depicts him wearing an armour carrying the same distinctive barred decoration. A183|1|1|Close-helmet of burgonet form, having a skull with comb very slightly roped; pierced with a small hole probably to secure the top of the lining; there are two fairly large pairs of holes on each side behind the ears for securing the now missing cross-straps; moveable fall, or peak, with turned-under and roped edge; bevor pivoted at the same points as the peak; fastened to the skull by a spring-catch and hook-and-eye; falling buff of two plates. Although the upper part is pierced with five vertical slits and five circular holes on the right side, and fourteen circular holes on the left, as though for sight, there is a gap between the upper edge of the buff and the brow of the skull; roped upper edge; the lower plate similarly pierced with five slits on the right side and nine holes on the left; both plates are kept in position by spring-catches, the lower one being pivoted to the bevor by a rivet on each side; two gorget-plates, front and back, pointed with turned-under and roped lower edges and a row of round-headed rivets round the border for the lining strap; the quilted red-velvet lining is now furnished with hooks to facilitate removal; the velvet lining of the tilting helmet A191 is similarly fitted. The lining of A183 is probably not original.
The whole is decorated with bands of etching on a black ground representing birds, dolphins, masks, cornucopias, drums, scrolls, and narrower bands of interlaced ornament, on a black ground (not granulated). Th etching is of good quality in the late Augsburg, so-called 'Hopfer' style. A184|1|1|Close-helmet of burgonet form, the skull thrown into boxed flutes, the ridges roped and meeting at the apex, to which is applied an ornament embossed and cut to the shape of a sun's rays. This is secured by a vase-shaped finial. The back of the skull is reinforced by two plates riveted to the inner side. Steel plume-holder at the back of the neck. Moveable peak pivoted at the sides, the front edge turned over and roped; on it are continued the roped fluting and etched lines of the skull.
Falling bfe ff of three plates, the sight being formed by the space between the upper edge and the skull. The top plate is embossed with a horizontal projection pierced with six breaths on either side. The three plates are held in position by spring-catches; the bottom plate is pivoted on two pins, and the whole buffe may be removed by levering this plate off the pins. Bevor secured to the skull by a hook-and-eye on the right side.
Three gorget-plates, front and back, the edges bevelled and cusped. The bottom plate in each case has a roped edge.
The decoration consists of incised triple lines bordering the lames and between the flutes on the skull, and a profusion of steel-headed rivets on the gorget-plates.

The sun on the apex suggests the reign of Louis XIV, but the form of the helmet is that of a cuirassier armour of the first half of the seventeenth century. A186|1|1|For over two hundred years after they first appeared at the very end of the eleventh century, jousts were run using the same armour and weapons used for war. This nominally friendly or at least civil practice was however just as dangerous as real battle, and from the early fourteenth century (if not earlier), efforts began to be made to develop specialised ‘safety’ armour to be used only for non-lethal sporting jousts.
In battle, the most effective way for a mounted knight to disable his similarly equipped opponents was to avoid the armour entirely and strike an opponent through the eyes, killing him instantly or at least significantly injuring him. The ability consistently to strike opponents in the upper face in mounted charges with the couched spear was a difficult skill requiring continual practice, which was provided by the joust. Special jousting armour was developed to allow such lethal skills to be honed in relative safety. From the late fourteenth century we find documentary references to the hastiludia pacifica (‘joust of peace’), clearly differentiated from the hastiludia de guerre (‘joust of war’), the older, more dangerous form of the game.
This helm, designed for the joust of peace, is quite an early example of its type. Made of steel up to 6mm thick, it is over twice the weight of a war helmet. Its so-called ‘frog-mouthed’ design is characterised by the prow-like face-plate, drawn out well in front of the face so that lances break harmlessly against it, like waves against the bow of a ship. The projecting lip makes it much more difficult for an incoming lance to accidentally enter the eye-slot or ‘sight’. If the rider was knocked backwards by the force of his opponent’s blow, the projecting lip of his helm, angling upwards, offered instantaneous and complete protection from splinters or lance-points skating up into his face.
Helms such as this are often very difficult to date, the ‘frog-mouthed’ design being so successful that they remained in use for well over a century. The relative plainness of the form and construction suggests that this example was made in the first half of the fifteenth century. A187|1|1|This helmet is one of a trio of pieces in the Wallace Collection (along with pauldron A242 and vamplate A343) which were once part of a double garniture thought to have been made for the sons of Emperor Maximilian II, Archduke (later Emperor) Matthias (1557-1619) and Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (1558-1618). The Wallace Collection group is comprised of this piece, a close-helmet for the Freiturnier or ‘free tourney’, a right pauldron for the joust (A242), and a lance vamplate (A343), which could be used in both of these contests. The Freiturnier was a descendant of the large-scale tournaments of the High Middle Ages, in which two teams of knights first charged each other with lances, in what was effectively a mass-joust, the initial encounter being quickly followed by a melée with clubs and swords. The close-helmet’s specific tournament function is evidenced by holes on either side of the brow. Bolts threaded into these holes would have secured a reinforcing plate for the tourney. The upper visor also includes a threaded hole for the attachment of the wrapper, or reinforcing bevor, a standard component in the Freiturnier.

The decorative scheme, though not especially original or distinctive, has been skilfully executed and communicates a suitably rich visual effect. The surfaces of the plates are divided by wide strapwork bands filled with trophies of arms and musical instruments on a finely stippled and blackened ground and framed by narrow gilt borders containing delicate scrollwork. Some parts, such as the visor of the helmet, are edged with narrower bands etched with scrolls and arabesques of the typical South German style.

The majority of this double garniture is today in Vienna (Inv. A437, A880, B40, B41) with other parts in Paris (H99, H100, K721, K742), Leeds (III.1264) and Chicago (1819). Parts of other very similar garnitures can be seen in Dresden, St Petersburg, New York and Philadelphia. A188|1|1|In 1555, in preparation for a lavish tournament to be held at Vienna, the Emperor Ferdinand I commissioned a series of matching ‘golden garnitures’ for himself and his three sons, the future Emperor Maximilian II, Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol and Archduke Charles II of Styria. All four of these rich tournament armours had matching decoration of the most fabulous sort- the steel surfaces were entirely etched with a dense pattern of twisting scrolls and arabesques and fully gilded, producing an almost unheard of level of extravagance. Clad head to toe in dazzling, golden metal, mounted on fierce stallions similarly armoured, the Emperor and his three princes must have seemed more like gods then men, blazing with an almost divine radiance.

That was precisely the point of tournaments. They were vital opportunities for the nobility to display their wealth and power, two things were manifested physically on the tournament field. Armour served as a vessel for both qualities- the Emperor and his sons wore their riches for all to see while demonstrating their superior fighting abilities in personal combat. The fact that armour of this quality and expense was still used in combat, making it one of the more violent forms of conspicuous consumption, served to emphasise further the very high status of the combatants.

Like other tournament armours of this period, the golden garnitures would have included a number of exchange pieces designed to allow the armour to be configured for the various kinds of sporting combat. The Wallace Collection helmet testifies to this, being made to be worn in two distinct ways. Front and rear neck plates attach to the base by means of bolts. These plates, for use in foot combat at the barriers, provide a thick additional layer of protection for the neck. The throat was especially vulnerable in this game, which involved powerful thrusting attacks dealt with the spear. A blow to the throat, even from a blunted spear, could easily be lethal. For other uses the neck plates were removed, allowing the helmet also to be worn with a standard gorget, which engaged with the helmet’s lower lip to form a turning-joint in the usual way.

This helmet has quite obviously been used in combat. The crest and visor are battered with criss-crossing sword-cuts. Indeed, the left side of the brow had become so battered during the armour’s working lifetime that at some point an additional reinforcing plate was added. The reinforcing plate has been skilfully etched and gilt to match, but clearly by a different artist. Upon removal of the brow reinforce, we find the surface underneath scarred by many more blows dealt with edged weapons. The fire-gilded surface, having been protected by the reinforcing plate, remains as pristine as it was in 1555, giving us a tiny glimpse of what this armour must once have looked like. Its mirror-bright, yellow gold finish is an awe-inspiring contrast to the scratched, matte-finish now found on the rest of the helmet.

The reinforcing plate retains substantial amounts of a coating of beeswax on its interior surface, which has contributed to the perfect preservation of the gilded steel beneath it. The function of this coating may be found in Del Justador (‘The Jouster; 1589-93) by the southern Spanish knight Don Luis Zapata de Chaves (1526-95) who recommended that the inside surfaces of a tournament helmet should be coated with wax ‘so that the clashing or the clamour which results from a blow cannot adversely affect the head’. Certainly this helmet has experienced much clashing and clamour.

Of the Emperor’s armour, only the Wallace Collection helmet now survives. It can be recognised as the Emperor’s own by the special quality of the etching; the two other fragments from the series are of a slightly inferior quality. The similar close-helmet from one of the other armours is now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (H.114) while a visor of exchange, for open foot combat in the champ clos, is in Florence (Museo Nazionale del Bargello, R9.)

The series has been tentatively attributed to Conrad Richter of Augsburg (c.1520- 1570). Little is known about his life, although we do know that in 1548 he was living in the house of the Augsburg master Anton Peffenhauser, whom he probably served as a journeyman. From 1557 he was working for the Archduke Ferdinand II, Archduke Charles II, and probably also the Emperor Maximilian II, the three princes for whom he is thought to have made three of the four fabled golden garnitures. A189|1|1|Jousting helmet, or heavy sallet and bevor for the 'Pallienrennen', a style of joust practiced at the Saxon court in Dresden in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Of bright steel, consisting of a sallet with high comb and neck-guard forged in one piece, the sight cut in the front, the lower edge coming well forward, and is covered by a short visor pivoted on either side of the skull and held by a spring-catch. The visor-catch was probably originally operated by a thong rather than by the present peg. In the centre below the sight a stout screw projects, to which the buff is bolted by means of a large, wing-nut. The bevor or buffe has a hinged door in the right side fitted with a spring-catch and has a sliding bolt operated by a thong, and the right shoulder has a flange turned slightly forwards to protect against lances skating across the body. The two small holes in the door are for the rectangular internal staple through which this bolt passed. There are two round holes on the neck, and two vertical sets of three round holes in front for bolting it to the rest of the harness these were identified by two and three dots beside their holes. The lower edge of the helmet rests on pegs at the sides of the buff. The lower edge of the visor falls within the lower edge of the sight. The two pairs of eyelet holes on each side of the back of the skull are for the laces of the missing cross-straps. Fragments of the buff-leather lining survive in the tail of the sallet.
The edges of the comb and the border of the neck-guard are roped, and the latter has sunk borders emphasised by cusped lines in the style frequently found on Saxon armour. The edges of the sides of the chest-plate are finely serrated. Two pairs of eyelet holes on either side of the back of the skull are furnished with pewter washers in the form of rosettes. There are two pairs of holes at the back of the comb for the attachment of a supporting arm from the backplate unique to this type of Saxon jousting armour.

The bevor of this helmet, or one exactly like it, is depicted in Pickert's lithograph which he gave to the Baron de Cosson in 1868 (see A80 - reproduced by Von Reitzenstein Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1962, pp. 34-50, Fig. 3). A189 belongs to a series of jousting armours made for the Elector Christian I of Saxony (1560-91). The device connecting the helmet by means of the two holes in the neck area of the sallet to the centre of the back-plate, which is present on most of the surviving examples of complete harnesses of this type, may be a later adaptation. It is noticeable that it has never been fitted to the parts for the Dresden course of the garniture of about 1590, of Duke Friedrich-Wilhelm of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (W3065).

Several pairs of complete armours of this type are still at Dresden (Hänel, Kostbare Waffen, Pl. IX). Two were in the Mackay Collection, U.S.A., and two in that of the late W. R. Hearst (sold Christie's, 27th July, 1939, lot 54, and Sotheby's, 1 June, 1934, lot 140). A sallet of this type is also in the Musée de l'Armée (H 53). Armours for the Scharfrennen (run with single-pointed lances in the open field) as practised at the Saxon Court are fitted with either a targe and a relatively small passguard for the German course, or a grandguard and a large pasguard for the Italian course. An example of each type is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat. nos. 17 and 16, Pis. XVII and XVI respectively). They were used occasionally for tournaments in Dresden until just before the Second World War. It is thought that all of these armours were made by either Wolf von Speier of Annaberg (died 1580) or Peter von Speier II (died between 1606 and 1615), the Saxon Electoral Court armourers (see Seidlitz, Die Kunst in Dresden, II, 1921, pp. 260-1). J. Schöbel (1975, p. 29, No. 6) has recently added the name of Wolf Peppighorn to those who worked on this group of armours. A complete armour of this sort for the Italian course, formerly in the collection of W. R. Hearst, is now in the Royal Armouries ( II.70; Dufty and Reid, 1968, PI. LVII left). A191|1|1|Close-helmet for the joust, solidly constructed of five parts: skull, with central comb, laterally pierced for the attachment of one of the elaborate feather crests fashionable in the second half of the sixteenth century, with a plume-holder with spring-catch at the back of the neck. Visor pivoted at the sides and with single, horizontal sight, to which is riveted on the brow, a reinforcing-plate fitting closely over the forehead of the skull. The lifting-peg is missing. Upper bevor pivoted at the same points as the visor and shaped to fit closely to the lower edge of the sight. It has a small trap-door on the right. The upper bevor is fixed to the visor by a hook-and-eye, and a large triangular-headed key, and to the chin-piece by a hinge and turning-pin. Lower bevor or chin-plate, pivoted at the same points as the visor and upper bevor. It is fastened to the lower part of the skull by a hinged strap and turning-pin. The trap-door is closed by a latch. The hook and eye can be locked into position by means of a screw which was probably fitted with a winged head. The upper bevor is pierced by a threaded hole on the right side for a reinforce. The position of this hole has been altered at some time.
The helmet is decorated with parallel bands of etched, floral, scroll ornament, the ground granulated and gilt, the bands bordered with narrow lines of guilloche ornament, and engrailed at the edges. The form of the decoration is the same as that upon the gauntlet and vamplate, Wallace Collection nos. A278, 346. This helmet retains its original lining of padded crimson velvet, quilted, knotted and still in good condition. There are holes for fixing a grand guard.

The same decoration is found on an armour in the Royal Armouries, which came traditionally from the Ducal armoury at Lucca and passed into the Botfield Collection at Norton Hall in the nineteenth century; all probably belong to the same garniture. This helmet closely resembles one illustrated in the catalogue of the de Rosière sale, 1860, lot 30 (wrongly described as lot 70 on the plate), and may be identical with it.

A left pauldron for the tilt with the same decoration is in the Bargello, Florence (M1427). This came either from the Medicean or from the della Rovere armouries (Thomas & Boccia in the exhibition catalogue Österreichische Florenzhilfe, Vienna 1970, p. 57; and letters of L. G. Boccia, August 1973 and 13th April 1977). What must almost certainly be the helmet of the so-called 'Lucca armour' in the Royal Armouries, which is very similarly decorated ( II.146; Dufty and Reid, 1968, PI. LXI left), appears on the table in the portrait, possibly by Justus Sustermans, of Ferdinando II dei Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, painted in the 1640s (Schloss Ambras, Porträtgalerie, Cat. No. 255). The Duke is wearing the Royal Armouries armour, which the painter has modernised by giving it long laminated tassets to the knee in the seventeenth-century style. It appears, therefore, that the Royal Armouries armour was also at one time in Florence in the Medicean armoury. The pauldron still there presumably belongs to it and, therefore, the present helmet A191 may well have belonged to it also. The garniture could have belonged either to Cosimo I dei Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1519, Grand Duke 1537-74), or, since the Medicean armoury also includes that of the Dukes of Urbino, to Guidobaldo II della Rovere-Montefeltro (born 1513, reigned 1538-74). A192|1|1|Secret, composed of a folding framework of four steel arched bands, pivoted at the junction in the centre, and connected by two sets of smaller cantilever ribs. When expanded it was worn inside the crown of a felt hat. It folds up into a compact shape that can be placed in the pocket.

With the growing disuse of armour many cavalrymen preferred to wear a felt hat, and these were often reinforced by steel caps or 'secrets' inside them. It is recorded that King Charles I always wore a felt hat in battle. Similar skeleton-caps are in the Musée de l'Armée (H 291-3), and one is in the Military History Museum, Brussels (II, No. 194, Fig. 31). Other examples are in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (No. H.Po.1386 - previously in the Pauilhac collection) and one in the Royal Armouries (IV.582 - previously in the collection of Dr. Richard Williams). Further examples were in the Uboldo (1869) and Morosini Collections (sold New York, 1932, lot 437). One belonging to Mr. Bernhard Smith is illustrated in Helmets and Mail, 1880, p. 541, No. 118. Another, retaining what is apparently its original blueing, is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 3314). A193|1|1|The German and west European sallets of the fifteenth century only protected the face to the level of the nose or upper lip. The lower face was either left uncovered or was protected with a bevor, the term deriving from the Norman French verb baver or baaver, meaning to dribble or slaver. The name of this part of the fifteenth-century knights armour is unusually well deserved. Used as a noun the same word could also refer to a bib. Rather than protecting against dribbling however, the ‘armoured bib’ can make the wearer look as though he is drooling. When worn for long periods, the wearer’s breath condenses on the interior surface of the plates, the moisture then gathering and running down the neck- and breastplates. Many bevors were made with a solid chin-plate extending up above the mouth and sometimes also covering the nose. The difficulty with the design was that the piece had to be removed completely if the wearer needed to eat, drink or simply get more air. This example however includes a pivoted upper plate held in the raised position by a spring-pin. When the pin is depressed, the upper plate drops down to expose the nose and mouth. Made by the Landshut master Matthes Deutsch, it was probably once worn with a sallet of very similar form to one by the same master in the Metropolitan Museum (c. 1490; Inv. 29.150.89). A195|1|1|Falling buffe, of large size and good quality, designed to be fixed to the top of the breastplate by means of a staple with a locking-pin (compare to Wallace Collection A35); it is formed of one main plate shaped to the chin and covering the face, with the addition of an upper one pivoted at the sides and held in position by a spring-catch, turned over and roped at the top. The spring-loaded press-stud holding up the upper plate is on the right side. It is pierced with sloping, S-shaped, and round holes; the large lower plate is embossed with a strong band of hollow, close-set roping to fit over the upper edge of the breastplate; below this is a square hole for the staple. Stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark. A196|1|1|Falling buffe, similar in form to A195. There is a band of etching down the centre, the upper edge of the upper plate and on the lower edge of the lower plate. The decoration includes foliage and is all on a dotted ground. On the upper plate are two winged mermaids affrontées, terminating in scrolls, much worn. The small hole beside the aperture for the staple is for a hook to lock the buff to the breastplate. A lining-leather runs along the top of the lower plate. A197|1|1|Falling buffe, designed to be worn with a burgonet. Made up of three plates. The upper plate has a turned-over and roped edge with a row of lining holes below; the right side is pierced with cruciform apertures, the left with round holes in groups of four; the two upper (falling) plates are each kept in place by a spring-catch; the bottom plate, shaped to the chin, is without piercings and has a hinge at the right side for attachment to the burgonet. There is a vertical bar of diamond section behind the falling-plates to give protection to the face when they were lowered. This vertical bar is riveted to the lower plate. The surface is embossed in low relief with flat, conventional leaves, which suggests that this piece belonged to a black-and-white armour. The gorget-plate or plates are missing.
A North German origin of this piece is suggested by the presence of a narrow embossed band running only a short distance below the upper edge of the top place, to emphasise the border. This band draws down to a point in the middle of the face, along the medial ridge. Such narrow bands of 'bracket' form are characteristic of North German armour of this period. A199|1|1|Wrapper or reinforcing bevor, designed to be worn on a close-helmet in the free tourney. The left side of the piece is prolonged and bossed to fit over the pivot of the visor; both sides are embossed in two places so that the straps for attachment around the back of the head will sit flush with the inner face. A single gorget-plate has been riveted to the lower edge of the face-plate, with a turned-under and sunk border and roped edge; decorated with eleven brass-capped rivets. The falling bevor A198 is of similar workmanship.
The free tourney (Germ. Freiturnier) was a special version of the traditional ‘mêlée’ tournament. It was characteristic of chivalric festivals in the German Lands, although it was not exclusive to them; free tourneys are also documented in the Low Countries and England. The free tourney represented an attempt to reconstruct the archetypal medieval battle as described in the chivalric romances- affairs fought exclusively by knights on horseback, rich in opportunities for knightly derring-do which at the same time were stripped of inconvenient modern truths such as pike-wielding, gun-toting infantry. In the free tourney two teams of around ten or more mounted men-at-arms first charged each other in an encounter with lances, before drawing swords and setting to for as long as the judges and ladies deemed appropriate. Special reinforcing pieces were worn in the free tourney however they were usually designed to be subtle and unobtrusive, so as not to depart too far from the appearance of men in war armour. Above all the free tourney was a profound test of a knight’s riding ability, close-combat with the sword requiring very intense and sometimes violent manoeuvres at the canter and gallop. Leg armour for the free tourney in the second half of the sixteenth century therefore was cut away around the inner surfaces of the legs, allowing a closer contact with the horse’s sides and thus guaranteeing the best possible communication between horse and rider. Since the fighting conditions were prescribed and limited to mounted combat, protection for the legs could be reduced in favour of comfort in a way that was not permissible for heavy cavalry operations on the battlefield. A200|1|1|Visor reinforce, having a central ridge; straight top edge, the bottom cusped and shaped, the sides extended and pierced with small holes for attachment. An embossed ridge of the extensions on each side would have corresponded with a similar moulding on the original helmet. A hole pierced on the left side has a rough burr and is fairly recent.
A rather similar plate is found on an armour, probably of Innsbruck manufacture, in the Nationalmuseum, Copenhagen, dated 1545 (inv. no. 21521). It covers the pierced portion of the lower visor, and pivots on the bevor. (Thomas, Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger, XIa, pp.147-63.) A203|1|1|Mask visor for a close-helmet, embossed with a prominent hooked nose and sweeping moustache in the Hungarian style; the sight is formed by two horizontal slits; the simulation of eyes below have had the pupils pierced and roughly enlarged at a later date; the open mouth and nostrils give ventilation. It is shaded with realistic lines about the eyes and moustache, and has etched borders. A204|1|1|The armour to which this helmet visor belongs was made for the future German Emperor Ferdinand I between 1526 and 1531, and most probably in 1529. At that time Ferdinand, the younger brother of the Emperor Charles V, was King of Bohemia and Croatia and Archduke of Austria. It was an extremely dangerous time in Eastern Europe- the Ottoman Turks under their Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, were advancing west, in 1529 laying siege to Vienna, Ferdinand’s capital. They were defeated by Ferdinand’s army, but returned in 1533, only to be driven back again.

This intriguing visor was made by the master armourer Hans Seusenhofer and etched by Leonhard Meurl of Innsbruck. Once part of a large garniture, it may have been designed for a special type of military game called the ‘Hungarian’ or ‘Hussar’ tournament. This was a combat sport fought in teams, in which one side dressed up as heroic Central and Eastern European warriors, while the other side was accoutred to resemble Turks, or rather frightening, monstrous caricatures thereof. In this way the Hussar tournament represented the conflict between European Christians and the Muslim Turks as Ferdinand and his court wanted to portray it, celebrating their victories over their supposedly evil and sub-human enemies. The visor, designed to allow the Archduke to lead the ‘forces of Christendom’ in the Hungarian tournament, is thus embossed with a prominent nose and long moustache, the ethnic features which at the time were associated with Hungarians. It is also beautifully etched and gilt, the etching picking out a profusion of tiny wrinkles and stubble hairs, and is also pierced with symbolic eyes and a fearsome, toothy grin. It is an interchangeable ‘piece of exchange’. The helmet to which it belongs, now in the collection of the Hofjagd –und Rüstkammer in Vienna (inv. no. A461), had several such exchange visors used for different types of tournament combat and parade. A206|1|1|Left cheek-piece of a burgonet, of blued steel decorated with lions' masks in the centre, and bands of foliage on the borders, etched and gilt; roped edges; a flat, rosette-headed stud in the centre and a hinge at the top for attachment to the rest of the helmet; there are rivets at the edges to secure the lining strap, part of which remains. These pieces are shaped so as to meet and fasten under the chin with an eye and a buckle (the latter of later date).
The etching consists of rather lush foliage on a plain sunk ground, all fire-gilt, characteristic of armour of the Negroli school. Thomas & Gamber, Storia di Milano, 1958, p. 760.
On the advice of H. R. Robinson, Thomas and Gamber (loc. cit.) connected A206 and its mate A207 with the buff in the Royal Armouries which is signed PHĨ E FRÃ DE NEGROLIS.F (the N and E conjoined), and dated MD XXXVIII (Royal Armouries IV.477; Dufty & Reid, 1968, Pl. CXXXV). This was confirmed in 1975 when Robinson and A.V.B. Norman brought the three pieces together and found that they fitted perfectly. R. Lightbrown suggested that the inscription should probably be expanded to 'Philippus et Franciscus de Negrolis fecerunt' or that, very much less probably, Frã might be expanded to Fratres (letter of 7 March 1983). Thomas and Gamber also connected these pieces with the movable peak of a burgonet in the Bargello, Florence (inv. no. M7771), embossed with a grotesque mask like that on the Royal Armouries buffe. This peak was subsequently illustrated by Boccia and Coelho (1967, Pl. 253, p. 330) who supported the suggestion and pointed out that this piece comes from the old Medicean armoury and is therefore likely to have belonged either to Cosimo I dei Medici (born 1519, Grand Duke 1537-74), or, since the Medici inherited the della Rovere-Montefeltro armoury, to Guidobaldo II della Rovere-Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (born 1513 reigned 1538-74). It is possible that a pair of poleyns from long laminated tassets in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, may also be parts of this armour (Lenz, 1908, Pl. XVII, No. 1.296).
Laking's suggestiothat the buffe might have belonged to the Emperor Charles V and have come from Madrid seems to have been without foundation (Record, IV, p. 145). Boccia and Coelho (loc. cit.) have pointed out that it does not seem to correspond with anything illustrated in the Inventario Illuminado or described in the Relación de Valladolid, the two surviving inventories of the armoury of Charles V. A207|1|1|Right cheek-piece of a burgonet, of blued steel decorated with lions' masks in the centre, and bands of foliage on the borders, etched and gilt; roped edges; a flat, rosette-headed stud in the centre and a hinge at the top for attachment to the rest of the helmet; there are rivets at the edges to secure the lining strap, part of which remains. These pieces are shaped so as to meet and fasten under the chin with an eye and a buckle (the latter of later date).
The etching consists of rather lush foliage on a plain sunk ground, all fire-gilt, characteristic of armour of the Negroli school. Thomas & Gamber, Storia di Milano, 1958, p. 760.
On the advice of H. R. Robinson, Thomas and Gamber (loc. cit.) connected A207 and its mate A206 with the buff in the Royal Armouries which is signed PHĨ E FRÃ DE NEGROLIS.F (the N and E conjoined), and dated MD XXXVIII (Royal Armouries IV.477; Dufty & Reid, 1968, Pl. CXXXV). This was confirmed in 1975 when Robinson and A.V.B. Norman brought the three pieces together and found that they fitted perfectly. R. Lightbrown suggested that the inscription should probably be expanded to 'Philippus et Franciscus de Negrolis fecerunt' or that, very much less probably, Frã might be expanded to Fratres (letter of 7 March 1983). Thomas and Gamber also connected these pieces with the movable peak of a burgonet in the Bargello, Florence (inv. no. M7771), embossed with a grotesque mask like that on the Royal Armouries buffe. This peak was subsequently illustrated by Boccia and Coelho (1967, Pl. 253, p. 330) who supported the suggestion and pointed out that this piece comes from the old Medicean armoury and is therefore likely to have belonged either to Cosimo I dei Medici (born 1519, Grand Duke 1537-74), or, since the Medici inherited the della Rovere-Montefeltro armoury, to Guidobaldo II della Rovere-Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (born 1513 reigned 1538-74). It is possible that a pair of poleyns from long laminated tassets in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, may also be parts of this armour (Lenz, 1908, Pl. XVII, No. 1.296).
Laking's suggestiothat the buffe might have belonged to the Emperor Charles V and have come from Madrid seems to have been without foundation (Record, IV, p. 145). Boccia and Coelho (loc. cit.) have pointed out that it does not seem to correspond with anything illustrated in the Inventario Illuminado or described in the Relación de Valladolid, the two surviving inventories of the armoury of Charles V. A208|1|1|Backplate in the German 'Gothic' style, composed of seven plates. The main plate covering the upper part of the back is cut to a V-shape at the top and the space so made is filled by a separate plate, attached by three rivets. It is articulated by a narrow lame to a fourth plate covering the small of the back. To this is attached a skirt of three plates. The whole is elegantly embossed with pleated flutes and the edges are cut into cusps corresponding with the flutes. That the second plate from the top is missing is shown by the fact that the flutes do not coincide. The uppermost lame of the skirt is also missing.The round holes in the centre of the back were probably made at a much later date. On the narrow centre plate is a scored mark which has in the past been thought to resemble the mark of an armourer or assessor, but was in fact made by a modern drill, slipping as an attempt was made to bore a new hole in the plate.
Two old buckles are attached to the shoulders.
Compare to the backplate of Wallace Collection A21, and one from the Hearst Collection in the Royal Armouries (III.1287).
Thipiece s is a good example of its kind. Most multi-plate Gothic back-plates with pleated flutings are of German origin, but armour 'alla tedesca' (in the German fashion) was also produced in Italy. Compare that in the painting of The Massacre of the Innocents by Matteo di Giovanni, dated 1482, in the church of Sant' Agostino at Siena (Archaeologia, LXXX, p. 136, Pl. XXIX, 5). A209|1|1|Reinforcing breastplate, globose in form, the right side cut away for the passage of the lance-rest, the middle pierced with three pairs of holes, arranged vertically. The lower holes in the breast are for attaching it to the breastplate, and the upper ones probably for attaching the reinforcing buff. It is boldly flanged below the waist and carries a skirt of two widely-splayed plates, the bottom one arched in the centre.
Compare the reinforces for the armour of Andreas Graf Sonnenberg at Vienna (A310; Thomas & Gamber, Katalog der Leibrüstkammer, I, 1976, pp. 220-1). This was made by Kolman Helmschmid before 1511, the date of the count's death. A comparable reinforce with its buffe can be seen in the watercolour drawing of an armoury in the Kupferstichkabinett of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (No. H.B.2536/Kapsel 1254; Norman, J.A.A.S., VII, Pl. XLV). A210|1|1|Cuirass and tassets, consisting of: breastplate of globose form heavily roped at the neck and gussets, fluted in pairs, the surface between each pair etched with a vigorous design of birds, grotesque figures, musical emblems, masks and scrolls of roses and thistles on a granular ground; the sacred initials I · H · S are inscribed on the frieze at the top. The breastplate overlaps the waist-plate to which is attached a skirt of four lames. The top lame of the skirt is pierced at each end by a key-hole slot by which the rear skirt was formerly attached; tassets, of eight plates of like decoration. On the bottom plate of the left tasset is a nude figure with a spear and buckler, on the right one a like figure with a falchion and shield. There is a buckle and strap on the inner side for attachment round the thighs; backplate with single skirt plate, with four bands of etching depicting 1) a putto with bow and arrow, and the number XXIII in a tablet below; 2) Hercules wrestling with Antaeus; 3) Hercules strangling the Nemaean Lion; 4) a nude female figure with a spear and shield. The backplate has been extended on each side by a strip of steel to make room for the owner's expanding girth.

The etching contains motifs which appear in the prints of Daniel and Lambert Hopfer, and has been discussed at length in the Proceedings of the British Academy, XXVII, 1942, Pl. II. The etching is however not by the Hopfers themselves, but rather a follower or imitator.
The numerals XII (indicating the date 1523) also occur on an armour with similar etching in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Grancsay, Met. Mus. Bulletin, XXXV , 1939, p. 192), while the numerals XXIII are on the fluted armour, similarly etched, of Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine, at Vienna (A239; Thomas & Gamber, Katalog der Leibrüstkammer, I, 1976, pp. 223-4; made by Lorenz Helmschmid, 1516) and on a saddle at Warwick Castle (Mann, Z.H.W.K., XV, p. 52).
The etching of this group is vigorous and strong, involving cornucopias, birds and grotesque beasts among foliage on a granulated ground, and among its characteristics recur snub-nosed cherubs and harpies in profile, fluted globes, and an archer (after Hopfer). A breast- and back-plate, formerly in the Zouche Collection, etched with figures of the Virgin and Child between St. George and St. Christopher, with St. Roch and St. Sebastian on the back, later acquired by the Metropolitan Museum, New York, is of particular interest as the St. Sebastian is copied from a contemporary woodcut by Hans Baldung while the borders are etched in the style under discussion. Other members of the group are the armours of Wolfgang von Anhalt and Georg Frundsberg (1475-1528) at Vienna (Grosz & Thomas, I, 49 and 117); the Radziwill slashed breastplate formerly at Berlin, and now at Warsaw; a fluted armour in the Musée de l' Armée, No. G 31; and numerous others. A breastplate of very similar design is in the collection of Sir James Mann. In this case the fluting is triple, not in pairs, and the etching, like that on Otto Heinrich's armour, has a plain ground.
The connection with Hopfer was first suggested by Dr. Paul Post in a study of the armour of Friedrich von Liegnitz at Berlin (Jahrbuch der Preuss. Kunstsammlungen, XLIX) where he identified motifs taken from the Hopfers' prints, but in that case the ground is hatched, not granulated.
The only signed example of etching by Daniel Hopfer on armour is the trellised targe for the joust in the German fashion at Madrid (A57), dated 1526, the last year of his life. A211|1|1|Breastplate, strongly ridged down the middle and projecting in a salient curve. The upper edge and the gussets are flanged and boldly roped; the latter are attached by sliding rivets. It is pierced on the right side with two holes for a lance-rest and has two buckles at the top; the borders are decorated with a V-shaped frieze and similar channels at the arm-holes (compare to the gauntlets A267-8, and armour A36). The flanged waist-plate overlaps the breastplate and supports a skirt of one lame, the edge channelled, roped en suite, and shaped as two curves parted in the centre. The upper edge of both plates is cut at the centre to the profile of a bracket.
The skirt is constructed so that the tassets could be hung from the inside, a feature of many of the Brunswick-Saxon group of armours. A plain half-armour of this type with burgonet and falling buff was sold at Sotheby's in 1941 (see Skelton, Pl. XXII). A212|1|1|Breastplate, of small size, heavy and with central ridge; the edges of the neck and of the gussets at the arm-holes are flanged and roped, and the edges of the arm-holes bevelled; two buckles at the top. Attached to the waist is a restored skirt plate. The rivets attaching the gussets and the skirt have fluted hemispherical steel heads. It is decorated with bands of foliage, etched in a distinctive style on a black and granulated ground. On the frieze at the neck are etched two mermen affronté, one wearing a mitre, the other, who is bearded, wearing a hat. A bird is included among the foliage of the central and the diagonal bands.
The backplate belonging to this breastplate is now in the Hermitage, St Petersberg (Z.O.3007). A213|1|1|Breastplate, long-waisted, with central ridge; the neck and gussets at the armpits are strongly flanged and notched, the gussets working on sliding rivets and cut off at both ends to allow for extensions of the breastplate at the sides; the lower edge flanged to take a skirt, the right side pierced with five holes for the lance-rest. The shoulders are each pierced by a key-hole slot for the attachment of the backplate. On each side, below the arm opening, is a horizontal row of three holes, alternative positions for the stud on each side of the backplate. It is decorated with five sunken bands etched with grotesque monsters and conventional foliage on a granulated ground, now cleaned bright. The etched bands have toothed edges.

The etching has clearly been retouched. The execution of the granular ground is original but very weak. A214|1|1|Breastplate, of rounded form with no medial ridge, long-waisted, with strong flange of triangular section at the neck. It is cut away at the sides at the waist. The gussets are missing. Skirt of four lames; the upper edges of the bottom three are shaped in the centre as pairs of opposed dolphins. The skirt has been considerably altered at some time and the twin dolphins were probably cut off the top lame at that point. The skirt was originally fully lined as is shown by the position of the lining rivets.
The surface is rough from the hammer, blackened, and is decorated in the centre of the chest with the figure of St. Barbara, etched and gilt in a vesica; the slightly sunk borders of neck, arm-holes, sides and lames of the skirt are also etched and gilt with floral scrolls, and at the waist with scales like those on the dolphins.
The breast is pierced with two holes for the bolts of the lance-rest.
A214 is illustrated as the eighth cuirass among the drawings made by Antonio Dassi for the catalogue of the collection of Ambrogio Uboldo, preserved in the library of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. Comte de Belleval; a sketch of A214 has been inserted into the MS. copy of Belleval's La Panoplie, 1881, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; and beside it is a marginal note stating that it was formerly in the collection of the author and later passed to the Musée d'Artillerie, that is the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (S. Pyhrr, letter of 23rd May 1977).
St. Barbara of Nicomedia, Santa aussiliatrice, was the patron saint of armourers and gunners, and of all who worked in danger of a violent death; hence her frequent delineation on armour.
The etching of the right arm in the Museo Stibbert mentioned in J.A.A.S., VII, p. 202, as belonging to A214, is signed N.D. in minute letters (1917-18 Cat., No. 3154; Boccia, 1975 Cat., No. 133). A215|1|1|Cuirass, of strong build, with slight central ridge, the top edge strongly flanged to a triangular section, the arm-holes fitted with gussets similarly flanged and attached by sliding rivets. It is embossed in low relief with curved flutes radiating from the centre near the waist. A skirt of four lames is attached. The lowest lame of the skirt is pierced along its lower edge by a series of small holes, presumably either for a lining or for a leather to support a mail skirt. It is also pierced with four pairs of holes for straps for the tassets. The lowest lame of the rear skirt is embossed with a broad raised band decorated with diagonal ridges. Along the lower edge of this lame are seven rivets with flat circular heads inside decorated in typical Italian style, as in front, either for the lining or for a mail skirt. Four holes for a lance-rest have been drilled on the right side at a later date. The holes for the lance-rest were originally drilled on the wrong side, presumably by accident. Backplate with a skirt of three plates decorated with sunken, radiating flutes, the outer ones ending in volutes, the lower one retaining seven old rivets with decorated heads. There are buckles at the shoulders and at the waist.
See Mann, Archaeologia, LXXIX (1929), p. 228, Pl. LXXIII, where this breast is compared with one in a painting by Rondani. See also the pair of cuisses A289-90, which may belong to this cuirass. A216|1|1|Cuirass, composed of a breastplate of globose form, with slight central ridge; strongly flanged at the neck and armpits where it is boldly roped with double incisions. On the right side are four rectangular projections pierced with oblong holes for a lance-rest. An unusual feature is that it is joined to the backplate by a large, applied hinge on the left side; backplate, less strongly ridged at the armpits and neck. The edges accompanied by a slightly raised border. It is fastened to the breastplate by straps and buckles over the shoulders and a pin engaging in one of two holes on the right side, and a hinge on the left. The straps are secured by rosette-headed rivets. The strap and buckle at the waist are later.

This breastplate shows both German and Italian features. The lance-rest is attached by a row of staples and a locking-pin in the Italian manner. Cuirasses made in Germany do not normally link together by a hinge at the side and in this case the hinge, which is of iron, is of Italian type. The buckles on the shoulders are, however, of a common German type. The hinge on the left side joining breast and back-plate is a feature found on Henry VIII's armour in the Royal Armouries (II.5) and on another breast and backplate there (II.101-2) of the same date as A216.
Rivets show that the skirt and tassets were suspended on leathers from the lower flanges. A217|1|1|Breastplate, a composite made up of two parts differing markedly in design and workmanship. The upper part is finely embossed in relief with the standing figures of the Virgin and Child, between St. Jerome on her left and St. Christopher carrying the infant Christ, on her right; above, near the neck, is a decorative frieze embossed with a mask from whose mouth springs flowing foliage involving two birds; the neck is strongly flanged and roped, with pairs of rivets on either side for the shoulder straps (the buckles reproduced by Skelton no longer remain). There are considerable traces of gilding. It is also flanged and roped at the neck and gussets, the latter being etched with flowing foliage on a granulated ground. The etching on the gussets matches that on the lower lames.
The lower part consists of fivlames in the manner of an anime cuirass, etched with bands of conventional leaves in the North Italian style, and with a central band of trophies on a granular ground. It is slightly peascod in form, and down the centre (broken in places) is a vertical line of rivets like a waistcoat cuirass.

The embossing of the upper part is accomplished work of the best Italian style of the middle of the sixteenth century and might be the work of the Negroli of Milan.
The breastplate as it now exists presents a puzzle. The lower lames have been much altered, the upper edge of three of them are notched above the rivets, the other two are plain. The three uppermost lames show holes on the inside for articulation by straps, as one would expect, but not the lower two. That the breastplate has long been as it is at present is shown by Skelton's engraving of 1830. The obvious attempt to match the roping of the gussets and neck suggests that the additions of the lower lames may have been made no more than twenty-five years after the upper part was produced.
Boccia, Rossi & Morin (Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, Pl. 147) date the upper part about 1550 and the lower part 1565-70, but it is difficult to accept these dates, particularly that the lower section could be earlier than 1600. The bottom lame and second lame from the bottom are not specially shaped around the articulating rivets, as are those above them. A218|1|1|Parade cuirass of the finest quality, composed of breastplate of peascod form, flanged at the base and having turning-pins for the skirt; the neck flanged and roped; the gussets are missing from the arm-holes. The decoration consists of a frieze and three vertical bands embossed in low relief, the surface chased, plated and enriched by counterfeit-damascening both in gold and in silver, although only traces of the latter remain. In the middle, above, is embossed a figure standing upon a barred helmet and holding a cross (possibly symbolical of Christian Valour); on either side, at the top are two seated figures - the seated figure on the right side of the top of the breastplate represents Fortitude, that on the left represents Prudence (R. Lightbown, letter of 17 January 1985, quoting Tervarent, Attributs et symboles dans l' art profane, 1460-1600,1 I, 1959, pp. 271 and 406). In the centre is a cartouche (the central oval of which is now obliterated) and below this is a figure of Fame. On the bands on either side are embossed figures. The female figure in the right diagonal band of decoration on the breastplate, who has a cuirass beside her, presumably represents the Amazon Queen, Hippolyte, the other may represent Plenty. The background is matt gilt, and the spaces are filled in with trophies of arms and festoons. The embossed bands are bordered with delicate arabesques damascened in gold; the intervening panels are plain with a blued surface.
The backplate, like the breastplate is decorated with three vertical, embossed bands containing (in the middle) Pomona, or Ceres, in a striped skirt; beneath her feet is an oval cartouche piqué with silver damascened with a mountainous landscape with buildings, and a climbing figure; below this again is a putto blowing a trumpet, and Fame; on the left band is Hercules seated; on the right band a semi-nude female figure; flanged at the base and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining band, the edges being turned under and roped; there is a hook on the right side to connect with the breastplate; the buckle on the left shoulder is a restoration. The raised ridges of both breast and back each contain a row of rivets down them, presumably either for a lining or for fixing the plate more securely in the bed of pitch while the metal was being worked. A219|1|1|Breastplate, for light cavalry or infantry use, of peascod form, the neck ridged and roped, with a V-shaped frieze embossed below the neck. The lower edge is flanged to take the skirt. The gussets are missing. The surface etched overall with florid, scrolled foliage involving dogs, birds, masks and the heads of grotesque animals; in the centre is the figure of a harpy; on a blackened and granulated ground.
The granulation is scribbled tightly, the grains not being isolated (see also A340). A220|1|1|Breastplate, small in size and peascod in shape, the edges of neck and armpits ridged and roped; the lower edge flanged and carrying a single lame of the skirt. The surface is etched with vertical bands with strapwork cartouches framing oval panels, the centre bearing a figure of Paris, with a goddess in the bands on either side; the bands are bordered with lines of cabled ornament and, round the arm-holes, the heads of grotesque monsters; at the top are etched (not embossed) a pair of portrait medallions; the single plate of the fauld is pierced with pairs of holes for the straps to hold the tassets; the whole deeply and roughly etched. A221|1|1|Backplate, the edges are turned over on a wire and slightly roped with a chisel; the lower edge flanged and shaped. Decorated in the North Italian, so-called 'Pisan' style, with bands of scattered trophies edged with lines of guilloche ; above, between the shoulder plates, are two slightly embossed volutes terminating in a pair of portrait medallions, and two supporting figures ending in foliage. A222|1|1|'Waistcoat' cuirass, the breastplate of moderate peascod shape, formed of two plates opening down the front in the manner of a civilian doublet. The backplate is built in three pieces, and consists of a central plate to which are hinged two side-pieces, which are riveted to the two halves of the breastplate; the side-pieces are kept in position at the top by rivet-heads fitting into slots. The breastplate is secured down the front by turning-pins at top and bottom, and has down the middle a vertical row of conical steel studs simulating buttons. The bottom edges are flanged to carry a skirt which is missing. It was formerly completed by articulated lames at the neck. See also A223-4.

The decoration consists of bands of etched ornament, comprising trophies, weapons and pieces of armour on a granulated ground in the so-called 'Pisan' manner. The central band on both breast and backplates is widened at the top with scrolled borders, and the space is filled with a male and female figure in classical dress. On the corresponding place on the backplate, is an oval cartouche containing the standing figure of a Roman warrior. Between the bands the intervening free spaces are divided by an incised vertical line entwined with a climbing plant.

The side-pieces are kept in position at the top by a horizontal slot in the rear edge of each which fits under a domed rivet head on each side of the back.
The 'climbing plant', forming part of the decoration, is trefoliate and forms a zig-zag across a straight line. A223|1|1|'Waistcoat' cuirass, the breastplate of peascod shape formed of two plates opening down the front in the manner of a civilian doublet. The base is flanged at the waist, the edge sunk, turned under and roped. Th backplate is made in three pieces, the outer plates hinged to the centre one and riveted at their outer edges to the two halves of the breastplate. Two studs at the top, which fit into slots, keep the outer plates in position. The breastplate is secured at the top with a turning-pin, and at the bottom, on the flange, by a hook-and-eye. The edge of the overlapping plate carries a vertical row of conical-headed studs simulating buttons. At the neck is a gorget-plate, or collar, also divided into three parts, with roped edge.

The decoration consists of vertical, etched bands of trophies of arms, monsters and deeply etched ox-skulls on a granulated ground. At the top of the central band on the breastplate are two figures in classical dress, while in a similar position at the back is a shaped cartouche with a male figure supporting a brazier. The spaces between the bands are relieved with festoons of drapery and oval cartouches containing nude figures. The flange at the waist is etched with acanthus foliage. Brass-headed rivets for lining bands. The surface is much corroded. The flange of the waist in front has been repaired by a patch. A224|1|1|'Waistcoat' cuirass, breastplate of peascod shape formed of two plates opening down the front in the manner of a doublet. Backplate made in three pieces, the side plates hinged to a central plate and riveted to the two halves of the breastplate; the side plates being kept in position at the top by studs engaged in slots. The breastplate is fastened in front by a turning-pin at the top and a hook-and-eye on the waistplate at the bottom. There is a row of conical steel studs down the front to simulate buttons. The high neck is formed of two laminated gorget-plates, divided in three, working on sliding rivets in front. One plate at the back of the neck is restored. Single skirt plate.

The decoration consists of vertical bands, deeply etched with trophies of arms, urns, cornucopias, etc., on a granular ground, in the so-called 'Pisan' style. The central band of etching on breast and backplate widens at the neck where it contains two winged harpies in front and a mounted knight in armour on the back. The skirt is etched with a large acanthus pattern.

A somewhat similar cuirass was in the Litchfield Collection, U.S.A., and two in the Hermitage at Leningrad (Gille, Pl. LXXXII). An interesting example of a 'waistcoat' cuirass, formerly in the Consul Leiden (sold Cologne, 1934, lot 126) and Hearst Collections (sold Fischer, Zurich, May, 1939, lot 59), and now in the Kienbusch Collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, shows a mixture of the German and Italian styles in its decoration. It is not signed but is inscribed with the name of its owner, a Cologne ship's captain, Kunz (Cons) von Unckell (Cat., No. 29, Pl. XXX). and is dated 1571.

'Waistcoat' cuirasses of this type seem sometimes to have been intended to be worn without other armour except perhaps an open helmet, A224 is one example. Others, Wallace Collection A226 for example, have slots for the attachment of pauldrons. The Italian garniture of Don Juan of Austria in Vienna (A1048-9) includes a 'waistcoat' cuirass. A long list of comparable pieces is given in the Kienbusch Catalogue under No. 125. Two further examples are in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z .O. Nos. 3046 and 3292). A225|1|1|Breastplate from a 'waistcoat' cuirass, made in two plates opening down the front in the manner of a peascod doublet. They were originally hinged at each side to a backplate and secured in front by two hooks-and-eyes. The lower hook which was mounted on the waist flange is missing. Down the front is a row of conical steel studs simulating buttons. At the waist is a flange with the border cut out and embossed to represent pickadils. At the neck are two gorget-plates articulated by brass-headed, sliding rivets, the upper edge roped. The surface is rough from the hammer and has been blued (now black), with the edges of the gorget-plates; the roping round the arm openings, the hinges, the studs down the front and the borders of the pickadils are gilt. The arm openings and pickadils carry brass-capped lining-rivets. A226|1|1|'Waistcoat' cuirass, of plain peascod form, made in two halves opening down the centre like a buttoned doublet. It is fastened by a hook-and-eye near the top and at the bottom. There are no gussets and the plates are carried high up to the neck rendering a gorget unnecessary. Below the waist it ends in a flange over the hips. All edges are turned over, roped and bordered with single incised lines set about 3/4 inch from the edge. Down the edge of the overlapping plate is a row of rosette-shaped, brass-headed rivets simulating buttons. These, like the lining rivets, are modern. The backplate has two rectangular slots cut on the shoulders on either side of the neck-opening to take the straps of the pauldrons. Like the breast, it is flanged at the base, has roped edges, and a vertical incised line running down the spine.

The breastplate is of great weight and has been proved with firearms, which have left slight circular dents, one on the right and four on the left. At the neck and on either side of the joint of the flange at the waist, three dots have been punched in triangular formation. On the backplate four similar dots in lozenge formation are punched at the top and the bottom. A227|1|1|Cuirass for a boy, polished bright, with central ridge, slightly peascod in shape, the edges of neck and armpits turned over, roped, and accompanied by an engraved line, the bottom flanged and roped but not turned under; in the lower part are two pairs of brass-capped rivets, and on the flange is a row of flush-headed steel rivets for the lining band. The pairs of holes on each side of the lower part were intended for hinges for tassets. The flange on the inner side bears two strokes at right angles and a dot roughly executed, possibly an arsenal mark.
The backplate is similar, the edges slightlroped; the base flanged, recessed in the centre and bordered with brass-headed rivets; a pair of large, rosette-headed rivets remain on either side, and a small brass buckle on either shoulder.
A similar cuirass is depicted in a painting by Sebastian Bourdon of a guard in the Musée de Picardie, Amiens (exhib. Royal Academy, 1958, No. 11). A229|1|1|Buff coat, of stout deerskin, sleeveless, high waisted and with spreading skirts. It opens down the front where it is laced as far as the waist. The skirts are slit before and behind, where they overlap.

Buff coats which were designed to resist sword-cuts were worn ubiquitously in the seventeenth century, at a time when metal plate armour was falling into disuse. In contemporary portraits it can often be seen worn with a cuirass and a silk sash. The buff coat of Colonel Hacker, who guarded the person of King Charles I during his trial and execution in 1649, was long preserved in the family of Earl Cathcart, and is now in the Royal Armouries (III.1301; Dufty & Reid, 1968, Pl. CXXVc). A buff coat c. 1670 preserved by the Isham family at Lamport Hall, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The buff coat worn by Viscount Dundee at the Battle of Killiekrankie (1689), is at Glamis Castle, Angus. There is an important group of buff-coats for troopers from Littlecote House, Wiltshire of the time of the Civil Wars, now in the Royal Armouries, and a later group, also unpublished, for infantrymen, in Rochester Museum, Kent. A231|1|1|Gorget, composed of a circular collar of three lames, and two short main plates, front and back respectively, fastened on each shoulder by a stud engaging in a key-slot. The rim of the collar is boldly turned over and roped with embossed and slashed cabling (sometimes called double-roping). The upper edges of the three other plates are cut into ornamental indentations, and the main plates are further ornamented by a sunk band with three ogival cusps front and back. The backplate carries straps on the shoulders for pauldrons. The front plate is stamped near the bottom edge with the Nuremberg mark.
Double roping of this kind can be seen on a gorget of an armour from the Meyrick Collection (Skelton, Pl. XX), now at Warwick Castle.
For the ogival cusps, compare the Wallace Collection gauntlets A235|1|1|A267-8, and the half-armour A36, also of Nuremberg manufacture. A232|1|1|Gorget with integral spaudlers, the gorget composed of a collar of three lames and two main plates, front and back respectively, fastening on the right side with a stud and keyhole slot, the upper edge of the collar having a strongly roped circular turnover.

The spaudlers are each of six lames articulated at the back with sliding rivets for greater freedom of movement. The plates have sunk borders and roped edges. They were fastened to the arms of the wearer by straps, of which the buckles remain riveted to the front edge of the lowest lame. Of the straps only a small portion remains.
The rig spaudler is attached to the gorget in front by a strap equipped with a turning-pin which fits into a slot in the gorget. The edges of all the lames are bevelled and shaped in the centre by ogival indentations and cusps. The collar and the lowest lame of the right arm are marked with four punched dots, as it were at the corners of a square; the lowest lame on the left is marked with a single dot only. The upper edge of each lame, except the top one at back and front, is cut at the centre to the profile of a bracket. A233|1|1|Gorget, of plain steel, consisting of a circular collar with flanged rim to fit a close-helmet, and two main plates, front and back respectively, each articulated to the collar by a narrow third lame. The lower edge of the main plates is turned over and bordered with numerous steel-headed rivets for the lining, similar rivets being used to secure the leathers. The upper edges of the main plates and of the intermediate lame have ogival indentations cusped and bevelled. A234|1|1|Gorget, of two plates, pivoted on the left shoulder and secured on the right by a stud and key-slot. The front is pointed and extends well over the chest. The edges are turned over and bordered with steel, round-headed rivets for the lining strap, most of which remains.
The surface is decorated all over with flowing scroll foliage, etched and gilt on a blackened ground. In the centre of the front plate is a representation of Christ on the Cross. The design is boldly carried out and effective. At the point on the bottom of the front plate are stamped the view mark of Augsburg and the maker's mark H R, probably that of Hanns Roth of Augsburg.

This gorget is of the type intended to be worn over a buff coat without other body armour.

The same armourers mark also occurs on several breastplates, gorget and burgonet at Schwartzburg (p. 3, Nos. 7-76) ; in the Military History Museum, Brussels (VI, 5-6); and in the German Historical Museum, Berlin.

The Augsburg maker's mark HR in a rectangle has been tentatively re-attributed by C. Beaufort-Spontin to Hanns Roth, recorded between 1613 and 1643 (B. Thomas in the exhibition catalogue Welt im Umbruch, Augsburg zwischen Renaissance and Barock, II, Augsburg 1980, pp. 88 and 536-7). Among other works bearing this mark is a black cuirassier armour, and a Zischägge, gorget, and breastplate for a youth, blued and painted with gold, both now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch collection, Cat., No, 19, Pl. XIX, and No. 35. Pl. XXXVI, respectively); a Zischägge, with etching signed I.W.D., in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 3028), dated 1623 (S. Pyhrr, letter of 31st December 1981); a complete armour for field and tourney course, possibly of the Emperor Ferdinand III (born 1578, reigned 1619-37), in the Landeszeughaus at Graz (Inv. No. 159; Von Meran, 1880, pp. 37-8, Pl. 13); the armour for the field and tilt of Johann Georg von Brandenburg-Jägendorf (born 1577, reigned 1619-24) formerly in the German Historical Museum at Berlin (Thomas, Deutsche Plattnerkunst, 1944, Pl. 52); a breastplate in the Swiss National Museum, Zürich (Inv. No. KZ4556); a plain half-shaffron in the Musée de la Porte de Hal, Brussels (Inv. No. IV.5); and a jousting helmet formerly in the collection of Lord Brougham and Vaux (sold Christie's, 29th June 1933, lot 19, repr. in cat.). A236|1|1|Gorget, of two single plates (front and back), pivoted on the left shoulder and fastened on the right with a keyhole slot. The upper and lower edges plain, turned over on a wire and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining straps. Decorated all over with bands containing scrolled foliage, involving grotesque heads, sea monsters and trophies of arms; an oval panel in the centre shows Mars, and, on the back, Hercules (with club and lion skin, but beardless), encircled by a band of laurel leaves at the top and bottom; the decoration is in very low relief, the background being sunk, and the whole entirely gilt.

A gorget of this description was not intended to be worn with other body armour, but with a quilted or buff coat; see also nos. A234, 237-8.

The style of the decoration, in which the motifs are outlined by a thin strip of metal left in relief when the metal on either side is etched away suggests that this piece is French rather than Italian. J.-P. Reverseau has named this type of decoration 'glorious motifs' (aux motifs glorieux) and has dated its appearance from 1580-1610 (in Held, Art, Arms and Armour, I, 1979. pp. 217-19).
A comparable gorget with similar etching is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (G246). A237|1|1|Gorget, formed of two single plates shaped to a point at front and back. The two plates are held together by a rivet with a large domed head and a key-hole slot on each shoulder. The surface blued with sunk borders gilt, and with a sunk band down the centre of both plates. The sunk borders and central band are etched with a running pattern of flowers and foliage. The band round the neck is more deeply recessed than the others. The decoration of the central band at the back includes a man in classical armour holding a sword. The edges are turned over and bordered with hemispherical steel-headed rivets for the lining strap. The lining leather is original and has the needle holes for stitching in the lining.

This type of deep gorget was intended to be worn over a buff coat. A238|1|1|Whereas in the early sixteenth century much fine quality armour for ‘parade’ was still made of steel, later examples such as this collar or gorget were frequently made of iron. This no longer mattered, since by this date richness of decoration was increasingly eclipsing the demands of practical use. Embossed, chased, blued, gilt and plated with silver, the decoration derives from engravings of battle scenes by Antonio Tempesta c.1570, themselves based upon a published engraving by Cornelis Cort (1563), after Frans Floris. During the latter part of the sixteenth century, this kind of princely parade armour was produced in ever-increasing quantity by the major armour-producing centres of northern Italy, the greatest of which was undoubtedly Milan. However, by the close of the century, other European competitors had caught up; this particular piece is now thought to have been made in France or Flanders. A239|1|1|Gorget, of two single plates of copper gilt. The front plate is embossed and chased with a composition of King David playing the harp in the centre of a ring of dancing cherubs. The rear plate is similarly decorated in relief with a mounted combat between a Turk and two Christian warriors in Roman armour. Both plates have a raised border chased with laurel. Around the extreme edge of the plates, at intervals of about an inch, are a series of small semicircular projections in which are pierced the holes for the lining rivets. There is a further row of holes around the neck for the same purpose. The gorget is fastened with a stud on the left side of the backplate. The pivot on the other shoulder is missing.

A gorget of gilt copper, with decoration similar in style, was in the Gurney sale, Christie's, 1898, lot 279.
Compare the gorget of gilt copper in the Hermitage, Leningrad (Gille, pls. LX and CXXIX) embossed with Neptune, with fleurs-de-lys on a banner, and a scene with prisoners on the backplate. There is another at the Armeria Reale, Turin (C51; L. Avogardo di Quaregna, 1898, I, Pl. 60). The contemporary embossed gorget of Louis XIII in the Musée de l' Armée (G249) retains its escalloped and embroidered silk lining.

Although in 1974 C. Blair tentatively suggested that A239 might be by the same hand as a gorget at Waddesdon Manor (No. 6), he subsequently changed his mind on this point. J. A. Godoy has recently shown that No. A239 belongs to a small group of gorgets and other pieces, the decoration of which is based on engravings by Antonio Tempesta (see also A238). The scene on the back plate of A239 derives from the central figures of one of a series of ten battle scenes executed at Rome in 1599 ('Quelque jalons sur l' influence d'Antonio Tempesta ( 1555-1630) dans Part des armuriers', Geneva, n.s. XXIX, 1981, pp. 122-3, pls. 31 and 29, respectively).
The main scene on the front is based in reverse on an engraving by Johannes Sadeler I (1550-about 1600) after Pieter de Witte, called Candido (Holstein, Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings, and woodcuts, 1150-1700, XXI, 1980, No. 127), the original drawing for which is discussed by K. G. Boon, Netherlandish drawings 15th and 16th centuries, 1978, No. 494. A240|1|1|Cod-piece, of bright steel made in one piece with a flange covering the groin; central ridge underneath; hole at the top for attachment. Compare that on armour A36. A241|1|1|Lion masks are one of the most common motifs in Renaissance armour of the heroic style, symbolising nobility, power and ferocity. This pauldron is a good example of how the motif was used not just on helmets but also to decorate the shoulders of heroic armours. It was not unusual for the knees and elbows to be decorated in the same way.

The eyes of this piece appear to have been cut-out at a later date, perhaps to convert it into a face-mask. A245|1|1|The armour of the Renaissance nobleman was of course vital protection for his body in battle, jousts and tournaments. However it also held great symbolic meaning and expressive power, embodying the essence of the knight and the chivalric ideal. Therefore, armour was often richly decorated, with many fine examples being great works of art in themselves. During the early sixteenth century an especially flamboyant form of armour appeared in Southern Germany – the costume armour which followed the ‘puffed and slashed’ fashion of that time, but in hardened steel rather than cloth. Of the surviving pieces of armour in what was also termed the 'Landsknecht-fashion', the armour to which this piece belongs is without question the most important example.

The 'Roggendorf' armour was made in 1523 by Kolman Helmschmid of Augsburg (1471- 1532), armourer to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-58). This luxurious garniture for the field, with exchange pieces for parade, was a gift from the Emperor to one of his most trusted military commanders. Wilhelm Freiherr von Roggendorf (1481- 1541) was a Styrian nobleman who more than once fought for the Habsburgs on the front lines in the ongoing wars against the Turks in Eastern Europe. He commanded a force of heavy cavalry at the Siege of Vienna in 1529, served as Obersthofmeister at the Austrian court until 1539, and was killed besieging the Turks and allied Hungarians at Buda in 1541. Before that, in 1522 he had become chief of the Emperor’s lifeguard in Spain and was appointed to the office of Governor of Catalonia. Shortly after, he was admitted to the prestigious Order of Calatrava. The creation of the costume armour in 1523 was undoubtedly one result of Roggendorf’s successful career at the Habsburg Court during the early 1520s.

The Roggendorf armour was one of a number of rich armours, associated with famous military leaders, acquired during the second half of the sixteenth century by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (1529-1595), for his ‘Heldenrüstkammer’ (Armoury of Heroes) at Castle Ambras near Innsbruck. In 1601/03 the “Armoury of the Heroes” was published in the richly illustrated catalogue by Schrenck von Notzing – the first museum catalogue in the world. Since the early 19th century Ferdinand’s collection has formed the core of the imperial armour collection in Vienna and is housed today in the Hofjagd –und Rüstkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. A246|1|1|Left pauldron, comprising two narrow lames near the neck, one very large plate extending from front to back and covering a wide area of the shoulder blade behind, and three smaller lames covering the upper part of the arm, working on a leather in front and sliding rivets at the back.
A tall haute-piece to protect the neck and face is formed out of the main plate and is boxed with a central ridge.
It is decorated with broad, sunken bands and borders, flatly gilt. The outer edges are turned under and roped. The sunk bands are not etched, and the gilding may be a fairly recent addition, as in the blackening of the parts between.
Theris a buckle and two holes for attachment to the gorget. A247|1|1|One of a pair with A248.
Each is composed of six pieces; comprising two narrow upper lames near the neck, a main plate, narrow in front and large behind, covering the shoulder blade, and three lower lames, those of the right one, covering the upper part of the arm only and articulated on a leather in front and sliding rivets at the back. They are fastened at the bottom by a strap and double brass buckle.
The right pauldron is smaller than the left, which differs in having all the plates brought forward to cover the armpit. They each bear the guild mark of Augsburg on the second of the topmost lames. The edges are turned under and roped with close-set file cuts in the Augsburg manner. The edges of the lames are bevelled.
Decorated with bands and borders of etched foliage with pairs of scrolls linked together on a blackened granular ground; the borders of the bands are roped and gilt. At the back, in each case, is placed a large scroll of foliage, gilt, in the manner associated with Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg (see also A39) and the design on the borders is the same as those on an armour by him at Dresden. Compare also in respect of other details, A47-8 (by Peffenhauser) A44-5, 49, all of Augsburg make.

All six lames of each pauldron overlap counter-tilewise. A hole on the top of each shoulder is for the nose-pin attached to each side of the gorget, but both shoulders contain original leather straps showing that they were formerly attached by buckles on the gorget. The bands of decoration are flush with the surface of the metal and not recessed.
The armour from which these pieces come is No. M28 in the Historisches Museum, Dresden. It includes numerous pieces of exchange for the field, Freiturnier, and the tilt both in the German and Italian fashions. This armour is thought to have been recorded in the 1588 inventory of the Electoral armoury destroyed during the Second World War.
The German Historical Museum in Berlin has a manifer of this garniture (No. G51.3624). The targe for the tilt in the German fashion is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (F. Gille & A. Rockstuhl, Musée de Tsarkoe-Selo, 1835-55, Pl. XXXIX).
A number of other armours are decorated with very similar designs. In all cases the ends of the uprights crossing the scrolled foliage are made like slipped twigs rather than more or less simply rounded off as on the Dresden garniture. An armour in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (G64), has this decoration with, in addition, small flame-like projections from the outer edges of the bands into the plain surfaces. It bears the marks of Wolfgang Grosschedel and of Landshut. The right field gauntlet of this garniture is still at Vienna showing that it must all have been a Hapsburg possession at one time. An armour for a small boy in the Military History Museum, Brussels (cat. no. 112) is decorated with a version of this design. The fine bands edging the main bands are decorated with a chain pattern. It bears the Augsburg town mark in two places. What is probably the close-helmet for the field of this armour is at Schloss Ambras, Tyrol (No. WA403). This suggests that the whole armour was a Hapsburg possession. An unmarked armour, probably of Landshut workmanship, in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (G73), bears a version of this design but without the small flamelike projections into the plain surfaces. Similar decoration, but on a larger scale, occurs on a burgonet in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 200; Carpegna, 1969, No. 56), and yet another version on parts of an armour for man and horse at Veste Coburg (Nos. I.A.3, I.A.4, I.C.474, and I.F.3). A248|1|1|One of a pair with A247.
Each is composed of six pieces; comprising two narrow upper lames near the neck, a main plate, narrow in front and large behind, covering the shoulder blade, and three lower lames, those of the right one, covering the upper part of the arm only and articulated on a leather in front and sliding rivets at the back. They are fastened at the bottom by a strap and double brass buckle.
The right pauldron is smaller than the left, which differs in having all the plates brought forward to cover the armpit. They each bear the guild mark of Augsburg on the second of the topmost lames. The edges are turned under and roped with close-set file cuts in the Augsburg manner. The edges of the lames are bevelled.Each is composed of six pieces; comprising two narrow upper lames near the neck, a main plate, narrow in front and large behind, covering the shoulder blade, and three lower lames, those of the right one, covering the upper part of the arm only and articulated on a leather in front and sliding rivets at the back. They are fastened at the bottom by a strap and double brass buckle.
The right pauldron is smaller than the left, which differs in having all the plates brought forward to cover the armpit. They each bear the guild mark of Augsburg on the second of the topmost lames. The edges are turned under and roped with close-set file cuts in the Augsburg manner. The edges of the lames are bevelled.
Decorated with bands and borders of etched foliage with pairs of scrolls linked together on a blackened granular ground; the borders of the bands are roped and gilt. At the back, in each case, is placed a large scroll of foliage, gilt, in the manner associated with Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg (see also A39) and the design on the borders is the same as those on an armour by him at Dresden. Compare also in respect of other details, A47-8 (by Peffenhauser) A44-5, 49, all of Augsburg make.

All six lames of each pauldron overlap counter-tilewise. A hole on the top of each shoulder is for the nose-pin attached to each side of the gorget, but both shoulders contain original leather straps showing that they were formerly attached by buckles on the gorget. The bands of decoration are flush with the surface of the metal and not recessed.
The armour from which these pieces come is No. M28 in the Historisches Museum, Dresden. It includes numerous pieces of exchange for the field, Freiturnier, and the tilt both in the German and Italian fashions. This armour is thought to have been recorded in the 1588 inventory of the Electoral armoury destroyed during the Second World War.
The German Historical Museum in Berlin has a manifer of this garniture (No. G51.3624). The targe for the tilt in the German fashion is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (F. Gille & A. Rockstuhl, Musée de Tsarkoe-Selo, 1835-55, Pl. XXXIX).
A number of other armours are decorated with very similar designs. In all cases the ends of the uprights crossing the scrolled foliage are made like slipped twigs rather than more or less simply rounded off as on the Dresden garniture. An armour in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (G64), has this decoration with, in addition, small flame-like projections from the outer edges of the bands into the plain surfaces. It bears the marks of Wolfgang Grosschedel and of Landshut. The right field gauntlet of this garniture is still at Vienna showing that it must all have been a Hapsburg possession at one time. An armour for a small boy in the Military History Museum, Brussels (cat. no. 112) is decorated with a version of this design. The fine bands edging the main bands are decorated with a chain pattern. It bears the Augsburg town mark in two places. What is probably the close-helmet for the field of this armour is at Schloss Ambras, Tyrol (No. WA403). This suggests that the whole armour was a Hapsburg possession. An unmarked armour, probably of Landshut workmanship, in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (G73), bears a version of this design but without the small flamelike projections into the plain surfaces. Similar decoration, but on a larger scale, occurs on a burgonet in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 200; Carpegna, 1969, No. 56), and yet another version on parts of an armour for man and horse at Veste Coburg (Nos. I.A.3, I.A.4, I.C.474, and I.F.3). A249|1|1|Grand-guard for the joust of peace, of bright steel, formed of four parts riveted together, and designed to cover the left shoulder, the left side of the visor and the chest. The right side of the face plate is cut away in a curve, and the border is turned outwards at right-angles in a strong flange, an inch in depth. A double engraved line accompanies the border at this part. The grand-guard extends as far as the right shoulder, where it is thrown slightly forwards. There is a pointed extension riveted at the bottom and pierced with a rectangular slot for bolting to the breast. It is of different metal from the rest and probably replaces an original piece of the same form. The lamination of the metal plates is apparent in several places.

It corresponds in form with the grand-guards supplied as double pieces for the tilt with many of the armours made in the royal workshops at Greenwich (see A62). Note especially for comparison such details as the patch riveted to the left shoulder with the piece cut out for the strap, and the metal strap hinged to the left side of the face-guard. Compare the complete grand-guard of the Cumberland armour (Met. Mus. Bulletin, XXXI (1936), p. 233), that on the armour of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in the Royal Armouries (II.81), and the series of plain ones (III.866-9).

The lower edge of the slot in the left extension plate, by which the link to the pin on the left couter was attached, has been broken away.
For a plain tilt-armour like those in the Royal Armouries, now white but probably originally all blued, see Dufty & Reid, 1968, Pl. LII. A250|1|1|Grandguard for the joust, of bright steel, formed of two parts bolted together. The upper part replaces the upper bevor of the helmet, enclosing the throat, the right side of the neck and the whole of the visor, having holes which correspond with the pivots of the latter. On the right side is a hinged window pierced with ten holes and etched with a star-shaped floral design. The left shoulder-piece is attached by two large bolts and nuts. On the left side, on the shoulder, is a small lug accommodating a rectangular slot for attachment of an extension plate to guard the turning joint of the left upper arm. There are two further holes for bolts, one of which is covered by the shoulder-plate and fulfils no function in its present position.
The borders of both parts are decorated with bands of etched arabesque ornament on a granular ground, which shows traces of gilding.

At least five major variants of this design are recorded: 1) That on A250 is identical to that on some pieces for the joust in the Royal Armouries (II.145; Dufty & Reid, 1968, Pl. XXXV), a helmet, breast, left tasset, left pauldron, left arm, guard of the vambrace (pasguard), and lance-rest. In all probability the breastplate, tassets, and arm would have served for either the German or Italian tilt. The guard of the vambrace is probably that used for the Italian tilt. In addition to this the Royal Armouries has the right plate of the rear arcon of the saddle (VI.377). Another guard of the vambrace, probably in this case for the German tilt, is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (14.25.875). A single lame from a pauldron formerly in the Metropolitan Museum ( 29.158.354) was sold at Parke Bernet, New York, 15 November 1956, lot 175 (S. Pyhrr, letter of 3 December 1979). The skull and lower bevor of a Mantelhelm with a similar decoration is in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., No. 3242). A half-shaffron of this design in the Odescalchi collection (1619) bears on its escutcheon the arms of Hurtado de Mendoza, but this is probably a later addition. A Stechtartsche for the tilt in the German fashion, which may have belonged to this garniture, is also in the Metropolitan Museum (04.3.105). 2) A second similar design is that shown on the armour of Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, in his portraits formerly thought to be by Titian and painted in 1548 (O. Fischel, Titian, Klassiker der Kunst, [1924], nos. 154 and 155). It differs from the Wallace Collection pattern in that the narrow bands edging the main bands contain half quatrefoils projecting into the band alternately from the inner edge and the outer edge. The only surviving pieces of armour of this design known to the present writer are a vamplate in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (K.Po.2334) and a left fore-arcon in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (29.158.397). The very poor quality of the etching with its unequally dotted ground makes it unlikely that either of these pieces belonged to the Duke. H. E. Wethey considers the portraits of the Duke in question to be probably Flemish c. 1560. It is not certain that the portrait by Titian destroyed in the El Prato fire of 1604 either showed the Duke in armour or was painted as early as 1548. (The Painting of Titian, II, The Portraits, London 1971, p. 151, Cat. No. X-3, pl. 249, and p. 190, Cat. No. L-1, respectively; see also J. Shearman, The early Italian pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, Cambridge 1983, pp. 273-4, Cat. No. 296.) The decoration of the armour in these portraits differs from the pattern on A250. 3) A backplate of a composite armour in the Metropolitan Museum (04.3.278) at first glance appears to be very similar to variant 2. In fact the quality of the etching is very much better; the half quatrefoils in the edging bands are placed closer together and are on a horizontally hatched ground. Finally, the points of the petals of the main flowers are much shorter and blunter than in any other version and have the appearance of a filbert in its husk. 4) A fourth design resembles the Wallace Collection pattern but the outer edges of the flanking bands have a series of small trilobate ornaments projecting into the plain surfaces. The ends of the compartments enclosing the flowers are not quite linked; there is a short gap between the points of adjacent compartments. Of this garniture the Metropolitan Museum has a breastplate and tassets on the composite armour mentioned above ( 04.3.278). A second breastplate of this design is in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (A11973), and a close-helmet is in a Wiltshire church. 5) A fifth design resembles the Wallace Collection pattern but has small bell-like flowers projecting onto the plain surfaces from the outer edges of the bands of decoration. The Metropolitan Museum has a single front skirt lame of this design (14.25.880), and C. O. von Kienbusch had a tilt helmet, a breast and backplate, and a left gauntlet (Cat., No. 23, Pl. XXIII) now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Musée de l' Armée, Paris, has a vamplate of this design (K.Po.2341). A saddle with steels of this pattern was shown in the exhibition Armes anciennes des collections Suisses, Musée Rath, Geneva, May-August 1972, No. 538 (sold Christie's, London, 18 April 1985, lot 40, repr. in cat.). A helmet etched with this version of the pattern was in an English private collection, but, since it has roped edges rather than knurled ones, it cannot belong to this series.
A garniture, etched with what appears to be one version of the pattern, was illustrated by Jörg Sorg II in his album of designs. It consists of a Feldküriss, Stechküriss, and a Stechzeug. Sorg noted that it was etched for the armourer Anton Peffenhauser in 1551 for Don Garcia de Toledo. The targe is definitely not the one now in the Metropolitan Museum. The garniture illustrated by Sorg probably belonged to Don Garcia de Toledo, Marqués de Villafranca, who was Viceroy of Sicily during part of 1565 and 1566, rather than to Don Garcia Alvarez de Toledo y Padilla who became a knight of St. John of Jerusalem in 1554 (Julio de Atienza, Nobiliario Espanol, 1954, p. 124). The Marqués de Villafranca was a cousin of the 3rd Duke of Alba.
The Sorg drawing shows no decoration outside the bands and so cannot represent design 4 or 5. Design No. 3 cannot be that in Sorg's drawings because the points of its petals differ in shape from those he illustrates. Unfortunately, since Sorg does not indicate the pattern in the narrow bands flanking the main bands of his decoration, his drawing could represent either design No. 1 or No. 2. However, unless one assumes that the Duke of Alba was wearing his cousin's armour, which seems rather unlikely, it is probable that the pieces bearing design 1 belong to the armour of Don Garcia Alvarez de Toledo, Marqués de Villafranca (Becker, Gamber & Irtenkauf, 1980, fols. 19-20).
For a brief biography of Jörg So, see A. von Reitzenstein, 'Die Beiden Jörg Sorg', Waffen- and Kostümkunde, VIII, 1966, pp. 81-6.

Jörg Sorg II was born about 1522, the son of the Augsburg official painter Jörg Sorg I. He was probably his father's third son by his second wife, Catherina, daughter of the great armourer Kolman Helmschmid. He probably learnt his trade with the other apprentices in his father's studio. He was received as a master in the Painters' Guild in Augsburg in 1548. In 1564 he was dwelling next door to the armourer William Seusenhofer. In 1568 he married his second wife, Anna Glauber from Stadion in Bavaria. In 1575 he became guardian of the motherless son of the armourer Matthäus Fraunpreiss II. He died in 1603. His importance as a decorator of armour is indicated by his surviving book of designs in which he recorded the names of his patrons between 1548 and 1563 (Stuttgart, Wurtembergischen Landesbibliothek, Cod. Milit. 2024). These included the future Emperor Maximilian II, and many of his principal courtiers.
Sorg was employed by most of the more important armourers of Augsburg in his day. (Becher, Camber & Irtenkauf, 1980, pp. 26-7.) A251|1|1|‘Hourglass’ gauntlets are a signature aspect of late fourteenth- and early fifteenth- century armour, worn by countless men-at-arms during the innumerable conflicts of a turbulent age, which included the ‘Hundred Years’ War between France and England (1337-1453), the ‘Great War’ of the Teutonic Knights against the Poles and Lithuanians (1409-11), the mercenary campaigns of Sir John Hawkwood in Italy (1363-94), and the ‘Last Crusade’ of European forces against the Turks (1396). The hourglass shape, wherein the gauntlet cuff is more or less the same length as the metacarpal plate covering the back of the hand, originated in the need to protect the hand while also retaining full mobility in the wrist. The short, sharply-flared cuff allowed the hand to be encased in metal while still allowing it to flex at the wrist in all directions.
As was often the case with fine armour of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, the superb pair of hourglass gauntlets in the Wallace Collection are decorated with borders of embossed and engraved copper alloy. The decoration is characterised by an engraving technique today generally called ‘wiggle-work’ and still a common metalworking technique, most often found on American ‘Western’ jewellery and saddlery. It is produced through the use of a fine graving tool, held closely in the hand and ‘wiggled’ back and forth while also moving slowly forward, creating a zigzag line. The cuffs are also engraved with the repeating word AMOR (‘love’), perhaps expressing the chivalric aspirations of the owner. These superbly decorated objects are the only remains of what must have been a very rich armour.
Like many medieval objects in the Wallace Collection, these gauntlets were once owned by Alfred Émilien, Comte de Nieuwerkerke, who allowed their study by the famous medievalist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Through careful examination and reference to comparative material, Viollet-le-Duc was able to reconstruct their original appearance, complete with defensive assemblies for each finger. The finger plates are now lost, as they are on the other two surviving pairs of hourglass gauntlets decorated in the same style. One of these pairs, at Churburg Castle in South Tyrol, is very similar to the Wallace pair, if perhaps slightly more ornate. More lavish still is the pair in the Museo del Bargello in Florence, which, in addition to the borders and wrist bands, also carry four ribs of copper alloy on the back of each hand, corresponding to the four metacarpal bones. A252|1|1|‘Hourglass’ gauntlets are a signature aspect of late fourteenth- and early fifteenth- century armour, worn by countless men-at-arms during the innumerable conflicts of a turbulent age, which included the ‘Hundred Years’ War between France and England (1337-1453), the ‘Great War’ of the Teutonic Knights against the Poles and Lithuanians (1409-11), the mercenary campaigns of Sir John Hawkwood in Italy (1363-94), and the ‘Last Crusade’ of European forces against the Turks (1396). The hourglass shape, wherein the gauntlet cuff is more or less the same length as the metacarpal plate covering the back of the hand, originated in the need to protect the hand while also retaining full mobility in the wrist. The short, sharply-flared cuff allowed the hand to be encased in metal while still allowing it to flex at the wrist in all directions.
As was often the case with fine armour of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, the superb pair of hourglass gauntlets in the Wallace Collection are decorated with borders of embossed and engraved copper alloy. The decoration is characterised by an engraving technique today generally called ‘wiggle-work’ and still a common metalworking technique, most often found on American ‘Western’ jewellery and saddlery. It is produced through the use of a fine graving tool, held closely in the hand and ‘wiggled’ back and forth while also moving slowly forward, creating a zigzag line. The cuffs are also engraved with the repeating word AMOR (‘love’), perhaps expressing the chivalric aspirations of the owner. These superbly decorated objects are the only remains of what must have been a very rich armour.
Like many medieval objects in the Wallace Collection, these gauntlets were once owned by Alfred Émilien, Comte de Nieuwerkerke, who allowed their study by the famous medievalist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Through careful examination and reference to comparative material, Viollet-le-Duc was able to reconstruct their original appearance, complete with defensive assemblies for each finger. The finger plates are now lost, as they are on the other two surviving pairs of hourglass gauntlets decorated in the same style. One of these pairs, at Churburg Castle in South Tyrol, is very similar to the Wallace pair, if perhaps slightly more ornate. More lavish still is the pair in the Museo del Bargello in Florence, which, in addition to the borders and wrist bands, also carry four ribs of copper alloy on the back of each hand, corresponding to the four metacarpal bones. A254|1|1|Although the Wallace Collection does not include an authentic pair of German Gothic gauntlets, it does own several individual pieces. The best of them, this piece shows how closely German armourers studied the mechanics of the body, in an effort to create what were effectively human exo-skeletons. This delicate yet strong example is composed of a series of plates carefully matched to the key parts of the hand, complete with pointed knuckles, wide metacarpal plate, and articulated wrist. The central wrist plate is even embossed to allow for the protruding end of the ulna, one of the two long forearm bones. The gauntlet would once have included individual articulated sets of plates to protect the fingers and thumb, now lost. A255|1|1|Right gauntlet, having a pointed cuff, of two V-shaped plates attached by sliding rivets, and a third plate between the cuff and the back of the hand. The edge of the cuff is turned outwards and flattened.
This is embossed for the ulna. There are four metacarpal plates, a knuckle-plate of copper alloy with four low gadlings, and a mitten, consisting of four scalloped lames, three of steel and the end one of copper alloy.

This gauntlet has undergone considerable modification. The copper alloy knuckle-plate and final finger-plate are improvements by a modern restorer. A256|1|1|Gauntlet, one of a pair with A257, each having a short cuff, the edge turned under, without wrist-plate; the buckle is modern. Mittens of four overlapping lames, nicked in the centre, the first is embossed for the ulna, the fifth is larger and has V-shaped recesses for the knuckles corresponding to similar treatment of the last one in reverse. Over these is the knuckle-plate with four bosses. The gauntlets end half way up the fingers with a moulded edge, and may have had extensions of mail; thumb-piece of three plates. The edge of the cuff is rolled inwards to form a ridge of almost triangular section. The thumb-plate is attached by means of a leather rather than a hinge.
The V-shaped nicks in the metacarpal lames may be a modern 'improvement', as they cut across the engraved line bordering the uppermost plate. A257|1|1|Gauntlet, one of a pair with A256, each having a short cuff, the edge turned under, without wrist-plate; the buckle is modern. Mittens of four overlapping lames, nicked in the centre, the first is embossed for the ulna, the fifth is larger and has V-shaped recesses for the knuckles corresponding to similar treatment of the last one in reverse. Over these is the knuckle-plate with four bosses. The gauntlets end half way up the fingers with a moulded edge, and may have had extensions of mail; thumb-piece of three plates. The edge of the cuff is rolled inwards to form a ridge of almost triangular section. The thumb-plate is attached by means of a leather rather than a hinge.
The V-shaped nicks in the metacarpal lames may be a modern 'improvement', as they cut across the engraved line bordering the uppermost plate. The final plate and possibly the thumb-plates of the right gauntlet have been restored. A262|1|1|Gauntlet, one of a pair with A263, of heavy make. Each cuff is pointed and is slightly keeled. Each is decorated with a band on a plain ground, etched with foliage and gilt; roped border. Two wide metacarpal plates: the one which adjoins the cuff continues round it and is secured with a rivet; it is embossed for the metacarpal thumb-bone. The thumb arises on an extension of the metacarpal-plate. The borders of the cuff and the two metacarpal plates and thumb are further enhanced by an engrailed pattern of trefoils. Knuckle-guard of four boxed sections, etched and gilt like the border of the cuff. Scaled finger-plates. The end plate of each finger is incised to represent the nails or perhaps the end plates of the fingers of the right hand are etched to represent cockleshells. The leather gloves survive.
There are certain differences between the two gauntlets, e.g. the right one has two engraved lines accompanying the sunken channel next to the gilt border of the cuff, and the left one has no lines; the boss for the ulna on the left hand is slashed with roping and on the right plain; there is one more plate on the little and ring fingers of the right hand, respectively, but they are so similar in other respects that they are undoubtedly a pair. A263|1|1|Gauntlet, one of a pair with A262, of heavy make. Each cuff is pointed and is slightly keeled. Each is decorated with a band on a plain ground, etched with foliage and gilt; roped border. Two wide metacarpal plates: the one which adjoins the cuff continues round it and is secured with a rivet; it is embossed for the metacarpal thumb-bone. The thumb arises on an extension of the metacarpal-plate. The borders of the cuff and the two metacarpal plates and thumb are further enhanced by an engrailed pattern of trefoils. Knuckle-guard of four boxed sections, etched and gilt like the border of the cuff. Scaled finger-plates. The end plate of each finger is incised to represent the nails or perhaps the end plates of the fingers of the right hand are etched to represent cockleshells. The leather gloves survive.
There are certain differences between the two gauntlets, e.g. the right one has two engraved lines accompanying the sunken channel next to the gilt border of the cuff, and the left one has no lines; the boss for the ulna on the left hand is slashed with roping and on the right plain; there is one more plate on the little and ring fingers of the right hand, respectively, but they are so similar in other respects that they are undoubtedly a pair. A264|1|1|Gauntlet, one of a pair with A265, belonging to the same armour as armet A164. Richly etched with foliage, flowers, hares, and hounds, this armour is a testament to the virtuosity of South German armourers in the sixteenth century. It was made by the great Landshut master Wolfgang Grosschedel, probably for Pankraz von Freyburg (1508-65) of Schloss Hohenaschau. Wolfgang Grosschedel was one of the most famous armourers of his age. The favourite of King Philip II of Spain, he also made rich garnitures for the Emperor Ferdinand I and his son and successor Maximilian II. He appears to have served as a journeyman or apprentice at the English royal workshops of King Henry VIII at Greenwich, being named in a royal workshop list of 1517-18. Yet by 1521 he was back in Germany, when he was recorded as a citizen of Landshut. The Freyberg armour demonstrates that by the 1530s, if not before, he had become a master in this own right. His works exhibit a harmony between their distinct elegance of form and their complex, yet restrained, etched decoration.
This garniture’s etched decoration features hunting as its primary theme; packs of hunting dogs pursue their prey through the beautiful bands that decorate the helmet’s borders and medial ridge, while birds peck through the undergrowth along the cuffs of the gauntlets. Human figures and ornaments are taken from engravings by the German printmaker Barthel Beham.
The whole Freyburg garniture was probably decorated by Ambrosius Gemlich, a master of the difficult art of acid-etching. Here he employed two distinct etching techniques. The first, ‘basic’ etching, involved the ornamental design being burned into the metal through the selective application of acid, perhaps nitric acid. The second, more advanced technique –usually called ‘raised’ etching– is a more complicated process, in which the background is etched into the steel rather than the design itself, allowing the design to remain proud against a sunken ground. In this case the very detailed contents of the ornamental bands are picked out using the raised etching technique, while their edges are framed and accentuated with further embellishments created in basic etching. The Freyberg garniture is a fine example of the dramatic effect to be achieved by using both forms of etching together.
The helmet and gauntlets appear to have been separated from their armour since at least the 1850s. They appear in two studies, probably by an English artist, drawn around 1855. The Wallace Collection helmet is shown mounted on an Italian armour now also in the Wallace Collection (c. 1570; inv. A54), while the rest of the armour is shown mounted with a different helmet and a later horse armour attributed to Wolfgang Großschedel, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (horse armour dated 1554; inv. 23.261). A265|1|1|Gauntlet, one of a pair with A264, belonging to the same armour as armet A164. Richly etched with foliage, flowers, hares, and hounds, this armour is a testament to the virtuosity of South German armourers in the sixteenth century. It was made by the great Landshut master Wolfgang Grosschedel, probably for Pankraz von Freyburg (1508-65) of Schloss Hohenaschau. Wolfgang Grosschedel was one of the most famous armourers of his age. The favourite of King Philip II of Spain, he also made rich garnitures for the Emperor Ferdinand I and his son and successor Maximilian II. He appears to have served as a journeyman or apprentice at the English royal workshops of King Henry VIII at Greenwich, being named in a royal workshop list of 1517-18. Yet by 1521 he was back in Germany, when he was recorded as a citizen of Landshut. The Freyberg armour demonstrates that by the 1530s, if not before, he had become a master in this own right. His works exhibit a harmony between their distinct elegance of form and their complex, yet restrained, etched decoration.
This garniture’s etched decoration features hunting as its primary theme; packs of hunting dogs pursue their prey through the beautiful bands that decorate the helmet’s borders and medial ridge, while birds peck through the undergrowth along the cuffs of the gauntlets. Human figures and ornaments are taken from engravings by the German printmaker Barthel Beham.
The whole Freyburg garniture was probably decorated by Ambrosius Gemlich, a master of the difficult art of acid-etching. Here he employed two distinct etching techniques. The first, ‘basic’ etching, involved the ornamental design being burned into the metal through the selective application of acid, perhaps nitric acid. The second, more advanced technique –usually called ‘raised’ etching– is a more complicated process, in which the background is etched into the steel rather than the design itself, allowing the design to remain proud against a sunken ground. In this case the very detailed contents of the ornamental bands are picked out using the raised etching technique, while their edges are framed and accentuated with further embellishments created in basic etching. The Freyberg garniture is a fine example of the dramatic effect to be achieved by using both forms of etching together.
The helmet and gauntlets appear to have been separated from their armour since at least the 1850s. They appear in two studies, probably by an English artist, drawn around 1855. The Wallace Collection helmet is shown mounted on an Italian armour now also in the Wallace Collection (c. 1570; inv. A54), while the rest of the armour is shown mounted with a different helmet and a later horse armour attributed to Wolfgang Großschedel, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (horse armour dated 1554; inv. 23.261). A266|1|1|Gauntlet, of large size, with a slightly pointed cuff forged in one piece with the metacarpal plate and embossed with a central ridge as far as the knuckles. Broad, sunk border, the edge turned over and roped. Knuckle-plate embossed with bold roping. Scaled fingers and thumb-piece. The sunk band on the cuff is etched with conventional foliage and cherubs on a plain ground, probably originally gilt; the moulded plate to which the four fingers are attached is etched with two lions' masks and two fleurs-de-lys. The leather glove is sewn to a lining-leather in the edge of the cuff and elsewhere is riveted direct to the plates.

The ground of the etching is not completely plain but includes a few rather large circular dots reminiscent of the decoration of Wallace Collection A32, and of a saddle-steel from the Radziwill armoury, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M.544.1927). The shape of this gauntlet is comparable with the original one on the armour of Philip I, Landgraf of Hesse (1504-67), in Vienna, which is dated 1534 (A348; Thomas, Gesammelte Schriften, II, 1977, Pls. 88-9). A267|1|1|Gauntlet, for the field, comprising a pair with A268.
Pointed cuff boxed to four planes and decorated with sunken scallops with the inner part hinged at the side, the edges roped; six articulated metacarpal plates, the last surmounted by a roped knuckle-guard riveted on, the edges shaped and bevelled. The two plates of each cuff are linked by an external steel hinge and are closed by snapping over a pin inside. The thumbs are attached by steel hinges but these do not match those of the cuffs.
Scaled fingers and hinged thumb-piece (on the left one restored); the final scales of the thumb and fingers are each incised with a finger-nail; leather lining (of later date). The cuff of each bears the Nuremberg city mark.
These gauntlets might easily belong to the Nuremberg armour in the Royal Armouries (II.4), formerly in the Bernal Collection, from which the original gauntlets are missing. A268|1|1|Gauntlet, for the field, comprising a pair with A267.
Pointed cuff boxed to four planes and decorated with sunken scallops with the inner part hinged at the side, the edges roped; six articulated metacarpal plates, the last surmounted by a roped knuckle-guard riveted on, the edges shaped and bevelled. The two plates of each cuff are linked by an external steel hinge and are closed by snapping over a pin inside. The thumbs are attached by steel hinges but these do not match those of the cuffs.
Scaled fingers and hinged thumb-piece (on the left one restored); the final scales of the thumb and fingers are each incised with a finger-nail; leather lining (of later date). The cuff of each bears the Nuremberg city mark.
These gauntlets might easily belong to the Nuremberg armour in the Royal Armouries (II.4), formerly in the Bernal Collection, from which the original gauntlets are missing. A269|1|1|Right gauntlet, with a large cuff in two parts, hinged together linked by an external brass hinge with lobated edges and are closed by snapping over a pin inside and with turned-under and roped edges; six articulated plates for the back of the hand, one knuckle-plate with a knuckle-guard riveted to it, scaled fingers and thumb-piece. The thumb is also attached by a similar brass hinge. Decorated with bands of trophies and flowers similar to those on certain parts of the armour A34, deeply etched roping and brass-capped rivets at the borders. The remaining leather glove is edged with braid.

The etching resembles that on a field armour, dated 1549, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (33.164), which bears the Nuremberg town mark and the maker's mark of Kunz Lochner.
Kunz or Konrad Lochner, the most important Nuremberg armourer of his era, was born about 1510, the son of an armourer of the same name. His brothers Heinrich and Hans followed the same trade. In 1543 he was working for the future Emperor Ferdinand I and in the following year became court armourer to the future Maximilian II, for whom he made an armour still at Vienna (KHM, A529). Armour made by him for Johann Friedrich II of Gotha, one dated 1552, was formerly at the Wartburg. He made a gilded and cold-enamelled armour for man and horse for King Sigismund II August of Poland, now in Stockholm (K. Livrustkammaren, No. 2603), and probably a similar armour for the king's brother-in-law Nikolaus 'the Red' Radziwill, Duke of Birze and Dubinki, died 1584 (Vienna, KHM, A1412). Lochner died in August 1567. His mark was a lion rampant in a shield-shaped punch. (Boeheim, 1897, pp. 118-20). A271|1|1|Right mitten gauntlet, with a large, flaring cuff with roped edge, brass-headed rivets with rosette washers; four articulated metacarpal plates (one shaped for the thumb) ; embossed knuckle-plate; five ridged plates over the fingers, all with brass-headed rivets. The cuff has been marked three times with a circular punch. There are two looped straps inside for attachment.
The particular type of brass washer to the rivets on the cuff, punched with lines, is a characteristic of certain Brunswick armour, see Fuhse, Schmiede ... des Stadt Braunschweig, 1930, p. 47, where Herr Bohlmann illustrates a similar gauntlet in his possession. Others were in the Exhibition of Arms and Armour of the Duke of Brunswick, Tower of London, 1952-4, Cat. Nos. 18-25, having this same distinctive feature. A272|1|1|Left gauntlet, with a slightly pointed cuff linked by an external brass decorated hinge; the under part sharply boxed at the wrist, the edge turned under. It is roped and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining strap; six metacarpal plates working on sliding rivets, the first embossed for the ulna; double knuckle-plates, slightly moulded; scaled fingers and long thumb-piece. The thumb is attached by means of an external brass decorated hinge. Decorated with slightly sunken bands and borders etched with birds and running foliage on a granulated and blackened ground. The etched decoration of the plates matches that of the cuisses of Wallace Collection armour A34, but is in sunk bands rather than on a plain surface. The etching has been partly reworked. A273|1|1|Right gauntlet, having a slightly pointed cuff with central ridge, made in two pieces (outer and inner) riveted together, with sunk border and roped edge, and bordered with modern brass-headed rivets for the lining strap. To the cuff are riveted two articulated lames at the wrist overlapping downwards, and the back of the hand is protected by five metacarpal plates, working on sliding rivets and overlapping upwards. Triple knuckle-plates; scaled fingers and thumb-piece attached by a leather. Most of the original glove of coarse linen remains inside. There is a buckled strap across the inside of the wrist and the remains of a second. A274|1|1|Left gauntlet, having a plain, pointed cuff made in two parts (outer and inner), riveted together, with roped edge bordered with steel-headed rivets for the lining strap. Five metacarpal lames, double knuckle-plates, and scaled fingers. The thumb is attached by a leather rather than a hinge. The leather glove remains in the interior. A275|1|1|Left gauntlet, for the joust, having a heavy tubular cuff, consisting of a single plate almost encircling the forearm and completed by a narrow longitudinal plate riveted on the inner side. It is encircled at the wrist with two pairs of incised lines. Mitten of six plates in all, the three outer plates, which cover the joints, are embossed with roping and incised with lines. The end plate has a sunk border and a roped edge. Thumb-piece missing. The flat heads of the rivets inside the mitten have a rosette pattern of small raised studs and are probably original. A fragment of the leather for the attachment of the thumb survives. A276|1|1|Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales (1594-1612) was the eldest son of King James I of England and VI of Scotland, the successor of Queen Elizabeth I. As a boy he already showed great promise, being intelligent and physically active, widely read, an enthusiastic art collector, curious about military and political matters, and an excellent horseman and martial artist. Showing all the qualities valued by the nobility at the time, Henry was seen as promising England a bright, heroic future, a return to the muscular, triumphal days of Henry VIII. A whole literary and artistic cult grew up around Prince Henry; allegorical portraits represented him as the perfect prince, waiting to take up the reins of power, poems extolled his virtues, and elaborate courtly festivals were organised to glorify him and the promise of a new chivalric golden age which he was seen to represent. His early death at the age of just eighteen led to his younger brother Charles eventually succeeding as King Charles I.

This gauntlet belongs to what is undoubtedly the finest of Prince Henry’s surviving armours, a superb example created for him by the Greenwich master Jacob Halder. This extensive garniture for the field, joust and tourney displays the extremely elaborate decorative system for which the Greenwich royal workshop was famous in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a rich combination of acid-etching, embossing, heat-blueing, and fire-gilding. The Wallace Collection gauntlet retains good amounts of its gilding, while traces of the blueing or tinting can just be glimpsed on close inspection. The heat-tinting process, which gave the polished steel a peacock blue-purple colour, was achieved by heating the piece very carefully in a special kiln while ensuring that plenty of air was blown over it. The combination of heat and oxygen caused the steel to oxidise in a controlled way, giving the steel a dark, almost iridescent hue.

The Prince’s armour remains almost entirely intact in the Royal Collection at Windsor, apart from the gauntlets for the field. The right field gauntlet here at Hertford House, while the left is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, displayed with a similar, earlier armour made for Sir George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, Queen’s Champion to Elizabeth I. Henry also had another armour in this style made around the same time as his own, as a gift for his cousin Christian, Duke of Brunswick. His father King James is believed to have commissioned yet another of these rich blue and gold armour for himself, the design being closely similar to that of his eldest son. However the King’s armour project was abandoned when Prince Henry died tragically of typhoid fever in 1612. The intended appearance of the King’s armour can be glimpsed in a portrait of him at Holyrood Palace, painted in 1618 by Paul van Somer, six years after Prince Henry’s death. The careworn monarch is represented with the gorget of the armour around his neck, while the other pieces rest forlornly at the King’s feet. Recalling the prince’s armour, etched with the monogram ‘HP’ (Henricus Princeps) in several places, the breastplate in the Holyrood portrait is etched IR (Iacobus Rex). Perhaps this portrait, through the symbolism explicit in this unrealised armour and that of the Prince, is an expression of a symbolic or real bond between father and son, one that was broken by the Prince’s untimely death. A277|1|1|Mail facing for a glove or duelling gauntlet, of flattened, riveted links; the fingers long, with a short extension on one side at the wrist. Such a mail panel was sewn to the inner side of the leather glove of a duelling gauntlet whose lames were made to overlap backwards. The rapiers of the period, although designed for thrusting rather than for slashing, had two cutting edges which rendered it dangerous to seize a blade with the bare hand. Italian writers of the 16th century applied the term guanti di presa to these gauntlets. A284|1|1|Rear skirt (or culet) of a cuirassier armour, composed of small scales with semi-circular upper edges overlapping upwards. The uppermost row are rectangular and of larger size than the rest and are shaped to fit over the lower flange of the back-plate, to which the skirt was fastened by straps, small portions of which remain. In each lower corner is a single circular plate. The scales are etched and gilt with conventional leaves, and the upper plates with strapwork. They are riveted to buff leather backed by canvas, the edges fringed with scalloped leather pickadils.

This type of scale culet was worn with cuirassier armours of the early seventeenth century, compare the armour of John III Sobieski, King of Poland, at Dresden.
A simil culet in was in the Bernhard Smith sale, Sotheby's, 1884, lot 68. Another, etched with palm branches and coronets (compare to Wallace Collection A63), is in the Royal Armouries (III.698), together with the detached scales of a third (III.701). One with decoration very similar to A284, forming part of the armour of Alof de Vignacourt, is in the Armoury at Valetta, Malta (Laking Cat., No. 413). Compare also that on an armour at Windsor, formerly in the possession of the Oddi family of Padua (The Connoisseur, XCV (May, 1935), p. 263).

The decoration is a very weak imitation of the style frequently used by Pompeo della Cesa of Milan. It is possible that this culet was made at a later date to modernise an old armour. A285|1|1|Along with the armet A154, this leg defence and its mate A286 are almost all that is left of a once spectacular armour of the German Emperor Maximilian I (1459- 1519). The only other surviving piece is a gauntlet, bearing the date ‘1511’, in Abbotsford in Scotland, part of the collection formed by Sir Walter Scott in the early nineteenth century. The armour was the work of Konrad Seusenhofer, Maximilian’s court armourer and master of his famous workshop at Innsbruck. The pieces are decorated with acid-etching, an early instance of this form of armour decoration. The technique involved an acid-proof coating being applied to the metal. The ornamental pattern was then scratched into the surface of this coating with a sharp, needle-like graving tool. When acid was then applied, this scratched-out pattern was eaten or ‘bitten’ into the metal. To enrich the etched bands even further, they were then fire-gilded, making them stand boldly out against the polished steel. The etched bands contain scrolling foliage and pomegranates. The pomegranate was one of Maximilian’s personal devices; many of his portraits show him holding one of these seed-filled fruits, a symbol of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus, the husk as it splits reveals the red droplets inside-an immediate reminder of the Passion.

Maximilian was a great armour-enthusiast. He worked closely with his court armourers to create new, ground-breaking armour designs. He had many armours, for war, jousts, tournaments and parades, including several others in a very similar style to the one to which these pieces once belonged. Parts of another of these armours, the leg armour, vambraces, and gauntlets, now are incorporated into a composite armour at Vienna (Inv. No. A110), while Maximilian is depicted wearing similar armours in numerous printed portraits and on the kneeling figure that surmounts his cenotaph at Innsbruck (c. 1555-65). A similar helmet, attributed to Konrad Seusenhofer, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M2708-1931). A286|1|1|Along with the armet A154, this leg defence and its mate A285 are almost all that is left of a once spectacular armour of the German Emperor Maximilian I (1459- 1519). The only other surviving piece is a gauntlet, bearing the date ‘1511’, in Abbotsford in Scotland, part of the collection formed by Sir Walter Scott in the early nineteenth century. The armour was the work of Konrad Seusenhofer, Maximilian’s court armourer and master of his famous workshop at Innsbruck. The pieces are decorated with acid-etching, an early instance of this form of armour decoration. The technique involved an acid-proof coating being applied to the metal. The ornamental pattern was then scratched into the surface of this coating with a sharp, needle-like graving tool. When acid was then applied, this scratched-out pattern was eaten or ‘bitten’ into the metal. To enrich the etched bands even further, they were then fire-gilded, making them stand boldly out against the polished steel. The etched bands contain scrolling foliage and pomegranates. The pomegranate was one of Maximilian’s personal devices; many of his portraits show him holding one of these seed-filled fruits, a symbol of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus, the husk as it splits reveals the red droplets inside-an immediate reminder of the Passion.

Maximilian was a great armour-enthusiast. He worked closely with his court armourers to create new, ground-breaking armour designs. He had many armours, for war, jousts, tournaments and parades, including several others in a very similar style to the one to which these pieces once belonged. Parts of another of these armours, the leg armour, vambraces, and gauntlets, now are incorporated into a composite armour at Vienna (Inv. No. A110), while Maximilian is depicted wearing similar armours in numerous printed portraits and on the kneeling figure that surmounts his cenotaph at Innsbruck (c. 1555-65). A similar helmet, attributed to Konrad Seusenhofer, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M2708-1931). A287|1|1|Leg defence, a pair with A288, comprising a long cuisse of ten lames (not including the knee) articulated on leathers and sliding rivets. The top lame is detachable by means of a slotted rivet, and the pieces is again divisible lower down on the seventh lame.

Decorated with vertical bands of foliage and trophies, etched and gilt, edged with a small fleur-de lys ornament in black; the rivets furnished with brass heads, the edges turned under and diagonally roped. The Augsburg guild mark is stamped on the top lame.

Poleyn of three upper lames attached by slotted rivets to the cuisse, and two others below the knee-piece proper; at the side of the latter is a small side-wing.

Greave of two parts, front and back, not hinged, but fastened together with hooks-and-eyes on both sides of the leg. The front lame bears the Augsburg guild mark.

Integral sabaton of eleven lames (five overlapping tile-wise, a middle plate and five overlapping counter-tilewise, including the narrow, rounded toe-cap); on the toe-cap the band of ornament, en suite with cuisses and greaves, ends in a typical Augsburg double scroll.

The top lame of the cuisse can be detached by means of a dome-headed rivet in a key-hole slot on the outside of the leg and a turning-pin on the inside. The remainder can then be attached direct to the lowest lame of the skirt.
The poleyn is attached to the cuisses by the same method, but to the greave by turning-pins and key-hole slots both inside and outside. The two plates forming the greave are fixed together at two points, both inside and out, by snapping over a pin on the rear plate pierced for a sneck-hook.
The legs are made up at present for combat on foot. The back parts of the greaves have no slot or staples for the attachment of spurs. These plates can be removed in exactly the same way as on the legs of armour A39, and can then be replaced with others fitted with spurs to make the legs for the Feldküriss.

H. Nickel has drawn attention to a pair of arm defences, made up of pieces cut from an armour of identical decoration, associated with a brigandine in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (14.25.1532) which came from the collection of the Duke of Alba.
The arms were previously in the Uboldo collection and were not associated with the brigandine until after they entered the Metropolitan Museum (S. Pyhrr, letter of 1978). The suggestion that they and Nos. A287-8 might have belonged to the 3rd Duke of Alba, made in J.A.A.S., VII, p. 222, cannot, therefore, be sustained. A288|1|1|Leg defence, a pair with A287, comprising a long cuisse of ten lames (not including the knee) articulated on leathers and sliding rivets. The top lame is detachable by means of a slotted rivet, and the pieces is again divisible lower down on the seventh lame.

Decorated with vertical bands of foliage and trophies, etched and gilt, edged with a small fleur-de lys ornament in black; the rivets furnished with brass heads, the edges turned under and diagonally roped. The Augsburg guild mark is stamped on the top lame.

Poleyn of three upper lames attached by slotted rivets to the cuisse, and two others below the knee-piece proper; at the side of the latter is a small side-wing.

Greave of two parts, front and back, not hinged, but fastened together with hooks-and-eyes on both sides of the leg. The front lame bears the Augsburg guild mark.

Integral sabaton of eleven lames (five overlapping tile-wise, a middle plate and five overlapping counter-tilewise, including the narrow, rounded toe-cap); on the toe-cap the band of ornament, en suite with cuisses and greaves, ends in a typical Augsburg double scroll.

The top lame of the cuisse can be detached by means of a dome-headed rivet in a key-hole slot on the outside of the leg and a turning-pin on the inside. The remainder can then be attached direct to the lowest lame of the skirt.
The poleyn is attached to the cuisses by the same method, but to the greave by turning-pins and key-hole slots both inside and outside. The two plates forming the greave are fixed together at two points, both inside and out, by snapping over a pin on the rear plate pierced for a sneck-hook.
The legs are made up at present for combat on foot. The back parts of the greaves have no slot or staples for the attachment of spurs. These plates can be removed in exactly the same way as on the legs of armour A39, and can then be replaced with others fitted with spurs to make the legs for the Feldküriss.

H. Nickel has drawn attention to a pair of arm defences, made up of pieces cut from an armour of identical decoration, associated with a brigandine in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (14.25.1532) which came from the collection of the Duke of Alba.
The arms were previously in the Uboldo collection and were not associated with the brigandine until after they entered the Metropolitan Museum (S. Pyhrr, letter of 1978). The suggestion that they and Nos. A287-8 might have belonged to the 3rd Duke of Alba, made in J.A.A.S., VII, p. 222, cannot, therefore, be sustained. A289|1|1|Cuisse, a pair with A290. The thigh piece is comprised of one main plate, embossed with six vertical, evenly spaced flutes, above which are five narrow, sloping lames articulated to a top plate embossed with obliquely curved flutes. Each has a longitudinal side-piece, which extends round the leg, and is not hinged but attached to the main plate by rivets and a longitudinal leather strap. A leather tab is fixed to the inside the top plate, cut into three scallops and pierced for arming points.
Thpoleyn is connected by two articulated lames to the thigh plate. It has a prominent central ridge and is made in one piece with the heart-shaped and fluted side-wing.
This pair of cuisses is of unusual pattern and present a form transitional between the Gothic and 'Maximilian' styles. A290|1|1|Cuisse, a pair with A289. The thigh piece is comprised of one main plate, embossed with six vertical, evenly spaced flutes, above which are five narrow, sloping lames articulated to a top plate embossed with obliquely curved flutes. Each has a longitudinal side-piece, which extends round the leg, and is not hinged but attached to the main plate by rivets and a longitudinal leather strap. A leather tab is fixed to the inside the top plate, cut into three scallops and pierced for arming points.
Thpoleyn is connected by two articulated lames to the thigh plate. It has a prominent central ridge and is made in one piece with the heart-shaped and fluted side-wing.
This pair of cuisses is of unusual pattern and present a form transitional between the Gothic and 'Maximilian' styles. A291|1|1|Cuisse, a pair with A292. Formed of a single plate, the upper edge turned over and boldly roped. The poleyn is prominently embossed with triple roping down the middle, oval side-wing with a sharp V-shaped indentation, the edge turned under and roped. It is articulated twice above and three times below the knee, the lowest plate being longer and finished with a strong roped turn-over.

Decorated with a central band and borders filled with scattered pieces of armour, urns, etc., etched on a granulated ground in the so-called 'Pisan' style; the borders of the small plate of the knee are etched with scrollwork. The borders of the main plates are accentuated by an embossed and roped inner line. Modern brass-headed rivets.

The plates are numbered inside by means of four file cuts along their edges indicating to which armour they belonged, as well as by Roman numerals indicating the order in which the plates were to be assembled. These are for wear without greaves. Carlo Vecelli in his 'De gli habiti antiche e moderni di diversi Marti del mondo', published in Venice in 1590, illustrates a light cavalryman armed with a lance wearing a complete armour with a close-helmet, but without greaves or sabatons. A292|1|1|Cuisse, a pair with A291. Formed of a single plate, the upper edge turned over and boldly roped. The poleyn is prominently embossed with triple roping down the middle, oval side-wing with a sharp V-shaped indentation, the edge turned under and roped. It is articulated twice above and three times below the knee, the lowest plate being longer and finished with a strong roped turn-over.

Decorated with a central band and borders filled with scattered pieces of armour, urns, etc., etched on a granulated ground in the so-called 'Pisan' style; the borders of the small plate of the knee are etched with scrollwork. The borders of the main plates are accentuated by an embossed and roped inner line. Modern brass-headed rivets.

The plates are numbered inside by means of four file cuts along their edges indicating to which armour they belonged, as well as by Roman numerals indicating the order in which the plates were to be assembled. These are for wear without greaves. Carlo Vecelli in his 'De gli habiti antiche e moderni di diversi Marti del mondo', published in Venice in 1590, illustrates a light cavalryman armed with a lance wearing a complete armour with a close-helmet, but without greaves or sabatons. A293|1|1|Cuisse, a pair with A294. Composed of a single plate, the upper edge turned over and roped. The knee has a small oval side-wing, and is articulated by means of two lames above and below, the lowest and longer lame is finished with a roped edge. The central band and borders are decorated with etched ornament in the so-called 'Pisan' style, consisting of pieces of armour, urns and monsters on a granulated ground between lines of guilloche pattern. The border at the top of each cuisse is emphasized by an embossed inner line lightly roped.

Designed to be worn without greaves. Twenty-nine lance-armours with cuisses and poleyns like A293-4 are in the collection formed at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire, in the middle of the nineteenth century. A294|1|1|Cuisse, a pair with A293. Composed of a single plate, the upper edge turned over and roped. The knee has a small oval side-wing, and is articulated by means of two lames above and below, the lowest and longer lame is finished with a roped edge. The central band and borders are decorated with etched ornament in the so-called 'Pisan' style, consisting of pieces of armour, urns and monsters on a granulated ground between lines of guilloche pattern. The border at the top of each cuisse is emphasized by an embossed inner line lightly roped.

Designed to be worn without greaves. Twenty-nine lance-armours with cuisses and poleyns like A293-4 are in the collection formed at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire, in the middle of the nineteenth century. A295|1|1|Cuisse from a cuirassier armour, from the same armour series as A296. Comprised of eleven lames in all (including the knee), the edge of the uppermost plate turned over but not roped. The broad poleyn has a pointed side-wing (restored). There are two steel buckles at the outer edge for straps to pass round the leg. The piece appears to have been attached to the tasset (or breeches) with straps at the top instead of by the usual hooks or turning-pins. The sixth lame is incised with double lines meeting in a point. Not an exact pair with A296, but probably both formed part of a series in the same arsenal.

A295 and A296 are both much altered and contain re-used earlier plates. Neither top lame is probably original in this form. Both cuisses are marked inside in red paint 'No. 1'. A296|1|1|Cuisse from a cuirassier armour, from the same armour series as A295. Comprised of eleven lames in all (including the knee), the edge of the uppermost plate turned over but not roped. The broad poleyn has a pointed side-wing. There are two steel buckles at the outer edge for straps to pass round the leg. The piece appears to have been attached to the tasset (or breeches) with straps at the top instead of by the usual hooks or turning-pins. Not an exact pair with A295, but probably both formed part of a series in the same arsenal.

A295 and A296 are both much altered and contain re-used earlier plates. Neither top lame is probably original in this form. Both cuisses are marked inside in red paint 'No. 1'. A297|1|1|Cuisse, for the left leg, of nineteen lames detachable at the ninth by means of a stud and turning-pin. The broad top lame is boxed to fit the flange of the breastplate and was secured by a hook which engaged with an eye which protruded through a slot in the lame. Knee-piece of five lames is included in the total. Sunk borders, the edges turned over but not roped. All the plates are bordered with a single incised line. Brass-headed rivets. The surface is now black, but there are traces of the original blued surface, and the edges of the lames inside the engraved line appear to have been left bright. There are the remains of a loop to fix round the thigh at the bottom of the upper section. A298|1|1|Left greave with integral sabaton, a pair with A299. The greave is made in two parts, front and back, fastened on the outer side by two hinges, and by two studs on the inner. Sabaton of nine lames. Four of these overlap downwards, one (larger) is the middle plate, and four, including the toe-cap, overlap upwards. The toe is rounded and the moulding of the leg is good. In the centre of the heel is a hole for the spur, with a raised washer or nut riveted on the inside. The sneck-hooks locking the snap-over pins holding the greaves closed are missing. At the top of the rear plate is a small hole for a hook formerly holding down the strap of the poleyn. A dome-headed rivet outside the leg and a turning-pin inside originally held the poleyn in position. The lower edge of the sabaton bears traces of a sunk band etched with foliage and fire-gilt which has been largely ground away.
A298-9 were formerly associated with the cuirassier armour A65 but being some sixty years earlier in date have now been removed. A299|1|1|Right greave with integral sabaton, a pair with A298. The greave is made in two parts, front and back, fastened on the outer side by two hinges, and by two studs on the inner. Sabaton of nine lames. Four of these overlap downwards, one (larger) is the middle plate, and four, including the toe-cap, overlap upwards. The toe is rounded and the moulding of the leg is good. In the centre of the heel is a hole for the spur, with a raised washer or nut riveted on the inside. The sneck-hooks locking the snap-over pins holding the greaves closed are missing. At the top of the rear plate is a small hole for a hook formerly holding down the strap of the poleyn. A dome-headed rivet outside the leg and a turning-pin inside originally held the poleyn in position. The lower edge of the sabaton bears traces of a sunk band etched with foliage and fire-gilt which has been largely ground away.
A298-9 were formerly associated with the cuirassier armour A65 but being some sixty years earlier in date have now been removed. A300|1|1|'Streiftartsche' for one of the German 'Rennen' class of jousts. Broad, slightly convex, roughly circular in outline and shaped to cover the thigh when the wearer was mounted; the upper edge is concave, and is turned outwards to form a stop-rib of triangular section. There is a slight vertical ridge separating the ornament into two symmetrical panels, each embossed with radiating curved flutings within a sunk border. Round the border are round-headed rivets for the leather lining which still remains; two buckles for attachment. Stamped near the top with an armourer's mark in the form of four minuscule letters in an oblong cartellino, which may possibly be read as CAS P.
Armour stamped with the first four letters of the name of Caspar Riederer of Innsbruck are at Churburg: Cat. Nos. 68 (shaffron), 49 (Gothic gauntlets); at Vienna (jousting armour; B66, 180, 172 and 173); in the Royal Armouries (breast and back; III.1293-4 (Dufty & Reid, 1968, Pl. CXI); on a war-hat in the Military History Museum at Brussels; and a sallet now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, formerly at Churburg (42.50.32; see the exhibition catalogue Innsbrucker Plattnerkunst, 1954, pp. 53-4). Compare the similar form of signature on Nos. 41 and 53. Riederer's work is, as the gauntlets at Churburg show, of outstanding quality.
Caspar Rieder, or Riederer, who worked at Muhlau, Innsbruck, was made a master-craftsmen in 1467, and supplied armour to the Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol. In 1472, along with three others, he made an armour for Alfonso V, King of Naples, and in 1473 was working in conjunction with Hans Vetterlein, another Innsbruck armourer. In 1496 he sent an armour to the Emperor Maximilian I, who was in the field at Glurns, and in 1498 the Emperor gave him a robe of honour (see Exhibition of Innsbruck Armour, Innsbruck, 1954, Nos. 10-14).
Kaspar Rieder is recorded from 1452 when he made an armour for Archduke Sigmund of Tyrol. From 1467 to 1492 he was Harnischmeister to the Archduke. He made armour for the King of Naples in 1472; for Burkhart von Knörigen and Rudolf Horb in 1473, in co-operation with Hans Veterlein; for Sigmund von Welsperg in 1478; and for the Emperor Maximilian I in 1496. He is last recorded in 1498.
The English name for these shield-like objects which were hung over the saddle bow to protect the rider's thighs is not known, if one ever existed. They were not in fact used for jousts at the tilt but rather in the field and for the Rennen, a course in the open field with relatively sharp lances, probably practised only in the German lands. Their use in the field is illustrated in the woodcuts of the edition of Geoffroy de la Tour-Landry, Der Ritter nom Turn, Basel, 1493, and in a painting The family tree of the Babenbergers, before 1493, in the monastery of Klosterneuburg near Vienna. A301|1|1|Left 'Streiftartsche', for the 'Rennen', of elegant form. Broad and slightly convex, roughly circular in outline and intended to protect the thigh when the wearer was mounted. The upper edge is concave, and is turned outwards to form a stop-rib of triangular section. The surface is embossed with whorled fluting radiating from a flat circle near the knee. Round the edge are round-headed rivets to which the lining was attached.
A lithograph of the Gothic equestrian armour A21, obtained by the Baron de Cosson when he saw it in Pickert's hands in 1868, shows this piece carried on the left arm as a shield.
An interesting feature A301 is that the laying-out lines of the fluting visible in the inside of the plate differ in part from the finished design. A305|1|1|Left sabaton, a pair with A306, designed to be worn as an integral element with the greave. Composed of nine plates, comprising four upper lames on the instep, a larger middle plate, four forward lames and a blunt toe-cap; they are very pliable, working on brass-headed, sliding rivets. Decorated with a central band of arabesque strapwork, black on an etched and gilt ground, with a light, running pattern in black along the borders; a narrow band of interlaced threads gilt, runs along each side at the bottom.

These sabatons belong to portions of an armour at Vienna, made for the Emperor Maximilian II (inv. nos. A816-7). A306|1|1|Right sabaton, a pair with A305, designed to be worn as an integral element with the greave. Composed of nine plates, comprising four upper lames on the instep, a larger middle plate, four forward lames and a blunt toe-cap; they are very pliable, working on brass-headed, sliding rivets. Decorated with a central band of arabesque strapwork, black on an etched and gilt ground, with a light, running pattern in black along the borders; a narrow band of interlaced threads gilt, runs along each side at the bottom.

These sabatons belong to portions of an armour at Vienna, made for the Emperor Maximilian II (inv. nos. A816-7). A307|1|1|Pavise, having a vertical semi-circular gutter down the middle, the sides nearly parallel, the top and bottom rounded. Of wood covered with pig skin, the whole surface painted with a representation of a gate with two castellated turrets, black on a white or yellow ground. On the back near the top at the left is a staple, and on the right a hook, both for the attachment of the guige or carrying-strap. The hook allows the guige to be released quickly. Below these are a pair of staples flanking the central hollow and linked by a leather strap from which hang the remains of a vertical leather grip, presumably once connected to a group of three staples (the central one missing) further down the central hollow.

Pavises of various sizes with the arms of Prague were included in the sale of General Baron Peucker at Brussels, 1854 (Cripps Day, Armour Sales, p. 196, Fig. 110 and p. 200, Fig. 117). Examples, possibly from this source, are in the Military History Museum, Brussels (III, 1) in the Musée de Cluny at Paris; in the Germanisches National Museum at Nuremberg (No. W1279, but this one is smaller); the National Museum at Copenhagen; in the Historical Museum at Frankfurt-am-Main, and elsewhere. There are a number of variants in the City Museum at Prague. One similar to No. A307 is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Cat., No. 284, PI. LXXXVIII, with a list of comparable specimens).
The arms of this shield, argent, a castle sable, which are incorrectly coloured to be those of the city of Prague, may represent Ravensburg in Württenberg (see V. Denkstein, Acta Musei Nationalis Prague, 1962, pp. 185-228, No. 37).

These medium-sized pavises were designed to be carried in the way illustrated in the woodcuts of the Triumph of Maximilian, that is by means of a handle shaped like a capital I with the opposite ends of the serifs attached to the back of the shields on each side of the central hollow. True archers' pavises, supported by a prop or props, are much larger, like those from the town hall at Erfurt in Prussia, and others at Bern (respectively B. Dean, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, XVIII, pp. 11-13, and R. Wegeli, Inventor, I, Nos. 1-12 and 27-35). A308|1|1|Pavise, wider at the top than the bottom. Vertical semi-circular gutter down the middle; the top rounded, the bottom with the rounded corners. Of wood covered with thick parchment or leather (repaired in many places with canvas), painted black. The surface is marked with many colours; the same arms are twice branded on the back. Part of a D-shaped leather handle remains, formerly fixed in the middle of the central hollow. At the top on either side of the hollow are two heavy rivets behind which fragments of a leather strap remain. A ring to which is attached the remains of the guige or carrying-strap survives just below these, but the hook for securing the other end of the guige is missing. A staple and a portion of another flanking the hollow near the centre probably originally carried the horizontal strap supporting the top end of the handle. The purpose of two other staples flanking the hollow near the bottom of the shield and of seven other rivets is not clear. At the base is a seal of red wax and the letters I A enclosed in a heart-shaped shield.

This is one of a large number of similar pavises, now scattered throughout the world. A few remain in the Germanisches Museum at Nuremberg. A309|1|1|Bouched horseman's shield, of wood, roughly rectangular in outline, the corners rounded. It is strongly concave, moulded with three vertical ribs and widely bouched for the placement of the lance on the right side. It is covered with leather, coated with gesso, painted black, with interlacing foliage in gold; on a riband across the centre is inscribed, in black and red minuscules:–
EWIG M(?)UH K.EEZ
('Eternal ---- -----').

Both the top corners of this shield curve back on either side of the face. The 'bouche' is very large, entirely open to the rider's right, and is set nearly half-way down the shield. The mounts on the back have been altered several times but, apart from the usual ring and hook for the guige, the most noticeable feature is a large sheet-metal staple nailed on almost in the centre of the back. All these features taken together suggest most strongly that A309 is an early example of a Renntartsche, a shield for use in some kind of early form of a Rennen-class joust.

Said to have come from 'the Imperial Arsenal at Vienna', together with a fluted armour of about 1520, and a lance painted white with gold eagles on it at intervals, both now at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire. (Skelton, Engraved illustrations, I, 1830, PI. XVII.)

Compare to a shield in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, bearing the arms of the Behaim family of Nuremberg (1925.26.6). Across the centre of its back are nailed two horizontal steel mounts one above the other, about an inch apart. From the centre of each projects a fixed ring placed so that a pin passed through the top one might pass through a staple-like fixing on the breastplate and finally through the lower ring, thus locking the targe and breastplate together.

A Rennen armour with a shield similar to this one is illustrated in the Thun Sketchbook, on fol. 8 (Gamber, Vienna Jahrbuch, LIII, pp. 33-70, Fig. 57). Possibly A309 was made for an early Rennen armour made for the future Emperor Maximilian I, in about 1480-85. A310|1|1|Circular shield or target, the basis of oak, convex, and covered with black boiled leather embossed and tooled, the figures in low relief have been painted and gilded. In the centre is a circular panel with the standing figures of Patience discovering Truth, and inscribed:–
VERITAS ET PACIENT. Around this inscription is a circular band of interlacing foliage with four circular medallions containing representations of Pan, Mars, another warrior, and Hercules slaying the Nemæan Lion. Around the edge runs a band of oak-leaf foliage, panels and bands are bordered with narrow laurel wreaths. The back, originally padded, is lined with leather, tooled with interlacing foliage on a granular ground with a plain oblong panel for the arm; portions of the broad triangular loop for the upper fore-arm and a simple loop for the hand remain.

The type of interlaced foliage and its arrangement is very similar to that on another round target in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (14.25.780; exhibited The Art of Chivalry, 1982, No. 16), which is ascribed tentatively to Florence, on the ground of its similarity to one from the Medicean armoury, in the Bargello, Florence (M758). This bears the portrait of Alessandro dei Medici and is dated by L. G. Boccia to 1533-6 in the exhibition catalogue Firenze e la Toscana dei Medici nell' Europa del cinquecento, Florence 1980, No. 235. Another target, very similar in design and workmanship, is in the K. Livrustkammer, Stockholm (No. 3934 [7021]). On the reverse are worked the separate arms of Lithuania and of Poland. It was taken as booty by the Swedes in Warsaw in 1655 (G. Ekstrand, letter of 15th June 1983). It may have belonged to Sigismund I of Poland (born 1467, reigned 1506-47), who, incidentally, was married to Bona Sforza, daughter of Gian Galeazzo, Duke of Milan. A311|1|1|Circular shield or target, similar in style to Wallace Collection A310 and A312. The basis is of wood, convex and covered with black boiled leather embossed and tooled with a circular panel in the centre representing Caesar on horseback being presented with the head of Pompey; around this is a band containing four circular medallions with male portrait busts, and between them trophies of arms connected by a looped and knotted riband, an outer band is decorated with scrolled foliage. The bands are bordered by three concentric wreaths. At the top is an oblong aperture into which a lantern was fixed. The back is also covered black leather and decorated with two oval panels representing Hercules and the Nemæan Lion, and Pan(?), the remainder filled in with arabesques and floral scrolls; the plain oblong panel in the centre is without padding or loops as one would expect. The leather of the front bears traces of gilding.

A leather shield with the same subject was in the E. de Roziere collection, sold Paris, Fillet & Juste, 19th-21st March 1860, lot 55, and is reproduced in the catalogue. A311 was certainly still in the Meyrick collection at that time, since it was exhibited at South Kensington, 1869, as No. 375. A similar scene occurs on a comparable target in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 3078). Another, previously compared to A311 is in the Deutsches Ledermuseum at Offenbach am Main (1974 Cat., No. 1.36.20, illus.) is inscribed BP. The borders are quite different in design, and the work is not apparently by the same hand. In this case the subject has been identified as David presenting the head of Goliath to Saul. A target comparable to that in the Ledermuseum, in the Victoria and Albert Museum is also inscribed BP, which suggests that these are the maker's initials (No. 1574-1855; Hayward, Armour, 1951, PI. 28).

These leather shields were used for parade purposes, being the lighter to carry than the richly gilt and etched ones of metal. The designs of the embossed armour on metal were sometimes copied in cuir bouilli. Morions were also made of leather en suite (e.g. Musée de l' Armée, Paris, H183). A312|1|1|Circular shield or target, similar in style to Wallace Collection A310-11. The basis is of wood, convex and covered with black boiled leather embossed and tooled. In the centre, within the wreath, is probably Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus, attacking a lion, surrounded by a broad band containing four wreathed rondels representing Mucius Scaevola, Marcus Curtius leaping into the pit, a standing warrior and a unicorn. Between the rondels are interlaced strapwork foliage and Roman cuirasses. On the interior, which is also cover in black leather, are leafy arabesques and two circular panels with the figure of Marcus Curtius and Macius Scaevola again; in the centre an oblong panel of green (perhaps once blue) velvet, padded with hair and fringed with gilt-wire braid. The velvet covering of one of the leather loops for the arm remains.

A leather-covered target with four Virtues within circular wreathes in the border is in the De Walden collection at Dean Castle, Kilmarnock.

The main scene on the front probably represents Bellerophon, the son of Glaucus king of Corinth, mounted on Pegasus, attacking the Chimera, which is traditionally a lion-like beast with a second griffin-like head, in this case missing.
The leather of the back bears traces of gilding

Very similar borders, including some of the subsidiary figures, occur on a target formerly in the Wartburg and now in the Deutsches Ledermuseum at Offenbach am Main (1974 Cat., No. 1.36.21). Gall (loc. cit.) groups this one with A312, and ascribes them to Milan about 1550. A target with precisely the same central design and the same border, but with different figures within the smaller wreaths in the border, is in the Armeria Reale at Turin (No. F26; Mazini, 1982, No. 95). The same version of the figure of Mucius Scaevola as on A312 is on a target also at Turin (No. F27; Mazzini, 1982, No. 96). A313|1|1|Circular shield or target, of wood, convex, covered on both sides with leather (in two halves), tooled, painted and gilt with scrolls of conventional, arabesque foliage, the stalks springing from six shaped panels, yellow on a crimson ground; in the centre an oval cartouche painted bright green and surrounded by ribands; at the border a band of conventional strapwork within one of the geometric design; the outermost border is black. The inside is painted brown and mottled with black; an oblong leather panel padded for the arm, with the remains of the fastenings for the arm and hand-loops, also the number R2 in white chalk.
Some seventy similar shields, said to have been carried by the Bodyguards of the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg, are still in the Museum Carolino-Augusteum, at Salzburg. Many are in other collections; for instance, one in the Kienbusch collection, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Cat., No. 302, PI. LXXXIX, with details of the history of the group). Many are still preserved in the Doge's Palace at Venice. The examples in Venice have no cartouche in their centres. One is in the Royal Armouries (V.18) and several passed through the commercial market in the late twentieth century. A314|1|1|Circular shield or target, convex, of wood, covered with canvas and gesso, and painted in oil with three figures in a landscape background with a city, Troy; on the left a man in a Phrygian cap (Æneas) being directed by Minerva; to the right is a winged female with a peacock's eyes upon her dress (probably Juno) holding back Minerva's hand. Above is a crowned staff encircled with a riband inscribed:–
VENIAM·QVOCVNQVE·VOCAIS
('I shall come wherever thou art called')

This shield is bordered with a gold band inscribed: ET·DVBITAMVS·ADHVC
VIRTVTEM EXTENDERE FACTIS
('and do we still hesitate to enlarge our prowess by deeds')
(Æneid VI, 806, from the speech of Anchises to Æneas.)

The back is also covered with canvas and gesso, and has an oblong, leather pad, stuffed with tow; one iron buckle, and parts of the loops for the arm and hand remain. A315|1|1|Circular shield or target, convex, of wood, covered with gesso, and decorated with gold on a black background. In the centre is a shield charged with three bugle-horns stringed or. The shield is surmounted by a barred helmet to the dexter, with crest: a lion rampant or. Its foliated mantling encompasses the shield. This central composition is encircled by a narrow band of ivy leaves and a broader band of flowing scrolls terminating in dolphins' heads and grotesque masks, with birds interspersed, the detail enhanced with lines. There are no loops for the arm and hand on the back, but traces of the fixing remain. Attached by wire are two small labels, one lettered R.W./F.D., the other bearing the number 264.

This is one of nine known round targets of this type, five of which bear European coats of arms. G. M. Wilson, in discussing the example in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, very tentatively suggested that they might have been made in Japan, painted in the namban or foreign style (MacGregor, 1983, pp. 162-6, No. 42, PI. XIX). Apart from the style of painting, the key to the place and date of manufacture is the example in Vienna (A415; Boeheim, Album, II, PI. XXVIII, Fig. 2). This is painted on the inside very similarly to A315, but has polished ray-skin outside, a typically Japanese material. Its European silver bosses are decorated with a representation of Leda and the Swan in relief in late sixteenth-century style. Whether the coats of arms, none of which have been identified, were painted before or after the arrival of the shields in Europe is uncertain. A316|1|1|The buckler had been the companion of the military sword for centuries, and so it is no surprise to find its use discussed in civilian fencing books, despite the fact that it was a somewhat cumbersome thing to wear on one’s person as a matter of routine. Pre-arranged duels, such as the celebrated judicial combat fought in 1547 between Guy Chabot, Baron de Jarnac and François de Vivonne, sieur de La Châtaigneraye, did sometimes make use of them; buckler technique continued therefore to be taught in fencing schools, even as it fell out of favour on the street.
The shield described as a ‘buckler’ in the sixteenth century was of two forms. The small fist-shield bucklers of the medieval period continued to be used, while at the same time Renaissance fencing masters also described their methods for fighting with a much larger circular shield, variously termed a buckler, target, or roundache. Such shields, especially those incorporated into garnitures of decorated armour, were made entirely of steel, although those used in a civilian fencing context were usually made of wood, sometimes reinforced with bands or plates of steel or iron. Such shields, being somewhat like those of the ancient world, also evoked images of Classical heroes in the Renaissance imagination; hence this large round shield became the standard form for rich parade shields decorated with subjects drawn from ancient mythology. This association may also have led some masters, notably Camillo Agrippa, to place some of their sword-and-target men in Classical costume. A317|1|1|Circular buckler, of steel. Around the border is applied a band with the inner edge flanged to catch an adversary's weapon; in the centre is applied a round boss with flattened face, fixed in place by rivets set in a series of cusps; around this are applied iron crescents and convex circles alternately, one of the latter being furnished with a hook for suspension of a sword and lantern; on the inside is the grip (the wood appears to be original), which fits into sockets on either side of the boss. The grip is covered with leather and decorated with rosette-headed nails of brass.
Giacomo di Grassi, in his 'Ragione di adoprar sicuramente I' arme' (Venice 1570, p. 59) calls this 'il brochiero', which 'I. G. gentleman', in the English 'Giacomo di Grassi his true arte of defence' (London 1594), translates as 'Buckler' (p. 13v).
A similar buckler with applied crescents and circles was in the Zschille Collection (Zschille & Forrer, 1894, Pl. XIX, No. 89; and sold, 1997, lot 35 bought by Böhler of Munich); one was in the Consul Leiden sale, Cologne, 1934, lot 104, and another in the Pitt- Rivers Collection, sold Christie's 1931.
Another comparable target but with groups of three interlaced crescents in place of the single crescents of A317, was sold at Sotheby's, 18 March 1975, lot 91, repr. in cat. Another comparable target is in the Hungarian National Museum (Kalmár, 1971, p. 325, Fig. 128). A similar target appears in 'The Painter with Death', a self-portrait by Gaspard Masery, dated 1559 (Chambéry, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Cat., No. 379). Masery was a local artist of Chambéry in Savoy, about whom very little is known. Another is illustrated in The Resurrection by Cecco del Caravaggio in the Art Institute of Chicago of about 1610 (34.390). A318|1|1|Buckler, quadrangular, of blackened steel. The top wider than the bottom; the surface undulating vertically so that the middle is convex. In the centre is a long hook, surrounded by an oval, and outside this a rectangular, raised the bar for sword-catching; the borders have rivets for the attachments of the lining, which still remains. It is of striped silk backed by another textile and bordered with leather, the edges turned under. The grip has a hollow on each side of it to receive the thumb, so that it can be used in either hand. Compare A319.
Shields of this kind were commonly used in civilian fencing and are depicted in Achille Marozzo's fencing book, Opera Nova (1536). There are two similar shields in the Czartoriski Collection at Cracow; three in the Hermitage at Leningrad (H 173); one was sold by the Metropolitan Museum, New York, Christie's, Nov., 1960, lot 93, and bought by Dr. Richard Williams (ex-Uboldo Collection).
Shields of this type are illustrated by Giacomo di Grassi in his 'Ragione di adroprar sicuramente I' arme' (Venice 1570, p. 68), which he calls 'la targa'. 'I.G. gentleman', translated this in his 'Giacomo di Grassi his true arte of defence' (London, 1594, fol. K 4) as 'the Square Target'. Shields of this type are also illustrated in use in the Traitié d' escrime dedié au Roi Henri III, by G. A. Lovino of Milan, Bibl. Nat., Paris, MS. Ital. 959 (facsimile published by the Bibliotheque Nationale, n.d.). A319|1|1|A form of buckler unique to the civilian fencing culture of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries was not circular in shape. Rather it resembled a square, or, more commonly as here, an isosceles trapezium, the top edge being slightly wider than the bottom. Like other forms of buckler these quadrilateral bucklers were made both in wood covered in leather and in steel. They appear in a number of the most famous Italian works on fencing, including those of Marozzo and di Grassi, who referred to it as the ‘square target’. Such square shields appear to have been made in a variety of sizes; di Grassi’s square target is described as being comparatively large and heavy, perhaps a descendant of the oblong fighting pavises of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, while the one depicted by Marozzo, and most of the surviving examples, are quite small and light. A320|1|1|Parade shield or target, circular and convex, of steel, with the outer edge turned over and bordered with rivets for the lining strap (of which fragments remain). It is embossed in low relief with two conjoined oval panels decorated in great detail with a military scene; in the lunette above are the arms of France within the collar of St. Michael supported by winged putti, in the lunette below are two seated female figures among trophies, the one pointing to a globe, the other to the sky above; the circular border is decorated with fourteen crabs, alternating with dolphins; the whole has been skilfully embossed, chiselled ad gilt, but little of the gilding now remains. The foreground of the design is executed in a very low relief, the embossing being reduced in the middle distance, and ultimately replaced in the extreme distance by surface chasing.

Sir Samuel Meyrick suggested that the subject represented is the retreat of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, after his advance to within eleven leagues of Paris, and his defeat near Bray-sur-Somme in 1523. Unfortunately, the Latin inscription, which was damascened in gold on a band encircling the oval panels and probably described the scene is defaced, and only disconnected letters and syllables are now decipherable. Across both panels runs a river with cities and forts in the distance; the foreground shows undulating country filled with the advancing troops on the left, the retreating troops on the right, both banks of the river being lined with fortifications. Meyrick considered that, since geographical correctness was not to be expected, the country represented was probably that lying between the bridge at the Bray and the coast as far as Calais, with 'Boulogne identified by the Tour de l' Ordre, called 'The Old Man' by the English; the forts of St. Valéry and La Ferté by their position; the towns of Arras, Cambray, Abbeville, Montdidier and, perhaps, Amiens, with the castles of Bray and Hesdin'. The details on the shield, however are perhaps too meagre to sustain such precise identification, and the subject might equally be the taking of Calais by the duc de Guise in 1558.
The presence of the collar of the Order of St. Michael but without that of the Holy Spirit determines the latest possible date to be 1578, when the latter order, which took precedence of the former, was founded.

Meyrick stated that this piece 'was exhumated in France, and has suffered greatly from the pickaxe which was struck through it, and from the hole thus made was broken into three parts...It has been rescued from entire destruction by Count Vassali, who, after directing the several pieces to be cautiously and skilfully united, brought it with great care to this country'. The hole made by the pickaxe remains, and at the back are the steel straps that were soldered on to keep the three pieces together; the lining of red velvet was presumably added at the same time.

The motif of the crab is also prominent in the decoration of the burgonet and pageant shield in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, which were once thought to have belonged to Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, third Duke of Alba (1508-83); they are inv. nos. H.254 and I.62 respectively (Robert, No. I, 62; Niox, Pl. XLI).
A series of drawings for embossed armour in the print cabinet at Munich, published by Hefner-Alteneck in 1889, are the basis of the study of the 'Louvre School' and include designs for: (1) the armour of Berhard von Weimar, formerly in the Wartburg and now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; (2) portions of the armour of Rudolf II at Vienna; (3) shield of Henri II at New York; and (4) this shield in the Wallace Collection (Grancsay, Met. Mus. Bulletin, Oct., 1952, and Summer 1959; n.s. Vol. XI, pp. 68-80, and n.s. Vol. XVIII, pp. 1-7. cf Nos. A172 and A321 below).

The sixteenth-century English translator 'I.G. gentleman' (see also under A317) translated the Italian term ‘la rotella’, used by Giacomo di Grassi (p. 75) to describe this kind of shield, as the 'rounde Target' in 'Giacomo di Grassi his true arte of defence' (London 1594), (fol. L 3 verso). B. Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LVIII, pp. 105-6, illustrates the original drawing for the top and bottom sections of the decoration of the frame (fig. 81). He relates this shield to the Schlangengarnitur made for Henri II of France between 1556-9. The only other parts of this garniture now known to survive are two plates from the horse armour in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a third in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (CL 1345). A321|1|1|Parade shield, circular, of bright steel, slightly convex with a central spike; the surface embossed and chased with a series of combats, the edges turned under, roped, and bordered with a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining band. The composition is divided into three sections by trees. One section shows horsemen in Roman armour fighting centaurs and satyrs, the other horsemen against armed men on foot. The border is embossed with oval gadroons and squares. Pierced with four pairs of holes and three others to secure the enarmes for the arm and hand.

A circular shield embossed with fighting figures in similar attitudes, but without the trees, was in the possession of Arthur Sims of New York. A321 belongs to a group of embossed armour which has been the subject of much study, but on which no final decision has been made. It was the Baron de Cosson who first isolated it from the Italian embossed armour of this period by naming it tentatively 'the Louvre School' (Dino Catalogue, 1901, burgonet of Henri II, No. B 29, pp. 32-4; Laking IV pp. 182, 246, ect.). It has since been attributed to Eliseus Libaerts, a goldsmith-armourer of Antwerp (Cederström and Steneberg, 1945) and the Flemish attribution is supported by the existence of a backplate in the Metropolitan Museum, signed by D. G. V. Lochorst (see Grancsay, Sculpture in Armour, 1940). The influence of the School of Fontainebleau is clear and the number of French royal pieces in the same style makes de Cosson's suggestion tenable. It is, however, possible that there are two groups: one French and one Flemish. Other examples of the school are the helmet A172 and the shield A320 in the Wallace Collection; shields at Windsor, Stockholm and Turin; armour of Henri II in the Louvre, that of Christian II at Stockholm, and another at Warsaw; and the armour of Bernard von Weimar, formerly in Wartburg and now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. A number of drawings, for details of decoration on some of these pieces are in the Graphische Sammlung at Munich (Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LV (1959), pp. 31-74; designs by Etienne Delaune, ibid., LVI (1960), pp. 7-62; and Grancsay, Met. Mus. Bulletin, New York, Summer, 1959). A322|1|1|Parade shield, circular, of steel, gilt overall, slightly convex, the edges turned over on a wire and roped, and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining band. The whole surface is embossed and chased with an elaborate composition representing the months of the year. The outer circumference is divided by trees into eleven panels, while the twelfth occupies the centre. January is represented by figures cutting wood, February by stag hunting, March by a seated figure holding a bouquet of flowers, April by sheep-shearing, May by scything hay, June (in the centre of the shield) by the sun in splendour, soldiers, a camp and a city with a landscape background, July by harvesting, August by a sower, September by the crushing of grapes in a vat, October by a man tending swine, November by bacon curing, and December by figures seated at a table before a fire. The houses are shown gabled. The shield has been pierced to secure the enarmes for the arm and hand, but no traces of these remain. The chiselled border suggests a date at the very end of the century.

The workmanship of this shield is very similar to that of the centre plate of a front arçon also in the Collection (A424). A similar saddle steel is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (29.171). A cuirass, tassets, arms, and helmet of an armour formerly in the collection of the Prince of Prussia seem also to be of comparable workmanship (Hiltl, 1876 No. 1022, Pls. I and XLV), as are a pair of legs in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., no. 1021). A323|1|1|Circular and convex shield, with a narrow plain border set with round headed brass rivets for the lining strap; the edge turned under and roped. Carries a short, cone-shaped spike of copper-gilt. It is embossed in the centre with an armed horseman holding a shield to which an armorial bearing in copper has been applied and which forms the base of the spike; landscape background; the whole surface is embossed in low relief and finely chased. Encircling the principle subject is an inner border at intervals, six applied plaques of gilt copper: three are oval and are embossed and are gilt with mythological subjects: Granymede, the Death of Marcus Porcius, Cato of Utica, and Jason overcoming the Dragon; the other three are smaller and contain half length figures of two commanders and musketeer in the costume of the time, the intervals filled with trophies and filled trophies of arms and scrolls. The back retains its original leather lining quilted with a scale pattern; it is bordered with a velvet fringe and furnished with straps for the arm and hand. The incomplete oval shield in the centre is charged with a fesse, bendy in base.

Although the gilt copper plaques around the rim are of early seventeenth-century date, the shield itself is the product of nineteenth-century romanticism.
The soldiers resemble the engravings in the manner of Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617). The idea of decorating an iron shield with brass plaques in this way might have been taken from a round target and a burgonet in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden (inv. nos. 142-3; Haenel, 1923, pI. 33, Schobel 1975, pls. 31 and 32). A324|1|1|Shield or buckler, in the Spanish style. Circular, made in two halves riveted together. Convex in section, edge turned under, roped and bordered with steel-headed rivets; in the centre is a riveted conical boss with a central spike of diamond section. The shield is divided into six compartments by applied, radiating, leaf-shaped spokes; in each compartment is a circular boss, also applied; the entire surface is enriched with a close-set ornament of foliage masks, trophies and the heads of animals deeply etched on a blackened background. At the back the leather lining band remains, also rings for the enarmes, the latter secured by pyramid- headed bolts and rosette-shapes washers.
Shields of this form, with applied radiating spokes and round bosses, but faced with leather or velvet, are in the Real Armería at Madrid (D67). One was in the Whawell and Hearst Collections, and previously in the collection Dr. Richard Williams is now in the Royal Armouries; another was in the collection of Lord Howard de Walden, now at Dean Castle, Kilmarnock. A325|1|1|Henri II, King of France was a harsh, war-like ruler. He fought major wars against Germany, Italy and Spain and persecuted mercilessly anyone in his kingdom who practised the new Protestant faith. He loved all warrior pursuits, especially hunting and jousting. It is not at all surprising then that he also loved arms and armour and all the other trappings of knighthood. He had many very extravagant armours, and numerous equestrian portraits survive showing him wearing them. Like most of his contemporaries he also commissioned incredibly elaborate armour and weapons for purely ceremonial uses, particularly parades and festivals.

This work, one of the King Henri II's princely parade shields was probably made in Milan, most likely in 1558 or early 1559. The artist has skilfully embossed and chased a complex pseudo-historical scene onto its surface, and then painstakingly decorated it with silver and gold. It represents an event from the Punic Wars, fought between the Romans and the Carthaginians of North Africa. The Roman general Scipio Africanus, seated in the lower right foreground, is accepting the surrender of the City of Carthage after the Battle of Zama, fought in 202 BC. The city keys are being offered to him by a female personification of the city itself, while the winged figure of Fame, bearing a trumpet, stands between them, a putto or winged cherub at her feet carrying the palm branch of Victory.

This scene appears to be an elaborate commemoration in Classical guise of the surrender of English-held Calais to the French in 1558, a victory of great symbolic value to Henri. Calais had for hundreds of years been England’s foothold in France, so its capture was considered a major French triumph. The connection with Henri is emphasised by the interlaced crescents and barred ‘D’ device of Diane de Poiters, the King’s mistress, at the top of the shield. The D’s also form a double H, the personal monogram of the King himself. The same double-monogram appears in the grasp of a putto embossed on a helmet made for Henri around the same time, now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (H.143). The workmanship of this helmet is almost identical to that of the Wallace Collection shield, suggesting they were made as a set. A328|1|1|Parade shield or buckler, circular, of steel, convex with a flat brim, the outer edge turned over, roped and bordered with modern, brass-headed rivets, cone-shaped and fluted, for the lining bands. The shield is embossed, chased, counterfeit-damascened in gold and dotted with silver on a dark ground with a representation of Horatius Cocles defending the Sublician Bridge against Porsena and the Etruscans; in the background are the Tiber and the city of Rome; to the right soldiers destroying the bridge; the border is decorated with amazons, recumbent soldiers, putti and trophies of arms embossed in low relief and counterfeit-damascened with gold and silver. It is pierced for the attachment of the arm and hand-loops, but no traces of these remain.
Compare the treatment of the horse's head and legs with small gold lines with a plaque in the Wallace Collection (A1343). The same subject occurs on an embossed shield in Museo di Capodimonte, Naples.

The central scene of a round target decorated with the same subject in the Polish Army Museum, Warsaw, derives from the same, so far unidentified source, but it appears to be by a different and more accomplished hand (no. 212x; Zygulski, 1982, pI. 155).

The same subject occurs on a round target in the Armeria Reale, Turin, but the border decoration in particular is distinctly different in style (no. F26; Mazzini, 1982, no. 95). A330|1|1|Parade shield or buckler, circular, of steel, convex at the centre, and the border flat. Heavily embossed, chased, encrusted with silver and damascened in gold; the edge, rounded, turned under, and bordered with a row of quatrefoil-headed rivets for the lining bands. Decorated in the centre with the second labour of Hercules: the destruction of the Lernæan Hydra, after an engraving by Frans Floris (1516-70). On the right Hercules is swinging his club, and crushing with his foot the sea-crab sent by Juno, with Iolas on the left searing with a torch a ten-headed Hydra; in the foreground is Chiron, the centaur who was wounded in the knee by Hercules in the course of his fifth labour; in the background is a landscape with castles. The border is decorated with four oval cartouches representing incidents in the life of Hercules among trophies: (1) his attack, as one of the Lapithæ, upon a centaur; (2) the carrying off of the pillars of Gades; (3) the strangling of the Nemæan Lion; and (4) Hercules taking upon his shoulders the globe for Atlas. The encircling band and borders of the cartouches are damascened with arabesques. The back is now lined with myrtle-green velvet (modern); the enarmes are secures by eight rosette-headed rivets.
The same subject, probably making use of the same Floris print, forms part of the decoration of the roof of the Hôtel de Ville at Toulouse. There is a circular shield in the Army Museum at Warsaw, embossed with Hercules' labour with the robber Cacus, probably by the same hand.
The central scene is based on an engraving by Cornelis Cort after Frans Floris, one of a series published in 1563 (Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings, and woodcuts, 1450-1700, V, n.d., no. 176). The sources of the small scenes around the edges have not been traced.
A round target embossed with the same subject, but with a different border, was in the collection of Baron Percy (sold Paris, Boucher, 15 June 1825 and following days, lot 71; Paris, Bonnefons de Lavialle and Roussel, 18 January 1830 and following days, lot 19). It may previously have been in the collection of the comte de Saint Morys (F. Arquie-Bruley, 'Un précurseur: Ie comte de Sainte-Morys (1782-1817) collectioneur d' antiquités nationales', Gazette des Beaux-Arts, CXXII, 1980, pp. 109-18, and CXXIII, 1981, pp. 61-77).
A. Reinhard has pointed out that what seems to have been a very similar shield was sold in the Heldebrandt sale in Munich, Maillinger, 15 April 1879 and following days, lot 387 (S. Pyhrr, letter of 15 October 1979). O. Gamber has suggested (personal communication, 1983) that the workmanship of A330 is close to that of a saddle-steel signed LUCIO.IER in the Czartoryski collection, Cracow (no. XIV 412; Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 792, fig. p. 810). The abbreviated form of the second name makes its identification very difficult. A332|1|1|Parade shield or target, circular, slightly convex in section, with a narrow rim, the edge turned over to a hollow section and roped. The centre is embossed in high relief with the face of Apollo, made in a separate applied piece with the centre of the shield around the face embossed with ridges representing the rays of the sun in splendour; the brim is decorated with a series of brass-capped rivets, the caps in the form of fleurs-de-lys. The metal is thin and of even thickness.

The treatment of the hair of Apollo suggests Caffiéri and his epoch. Jacques Caffiéri was a sculptor of Italian origin, active in Paris from about 1715, when he became a Master in the Communauté des fondeurs-ciseleurs, until 1755 (see F. J. B. Watson, Wallace Collection Catalogues, Furniture, 1956, pp. 50-1). A333|1|1|Parade shield, circular, embossed with four circular panels, each containing a horseman in armour on a ground granulated and gilt; the remainder of the surface etched with intersecting circles with four lozenges, each embossed with a flower; there is a small four-sided spike in the centre set round with four embossed lions' heads; lined with brown velvet fringed with wire braid.

This shield is a nineteenth-century imitation, stylistically quite distinct from genuine examples of the general type. A334|1|1|Parade shield, circular and convex, with a flat rim, the outer edge heavily roped and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining band (these are secured on the inner side by brass, rosette-shaped washers); in the centre a spike, square in section, with moulded base, springing from the two leaf-shapes rosettes; beneath is incised the maker's name:

HIER · SPACINVS · MEDIO · BON · FACIEBAT

(HIERONYMVS SPACINVS MEDIOLANENSIS BONONIAE FACIEBAT)

('Made at Bologna by Hieronymus (or Geronimo) Spacinus of Milan'.)

At the back is a broad band of steel to which the enarmes were secured; these are now missing, but the original lining of green (formerly blue) velvet with traces of fringe, remains.

The entire surface is etched with series of cartouches arranged in four concentric circles. These are framed within entwined serpents and dolphins, and are filled with scenes executed with skill and delicacy, fully gilt on a blued ground.

The innermost circle, surrounding the acanthus in the centre, contains the twelve signs of the Zodiac. In the next are twelve subjects from classical mythology:

(1) Mercury destroying Argus, with Io, in the form of a heifer, in the background;
(2) The fall of the Phaethon;
(3) The Rape of Europa;
(4) The Dragon devouring the companions of Cadmus;
(5) Perseus cutting off the head of Medusa;
(6) King Lycaon preparing human flesh;
(7) Jupiter changing the Lycian peasants into frogs to avenge their treatment of Latona;
(8) Apollo flaying Marsyas;
(9) Jason taking the Golden Fleece;
(10) Hercules carrying off the Apples of Hesperides;
(11) Dædalus and Icarus flying from Crete;
(12) Apollo pursuing Daphne.

The third circle deals with events in the life of the Emperor Charles V. These have been taken from the designs of Marten van Heemskerck (van Veen), which were engraved by Dirck Volkertsz Coornhert, and first published by Hieronymus Cock of Antwerp in 1556. The etcher has, for reasons of space, omitted many of the details and some of the figures shown in the prints, and has varied the order of the series: no. V of the prints appearing in the third place on the shield, while nos. III and IV occupy the fourth and fifth places.
The incidents represented are dated and described on the prints by the title in Latin, and a verse beneath in Spanish and French (see Thomas Kerrick, A Catalogue of the Prints… engraved after Martin Heemskerck, Cambridge, 1829.)

(1) The Emperor Charles V seated on his Throne, 1555, on the Emperor's right hand stand Pope Clement VII and the Sultan Suleymán I (the figure of the King of France in the print is omitted); on the left is Philip, Landgrave of Hesse and the Duke of Cleeves (the Elector of Saxony being omitted). In the print these figures are held prisoners by two bands that proceed from the eagle's beak (except the Turk Suleymán, who is represented as about to take his departure: le Turcq print la fuyte): these bands are omitted on the shield (Skelton I, pl. LIV, fig. 1; Kerrich, p. 108).

(2) The Capture of Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 (Skelton I, pl. LIV, fig. 2; Kerrich, p. 109).

(3) The Raising of the Siege of Vienna, 1529. Although the Emperor is represented in person, it was not until the campaign of 1532 that he was personally opposed to Suleymán I. This subject is no. V in the series of prints; the representation of Vienna in the background has been omitted (Skelton I, pl. LV, fig. 1, Kerrich, p. 110).

(4) The Death of Charles, Duc de Bourbon, at the Sack of Rome in 1527. The duke is represented as falling from a scaling ladder. This subject is no. III of the engravings (Skelton I, pl. LV, fig. 2, Kerrich, p. 110).

(5) Pope Clement VII besieged in the Castle of Sant' Angelo, 1527. A trumpeter, having passed the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul is sounding the summons to surrender; above is the Pope and two cardinals. This incident is no. IV of the engravings (Skelton I, pl. LVI, fig. 1, Kerrich, p. 110).

(6) The Deliverance of the New World, 1530. Portions of human flesh are being roasted over a fire; on the left is a man being disembowelled: Les Indiens vivans de chair humaine En cruaulte incomparable à dire Sont convaincuz par la puissance haultaine. This represents the state of life from which the New World was delivered by Charles's discoveries and conquests (Skelton I, pl. LVI, fig. 2, Kerrich, p. 110).

(7) The Entry into Tunis after the defeat of Barbarossa in 1535. The engraver of the shield has omitted the banner in the foreground bearing the crescent and stars, and the archway giving access to Tunis is but slightly indicated (Skelton I, pl. LVII, fig. 1, Kerrich, p. 111).

(8) The Submission of the Duke of Cleves in 1543. The Duke is on his knees offering a shield charged with the arms of Gelderland, to which duchy he resigned all pretensions; a supporting figure, with banner and keys is omitted (Skelton I, pl. LVII, fig. 2, Kerrich, p. 111).

(9) The Arrival of reinforcements under Maximilian, Count of Buren, in 1546. This incident is given a minor place in the composition, but van Heemskerck, being a Fleming, has given it first place in the inscription; Charles appears three times in the engravings and twice on the shield, and it is the victorious ending of the campaign of 1546 that is chiefly represented (Skelton I, pl. LVIII, fig. 1, Kerrich, p. 112).

(10) The Surrender of the Elector of Saxony after his defeat at Mühlberg in 1547. Charles, mounted, is shown with his brother, Ferdinand, King of the Romans, on the right; on the left may be the elector's kinsman and enemy, Maurice, Duke of Saxony, to whom his territory and the electoral hat were resigned (Skelton I, pl. LVIII, fig. 2, Kerrich, p. 112).

(11) The Submission of the Protestant Cities in 1547. Three kneeling figures surrender their keys to the Emperor (in the engraving there are five); this presumably not a particular incident, but the conditions following the dispersal of the League of Schmalkalde, when Protestantism was at the feet of the Emperor (Skelton I, pl. LIX, fig. 1, Kerrich, p. 113).

(12) The Submission of Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, in 1547. Philip is on his knees before Charles, who is surrounded by the seven electors (the etcher of the shield has omitted three)–
Comme vng aigneau en toute humilite
Icy se rend le Lantgrave a mercy
Au bon vouloir de sa grand' Maieste
Qui l' a receu humainement aussy.
(Skelton I, Pl. LIX, Fig 2, Kerrich, p. 113).

The fourth circle, which covers the rim, has twelve oblong panels containing the following biblical subjects:–

(1) The Creation of the World;
(2) The Creation of Adam;
(3) The Creation of Eve;
(4) The Fall;
(5) The Voice of the Lord God;
(6) The Expulsion;
(7) Adam and Eve toiling;
(8) The Death of Abel;
(9) The Punishment of Cain;
(10) Noah commanded to build the Ark;
(11) The Deluge;
(12) the Sacrifice on Ararat.

Nothing is known about Geronimo Spacini of Milian apart from his signature on this shield. In the Metropolitan Museum at New York there is an embossed shield also based on a drawing by van Heemskerck in the British Museum, depicting Charles V taking prisoner the Elector of Saxony at the Battle of Mühlberg (Mackay sale, Christie's, 27th July, 1939, lot 60; now Metropolitan Museum of Art inv. no. 42.50.5, see Grancsay, 'A parade shield of Charles V', Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s. VIII, 1949-50, pp. 122-32).

This is the first shield in the list of arms and armour acquired by Meyrick from Domenic Colnaghi, about 1818. The list, which is now in the Library of the Royal Armouries, states that it came from the collection of 'the Count Branchettes (of Bologna)', and had been in that family for a number of years. A336|1|1|Round shield or target, of bright steel, slightly convex in section, with a spirally-fluted central spike (modern?), springing from the centre of acanthus leaves; the edges turned under and roped; bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining bands (missing). The surface is etched with radiating bands of trophies of arms and musical instruments, joined by chevrons, all on a granulated ground. At the back is a stout hook for suspension; fittings for the enarmes no longer remain; they must have been attached by two blind rivets on one side, and the rivets now holding the hook on the other. The original steel strap for the spike is missing. A337|1|1|Round shield or target, slightly convex, with flattened border, the central spike of diamond section. Etched with five radiating bands containing strapwork and symbolical figures. The triangular areas between them are similarly filled with trophies and grotesque animals. The figures represented on the bands are Justice, Hercules with the Pillars of Hades, Judith with the head of Holofernes, Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist and Truth. The border is decorated with interlaced strapwork involving grotesque animals, birds and figures; the edge has a row of round-headed, steel rivets for lining band. There are traces of gilding on the bands and border. At the back two steel buckles, with leather for the enarmes, remain, also a steel strap into which the central spike is screwed; the buckles are secured in the front by rivets with four-sided heads (compare with A330). There is an old patch inside near the centre. The border is edged with red fringe, a restoration.

The decoration is very similar to that of an infantry armour from the armoury of the Earls of Pembroke at Wilton House, which is signed on the breastplate POMPEO (i.e. Pompeo della Cesa). There is a pair of tassets for service on foot for a boy in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., no. 2327). A round target with very similar decoration was in the collection of Edwin J. Brett. This was sold at Christie's, 18-26 March 1895, lot 398 (repr. in cat.), but a note in the hand of the late F. H. Cripps Day in his own copy of the sale catalogue indicates that in his view it was modern (catalogue in the library of the Collection). Another, formerly in the Stafford collection (sold Christie's, 28 March 1885, lot 103), is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M.108-1921). Also with similar decoration are breastplate, cabasset, and a right field arm in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., no. 1962). A338|1|1|Round shield or target, of slightly convex with a small pyramidal spike springing from etched acanthus in the centre. The surface is boldly etched with eight radiating bands containing figures representing War, Peace, Victory, etc., on a granulating ground; in the panels between, suspended by ribands, are eight cartouches containing winged chimaeras. Traces of gilding remain; the border with interlaced strapwork and scattered trophies; the edge turned under and roughly roped; at the border a row of brass-headed rivets for the lining band (modern). At the back an oblong frame of steel straps to which the enarmes were secured; it is fastened in front with four large, pyramidal-headed screws; parts of the original, red leather lining remain. A340|1|1|Parade shield, circular, slightly convex, with a central spike springing from a double spray of acanthus leaves, the edges turned under, roped and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining band, which is secured on the underside by brass rosette-shaped washers; four pyramidal-headed screws for the enarmes. The surface is roughly etched all over the strapwork forming oval and shaped cartouches, the first containing figures in classical costume, the second representing four of the Labours of Hercules, the intervening surfaces filled with the strapwork, scrolls, tiny manikins and eagles; the border decorated with a coursing scene and the hunting of a boar, stag, lion; the background scribbled to form a granular effect. The etching, though coarse, exhibits spirit and character; the central subjects have probably been copied from some sixteenth-century Italian cartoon, the border, however, resembles Flemish work. The back has been lined with brown velvet fringed with red silk, of which only the canvas base now remains; a heavy steel band runs across the shield to which the enarmes were attached; it has been padded with tow and hay. A341|1|1|Parade shield, circular, of steel, convex, delicately damascened in gold and silver with a landscape on a blackened ground; in the centre is a bridge of five arches over water between buildings, with woods and hunting scenes on either side; in the foreground Europa is shown crossing the water on the back of the bull (Jove); hills, cities, clouds and birds in the distance; the edge is turned under and bordered with brass-headed rivets for the lining bands. The shield is pierced with four holes for the enarmes, but no trace of these remain.

This is an unusual piece: the damascening is of the kind sometimes found on Italian iron furniture panels. The composition is curiously, but accidentally, reminiscent of the Chinese willow-pattern. Compare for style the circular shield damascened with the Triumph of Petrarch at Madrid (D69), and Wallace Collection helmet A144. A342|1|1|Vamplate, cone-shaped and circular in form, the forward edge bevelled, the main outer edge turned under and bordered with modern, brass-headed-rivets for the lining band. Etched with three radiating bands and a border containing interlaced rose-branches, gilt on a blackened and granulated ground, the bands edged with gilt rose-leaves and blackened thorns; the three plain intermediate surfaces are boldly etched and gilt with the arms of the Emperor Ferdinand I (quarterly, Hungary and Bohemia with the Hapsburg insignia in pretence); the shield is ensigned by the Imperial crown and encircled with the collar of the Golden Fleece; the three plain segments are each pierced in the centre with a pair of small holes.

This vamplate belongs to the same harness as the shaffron A359, the famous ' Rosenblattgarnitur' (rose-leaf garniture) made for the Emperor Maximilian II by Franz Grosschedel of Landshut, for the tournament held in celebration of the marriage of Archduke Charles II of Styria and Maria of Bavaria in 1571. The attribution to Franz Grosschedel was first put forward tentatively by B. Thomas in the catalogue of Art treasures from Vienna at the Tate Gallery, London, in 1949, no. 577, and more firmly by A. von Reitzenstein in 'Die Landshuter Plattner Wolfgang und Franz Grosschedel’, Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, V, 1954, pp. 142-53. See also Gamber, Thomas, and Schedelmann, Die schönsten Waffen and Rüstungen, 1963, no. 51. Two helmets belonging to this garniture, apparently for the free tourney and foot combat at the barriers, are now in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (H.97, H.98). A plain upper visor of exchange for H.98 (without the holes in the brow for attachment of the tourney reinforce) is, or was, in Berlin (Z.H.W.K., XIV, 1935-6, p. 90). A shaffron, crinet, rein-guards, demi-shaffron and pair of flanchards from the Rosenblatt horse armour are also in Paris (G.577), as is a left gauntlet (G.65). The shield for the joust in the German fashion is in the Royal Armouries (III.874; Dufty and Reid, 1968, PI. CXXXIII, top right). A poll-plate, perhaps for the demi-shaffron in Paris (which is now missing that plate) is in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18., no. 2440).

Franz Grosschedel is first recorded in 1555 acting as agent for his father, Wolfgang, probably for the so-called 'Cloud Garniture' now in Madrid (see A34). In 1556 he received the citizenship of Landshut. In 1566 he was appointed court armourer to Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria. In 1568, as well as being paid for six Kürass for various Bavarian princes, he was paid by the Emperor Maximilian II. In 1570, while working for the Elector of Saxony, he excused himself to complete some armour for the Emperor. In 1572 he was paid the enormous sum of 2550 florins for an armour for Maximilian II, presumably the Rosenblattgarnitur. In 1575 he was paid 600 florins for six armours for the Emperor, presumably for the use of his guards. Grosschedel is last mentioned in 1578-9, and his house in the New Town of Landshut was sold by his widow, Barabara Thir, in 1581. No mark is recorded for him. In addition to the Rosenblattgarnitur, von Reitzenstein attributes to him a number of pieces in the Wittelsbach collection and elsewhere (Von Reitzenstein, 1954, pp. 145-53). A343|1|1|Vamplate for the joust, part of the same rich armour to which Wallace Collection close-helmet A187 and right pauldron A242 also belong. This trio of pieces were once part of a double garniture thought to have been made for the sons of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II: Archduke (later Emperor) Matthias (1557-1619) and Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (1558-1618).

The decorative scheme of this garniture, though not especially original or distinctive, was skilfully executed and communicates a suitably rich visual effect. The surfaces of the plates are divided by wide strapwork bands filled with trophies of arms and musical instruments on a finely stippled and blackened ground and framed by narrow gilt borders containing delicate scrollwork.

The majority of this double garniture is today in the Hofjagd –und Rüstkammer, Vienna (inv. nos. A437, A880, B40, B41) with other parts in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (H99, H100, K721, K742), Royal Armouries, Leeds (III.1264) and the Art Institute of Chicago (1819). Parts of other very similar garnitures can be seen in Dresden, St. Petersburg, New York and Philadelphia. A344|1|1|Vamplate, designed to be mounted on a lance of war or for one of the lighter types of joust, of plain steel in the usual form, undecorated apart from the outer circumference which has been chamfered with large, bevelled facets (or notches). Brass-capped rivets, for the attachment of the lining bands, indicate that this piece once had a padded lining to help protect the hand and shoulder from the shock of impact. A345|1|1|Vamplate, designed to be mounted on a lance of war or for one of the lighter types of joust, of plain steel in the usual form, undecorated apart from the outer circumference which has been chamfered with large, bevelled facets (or notches). Brass-capped rivets, for the attachment of the lining bands, indicate that this piece once had a padded lining to help protect the hand and shoulder from the shock of impact. The central aperture for the lance is formed to fit around a fluted lance. Stamped with the Augsburg city mark. A346|1|1|Vamplate, probably for the joust of peace, circular and comparatively flat, with a short lip around the central aperture, which is quite large, indicating the intention that it should be mounted on a very thick and heavy jousting lance.
Decorated with radiating bands containing etched, floral scroll ornament, the ground granulated and gilt, the bands bordered with narrow lines of guilloche ornament, and engrailed or toothed along the edges. The form of the decoration is the same as that upon the close-helmet for the joust and locking gauntlet, Wallace Collection nos. A191 and A278. A347|1|1|Vamplate, for the field or light joust, of the usual form, relatively small in size, the border decorated with two circular bands, the wider outer band containing interlaced strapwork, the inner narrower band filled with ornament involving stylised clouds on a closely granular ground, etched and gilt.

The distinctive form of the decoration corresponds with that found on an armour in the Museo Stibbert (no. 3480) in Florence. A349|1|1|Shaffron, made in one piece including the the ear- and eye-guards. The central area is slightly boxed and embossed down the nose with horizontal notches forming a shallow midline crest; the central rondel or escutcheon is now missing; a poll-plate is attached to the top by means of a heavy copper alloy hinge, and is pierced with two pairs of holes with copper alloy eyelets. Bordered with the round-headed, brass-capped steel rivets for the attachment of the lining. A350|1|1|Shaffron, made in two main parts. The forehead is prominently embossed with rounded flutes on a raised, boxed panel; faceted ear-guards with scalloped edges, riveted on. The centre is pierced with a hole for the missing rondel or escutcheon. A fragment of a strap near the left ear survives. The lower plate is joined to the upper by a horizontal row of rivets and is embossed down the middle with a series of knobs, and relieved with triple lines of fluting arranged chevronwise on either side, the lower edge turned over on a wire; three hinges of steel for side-plates remain. There are also unusual truncated flutes on the brow. These could represent the horse's forelock, however, similar truncated flutes occur on the lower part of some Italian breastplates of the period, such as Royal Armouries inv. no. III.1087 (Dufty and Reid 1968, pI. CXII lower left). A351|1|1|Shaffron, complete with cheek-pieces, ear- and eye-guards, riveted to the main parts so that it envelops the horse's head; a poll-plate is hinged to the top. Roped en torsade down the centre. The ear-guards tulip-shaped; the hole for the central rondel or escutcheon has been filled in. A feature is the prominent eye-guards with sharply engrailed edges; the main borders are turned over wires. Brass-capped lining rivets, two buckles and portions of the lining band remain.
The proportions of this piece are so extraordinary that it is difficult to imagine that it would fit any horse. Its construction, however, is of a reasonable quality. A352|1|1|Shaffron, the brow-plate fluted, the border over the eyes turned under and roped; central spike of octagonal section over an eight-pointed star (restored?); the poll-plate and ear-guards similarly fluted. To the brow is riveted a narrow plate running down the nose. It is plain, except for a prominent almond-shaped embossing, doubly roped, down the middle; the lower edge, with sunk bands, turned under and roped like the eyes. The border is furnished with small rivets for the attachment of the padded lining. A353|1|1|Shaffron, of steel, tinted and gilt, embossed with a wide border of scrolled flowers, the hollow edges raised and ornamented with laurel wreaths tied with fillets at intervals. There was a square spike in the centre, but this has now been removed as it is of nineteenth-century manufacture. The ear-pieces, embossed en suite, are riveted in place; the poll-plate hinged at the top is similarly embossed and decorated.
This shaffron resembles the work of Caremolo di Modrone, a Milanese armourer in the service of Federigo Gonzaga II, fifth Marquis and first Duke of Mantua. He was responsible for two armours of the Emperor Charles V, one of which was presented by Federigo in 1534 in recognition of his having been invested with the principality of Monferrato, the other apparently directly commissioned (see Boccia and Coelho, 1967, p. 329). They are now in the Real Armería at Madrid (inv. nos. A112-14 and D63 respectively).
Caremolo di Modrone is mentioned in an inventory of the armour belonging to the Duke of Mantua, dated 21 January, 1542 (Mann, The Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas, Arch. Journal XCV, 1939, pp. 243, 250, 284, etc).
A half-shaffron of similar workmanship is at Konepiště in the Czech Republic, and a saddle steel in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, both attributed to Modrone about 1540 (nos. 63 and R85 respectively; Boccia, Rossi and Morin, 1980, pls. 142-3). See also J. F. Hayward, 'Filippo Orsoni, designer, and Caremolo Modrone, armourer, of Mantua', Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1982, pp. 1-15 and 87-102.
A saddle with embossed steels partly silvered and partly gilt, attributable to Modrone, is at Vienna (inv. no. A1696). A354|1|1|Shaffron, sculpted to represent the head of a dragon. This example was once thought to have been originally constructed of russeted or blued steel . However the present dark brown colour now appears to be old, dark varnish laid over a rusting surface. When new, the main surfaces were polished white steel, with the details such as the hair, teeth, etc. picked out by means of selective fire-gilding.

The piece is elaborately shaped and etched, the upper part broadly following the shape of a horse’s head, while the lower section transitions into a monstrous snout, with the mouth yawning open. It is composed of seven parts; the main element is of two pieces horizontally riveted together (almost invisibly) with ear-guards and cheek-pieces attached by rivets, and the poll-plate by two hinges. The ear-guards are embossed and the edges are cut as acanthus leaves showing traces of gilding; the cheek-pieces, finely embossed and chased to represent muscles and the mane and forelock; the poll-plate is pierced with keyhole slots at the sides and edged with bands of scrolls, trophies and roping embossed and incised; traces of gilding remain. The cheek-pieces are each pierced with two pairs of holes for the attachment of the lining and furnished with a buckle.

This shaffron must have belonged to a very important garniture, of similar form to that to which the visor A205 once belonged.

This shaffron occurs in the list of armour and arms acquired by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick from D. Colnaghi about 1818, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries. A355|1|1|Demi-shaffron, composed of six pieces and a poll-plate. The ear- and eye-guards attached by means of rivets, the poll-plate by hinges of steel; a four-sided spike projects from a circular, fluted escutcheon etched with imbrications. The borders are etched with sunk bands of running foliage on an obliquely hatched ground in the Italian manner, and rows of round-headed rivets, the edges turned under and lightly roped; it is divided down the middle with a hollow embossed roping. The nose ends as a fleur-de-lys; the poll-plate is pierced with two keyhole slots and one circular hole for attachment to the crinet. Fragments of the canvas lining-band and the leathers for attaching the shaffron to the horse survive. A356|1|1|Half-shaffrons, which protected only the top half of the horse’s head, were commonly worn in jousts and on the battlefields of the mid- to late- sixteenth century. In the former role a full shaffron was not necessary since the horse was almost entirely protected by the high, planked tilt that prevented the two oncoming jousters from colliding, with only the ears and poll being at times exposed. In war the half-shaffron was included in garniture configurations designed for light and medium cavalry combat, when the rider was also less heavily armoured. Some examples were fitted with attachment points for a extension to protect the horse’s nose and lower face, which was added when the rider reconfigured his armour for heavy cavalry use.

This fine half-shaffron appears to have formed part of an armour recorded in the design book of Jörg Sorg, one of the greatest South German etchers (1548-63, Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, Cod. milit. 24, fol. 11v). This album of work contains an illustration of a field armour decorated in the same manner as the Wallace Collection shaffron, above which is written Disen feldkuris hab ich dem Hans Lutzenberger gheez dem don Andreas de Ribera 1550 (‘I etched this field armour for Hans Lutzenberger; belongs to Don Andreas de Ribera 1550’). The coat-of-arms of the patron is also illustrated. The arms in the album are a mirror image of those etched on the escutcheon of the Wallace Collection shaffron, but it is almost certain that they are intended to be the same Ribera arms (Or, three bars vert), impaled with the cauldron device of another family, possibly Guzman or Pacheco.

Original documentation relating to an extant armour is rare, pictorial records or designs even rarer. Sorg’s drawing is therefore highly important as it provides a way of understanding the artists’ original intentions, and in this case, the appearance of the whole armour, since only three small parts are presently known to survive: the Wallace Collection shaffron, and tournament reinforces for the bevor and skull (‘gupfe’) in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (inv. nos. 2813 and 2822). None of these pieces are illustrated in the album which shows only the field armour and shield. However Sorg included an annotation which explains that the garniture included other pieces that are not shown: Mer 2 hauben ain sattell ain halben stirn ain grose spanerell ain bertli und ain gupffen duernier hentschuch (‘Furthermore 2 helmets, a saddle, a half-shaffron, a large pauldron, a reinforcing bevor, and a gupfe tourney gauntlet’). The ‘gupfe’ and ‘reinforcing bevor’ are those now in Florence, while the mention of a ‘half-shaffron’ refers to the piece now in the Wallace Collection. A358|1|1|Escutcheon for a shaffron, of steel with the edges turned under and roped; embossed with a flat eight-petalled ornament in the centre; the background etched with bright foliate ornament on a gilt, granulated ground, involving a cherub's head and two lions, etc. It must have come from an armour of importance. Compare the escutcheons on the shaffrons A43 and A356.
The fact that the decoration of this piece, which is of a very high quality, consists solely of entwined foliage, cherub heads, and naturalistically represented lions, makes it almost impossible to identify the original armour from which it came with any certainty. However, the style is not dissimilar to parts of two garnitures which have decoration almost identical to each other, consisting of bands edged with lively flames, and containing regularly entwined foliage ending in fiercely snarling lion heads. The parts of the two garnitures can only be distinguished with certainty by the fact that while one has knurled edges, the other has roped edges.
The field cuirass, tassets, cuisses, and poleyns of the garniture with roped borders are in the Royal Armouries (no. II.183; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. XXXIII), while what appears to be the right pauldron and the right closed vambrace for tournament combat on foot are in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 cat., no. 1027). The left pauldron with only slight overlap at the front for use with a besagew, and a left closed vambrace, are in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. no. 3072). Part of the frontplate of a left greave of the type which does not fully enclose the calf, apparently also coming from this garniture, is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 29.158.307).
The Hermitage also has almost all the parts of the other garniture, that with knurled edges, including close-helmet for the field which also has a falling buff, a skull-reinforce for the Freiturnier, a pair of munnions, a pair of field arms and gauntlets, laminated cuisses with poleyns attached, and a half shaffron. (Tarassuk, J.A.A.S., III, pp. 1-39, pl. IV). A saddle is in the Musée de l’Armée et de l’Histoire Militaire, Brussels (inv. no. IV.10). A359|1|1|In 1571 Archduke Charles II of Austria married the Princess Maria of Bavaria. This union, which sealed an alliance between the two major Catholic powers in South Germany against the Protestant German princes, was an enormously important event at the Austrian court. To mark the occasion jousts and tournaments were held at Vienna and Graz, with many of the most powerful Imperial Princes taking part, foremost among them the groom’s brother, the Emperor Maximilian II himself. Many magnificent armours were created specially for this great celebration, which went on for many days. The Emperor’s armour was made by Franz Großschedel of Landshut, Court Armourer to Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria and son of the great Wolfgang Großschedel, armourer to King Philip II of Spain. A magnificent occasion demanded magnificent armour, and Großschedel did not disappoint, forging a state-of-the-art garniture for the Emperor’s personal participation in the festive combats. This complex creation provided complete armours for all the fashionable varieties of joust, tourney and foot combat, along with the appropriate horse armours. In 1572 the Emperor finally paid the staggering sum of 2550 florins for the completed work, the equivalent of several million pounds in modern currency.

Today this great armour is known as the Rosenblatt (‘rose-leaf’) garniture. It takes its name from its decorative scheme, in which all parts of the armour have been etched, gilt and blackened with extraordinarily fine strapwork bands filled with twisting rose branches bristling with sharp thorns. Its core elements are now in the collection of the Hofjagd –und Rüstkammer, Vienna (inv. no. A474), although other pieces, separated in the nineteenth century, may be seen at the Musée de l’Armée, Paris and the Royal Armouries, Leeds. Two further parts are in the Wallace Collection, the present half-shaffron and the lance vamplate A342. Both pieces are emblazoned with the Emperor’s arms encircled by the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The arms on the vamplate, one of several made for the garniture, are also crowned, while those on the shaffron escutcheon are carried by the double-headed imperial eagle. A361|1|1|Crinet, of eleven lames, the anterior borders chamfered, sunk and etched with running foliage on a black and granulated ground, well designed and executed. The top lame has the edges at the sides pierced for sewing in a lining. The lames are articulated on three longitudinal leathers, and there are straps and buckles on the second, fourth, sixth and eighth lames for attaching it to the neck of the horse. The final lame is boldly flanged and roped, and has a wider border of etched foliage and a second sunken band. The top lame, or poll-plate is stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark, and a maker's mark of a shield with a plumed helmet between the letters F and S. This is a variant of the mark of Valentin Siebenbürger of Nuremberg (1531-64), which has the initials V.S. and a plumed helmet. It has been ascribed to a contemporary, Fredrich Schmid. The crinet is also stamped on the inside with a pearled N mark, similar in style to the pearled A mark of Augsburg. Each plate of the crinet has been punched inside with a group of five dots to aid the armourer during the final assembly.

This crinet belongs to an important armour which may yet be identified. A crinet and a pair of gauntlets in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, carry the same helmet and F.S. mark, and the Nuremberg mark together with a pearled-N inside. In the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, there is a half-armour (Lenz, p. 246, I, 470); other instances of the same mark with the letters F.S. occur on the armour at Solothurn of Hans Jacob von Staal, no. 9; Museo Stibbert, Florence, no. 2533 (cuisse); Musée de l' Armée, Paris (fluted armour) G22 and G568 (crinet); and a crinet in the Bavarian National Museum, Munich. Compare a cuisse in the Musée de l' Armée (G435) which has F.B. See also Z.H.W.K.., II, pp. 156-7.

Valentin Siebenbürger worked in the house known as Zum geharnischte Mann, which still stands opposite Albrecht Dürer's house, near the Burgtor in Nuremberg. The shop was successively carried on by the master armourers Grunewalt, Siebenbürger, Wilhelm von Worms and Kunz Lochner.

According to A. von Reitzenstein the initials F. S. are probably only a variant of the V. S. of Valentine Siebenbürger, since it is unlikely that two masters would have been allowed to use marks so similar at the same time.

Friedrich (Fritz) Schmid became a burgher of Nuremberg in 1536 and a master in the Armourers' Guild in 1538 ('Ein Harnisch Valentin Siebenbürgers in französischem Museums besitz', Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1973, pp. 99-103). For a note on Valentin Siebenbürger, see A163. A362|1|1|Demi-shaffron and crinet. The shaffron is made of bright steel with flanged eye-guards made from the same piece as the main plate, and trefoil-shaped lower edge in front; the ear-guards are riveted onto the main plate; the poll-plate (attached by leather straps) is pierced with two holes for the spring-pin on the first lame of the crinet; conical spike of octagonal section (possibly modern) in the centre of the forehead; the edges all turned under, roped and bordered with steel-headed rivets. The shaffron still retains its original canvas lining-bands and the straps and buckles by which it was secured to the horse.

Crinet of eleven skeleton lames articulated on three longitudinal leathers; there is a strap and buckle on the third and ninth lames respectively, for fastening it to the horse's neck. All except the last lame are pierced on either side. These additional holes in the edges of the lames suggest that there was once a broader articulating strap in this area or that the crinet was formerly fully lined. The top lame has a spring-pin to engage the poll-plate, the lowest furnished with two buckles; the edge at the withers is strongly turned under, closely roped and accompanied by a sunken border, V- shaped in the middle.

There is a very similar crinet in the Royal Armouries (nos. VI.56 and VI.67; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CXLVII); another very similar crinet and shaffron were in the Meyrick Collection (Skelton, 1830, II, pl. CXXIX, fig. 3, and pl. CXXVIII, fig. 10 respectively); yet another was exhibited at Marksburg bei Braubach/Rhein in 1962, as No. 13. A364|1|1|Spur, of gilt copper. The arms bent at right angle and decorated with engraved chevrons and cusping at the bend, and with fish-tail mouldings. They have two holes for the straps; prominent, pointed crest, the neck split and holding a star-shaped rowel of four spear-shaped points. A365|1|1|Spur, of iron with traces of original tinning. The sides are bent at an angle, ridged at the top, and pierced with two straps holes, the locket in the lower hole of the terminal on each side for the strap passing under the foot is shaped like the head of a broad arrow. It has a straight neck of oval section with large eight-pointed rowel.

This spur resembles two formerly in the Meyrick collection (Skelton, pl. LXXX, fig. 4); both later formed part of the Sir Noël Paton Collection, now in the National Museum of Scotland. See also Laking, London Museum Medieval catalogue, type B2. A366|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A367, made of steel, entirely faced with copper alloy. Broad sides pierced and chased with fluting; narrow plate to go under the foot, chain and a buckle and hook for a strap over the instep; straight neck of diamond section with sixteen-pointed rose rowel, pierced and chased with flutings. A367|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A366, made of steel, entirely faced with copper alloy. Broad sides pierced and chased with fluting; narrow plate to go under the foot, chain and a buckle and hook for a strap over the instep; straight neck of diamond section with sixteen-pointed rose rowel, pierced and chased with flutings. A368|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A369, of bright, chiselled steel with remains of fire-gilding on both; De Beaumont describes them as anciennement dorés. The sides and neck, the latter with a right-angled bend, decorated with pierced loops and notchings; star-shaped rowel of five points with smaller points between; the buckles and double hooks, of like decoration, remain upon both spurs.

The buckles for the strap across the instep are now fitted incorrectly to the lower terminals instead of to the upper ones. A369|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A368, of bright, chiselled steel with remains of fire-gilding on both; De Beaumont describes them as anciennement dorés. The sides and neck, the latter with a right-angled bend, decorated with pierced loops and notchings; star-shaped rowel of five points with smaller points between; the buckles and double hooks, of like decoration, remain upon both spurs.

The buckles for the strap across the instep are now fitted incorrectly to the lower terminals instead of to the upper ones. A370|1|1|Spur, of bright steel, with remains of silver plating or tinning, chiselled with scrools. Slender sides of triangular section, the neck with a right-angled bend; star-shaped rowel of five points, with smaller points between, delicately chiselled. On one side are a buckle and a hooked locket, on the other side are two hooked lockets. A371|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A372, of steel chiselled and formerly gilt. Slender sides decorated with mouldings formed as ovals alternating with crude rosettes; neck with downward-curving bend; pierced rose-shaped rowel of eight points; buckle with scrolled ears and a hook on one side, scrolled-shaped stud and hook on the other.

A372 is probably of nineteenth-century manufacture, made up to complete the pair with A371. A similar spur formerly in the Forrer Collection (Zschille and Forrer, 1899, pl. XIII, no. 4) is now in the Royal Armouries (no. VI. 354; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CLXIVb) A372|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A371, of steel chiselled and formerly gilt. Slender sides decorated with mouldings formed as ovals alternating with crude rosettes; neck with downward-curving bend; pierced rose-shaped rowel of eight points; buckle with scrolled ears and a hook on one side, scrolled-shaped stud and hook on the other.

A372 is probably of nineteenth-century manufacture, made up to complete the pair with A371. A similar spur formerly in the Forrer Collection (Zschille and Forrer, 1899, pl. XIII, no. 4) is now in the Royal Armouries (no. VI. 354; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CLXIVb) A373|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A374. The sides of rounded section, made for a narrow heel; the short neck curves upwards and is then bent at an angle; star-shaped rowel of rowel of five points; two hooks for the straps remain, but the buckles are missing. They are of blackened steel boldly encrusted in silver with grotesque figures, masks and scrolls, finely moulded; traces of gilding remain on the inner side of the heel-band where an obliterated, blue-bordered, adhesive label has been affixed.

Compare the decoration with that on the hilts of the Wallace Collection swords, A557 and A597. The matted ground of the encrusting of A373 also bears traces of fire-gilding. A374 is of nineteenth-century manufacture, made to make up the pair with A373.

Possibly decorated by the encruster who decorated hilts such as one of English form at Windsor Castle (1904 cat., no. 61). This man may have been the Royal Cutler, Robert South (see A511). A374|1|1|Spur, a modern restoration made to complete a pair with A373. The sides of rounded section, made for a narrow heel; the short neck curves upwards and is then bent at an angle; star-shaped rowel of rowel of five points; two hooks for the straps remain, but the buckles are missing. They are of blackened steel boldly encrusted in silver with grotesque figures, masks and scrolls.

While the matte ground of the encrusting of A373 also bears traces of fire-gilding, A374 has none, and is clearly of nineteenth-century manufacture. A375|1|1|Spur, of steel, decorated with rosettes and spots of silver on a blackened ground which also shows traces of fire-gilding; sides of oval section, the neck with right-angled bend; star-shaped rowel of five points, with pierced openwork buckle and double hooks (missing); the rowel, neck and buckle show traces of gilding. A376|1|1|Spur, of steel with traces of fire-gilding in many places, roughly decorated with cherubs' masks and spots encrusted in silver on a black ground. Slender sides, downward-curving neck and pierced, rose-shaped rowel of eight points; the buckle and strap hooks are missing.

Compare with the spurs, Wallace Collection nos. A377-8, which are of similar workmanship. A377|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A378. Of blackened steel encrusted with silver masks and spots on a blackened ground. Slender sides; downward-curving neck, ending in a pierced, rose-shaped rowel of eight points; small buckle and one strap on one side and a double hook on the other.

Compare with the spur A376. This type of silver inlay was common in England in this date, especially on swords and daggers, but as it was derived from the Continent an English attribution is not certain. A comparable spur is in the Royal Armouries (no. VI.352; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl.CLXIVa.). A378|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A377. Of blackened steel encrusted with silver masks and spots on a blackened ground. Slender sides; downward-curving neck, ending in a pierced, rose-shaped rowel of eight points; small buckle and one strap on one side and a double hook on the other.

Compare with the spur A376. This type of silver inlay was common in England in this date, especially on swords and daggers, but as it was derived from the Continent an English attribution is not certain. A comparable spur is in the Royal Armouries (no. VI.352; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl.CLXIVa.). A379|1|1|Spur, of blackened steel encrusted with conventional foliage and spots of chased silver, which also shows traces of fire-gilding on the whole; sides of oval section, the neck with right-angled bend; star-shaped rowel of five points; two heart shaped lockets and buckles of interlacing strapwork with tiny silver spots.

Comparable spurs were in the Forrer collection (Zschille and Forrer, 1899, pl. XIV, no. 6), and in the Kuppelmayr collection (1895 cat., no. 139, pl. XXL). A pair are in the collection of Glasgow Museums (Joubert, Scott Collection catalogue, I, no. 91, illus.). A380|1|1|Spur, of blackened steel encrusted with small flowers in groups of four, lines of spots of silver and traces of fire-gilding on the whole. Sides of oval section, the neck with right-angled bend; star-shaped rowel of five points; three heart shaped lockets for the straps, buckles missing.

The rather coarse silver piqué decoration is frequently found on English hangers of this date (for example no. A718). Compare also the pair of spurs A377. A383|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A384, of blackened steel; the short neck, of which the portion nearest the heel is chiselled as a female herm, is bent at a right angle; five pointed star-shaped rowel; large pierced buckles ending in female herms, and three hooks each for the straps; the entire surface is chiseled in relief. On the outside of the arms are compartments containing idyllic pastoral scenes, and the points of the rowels with bearded heads; the workmanship is of high quality.

It seems likely that the chiseller of these spurs also worked on sword hilts of the type of Wallace Collection A685, and may in fact have been a medallist. For instance, Jean Revoir, appointed fourbisseur du Roi and given a logement in the Grande Galerie du Louvre in 1683, seems also to have been employed by the King as a medallist (Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 329 and 336). A384|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A383, of blackened steel; the short neck, of which the portion nearest the heel is chiselled as a female herm, is bent at a right angle; five pointed star-shaped rowel; large pierced buckles ending in female herms, and three hooks each for the straps; the entire surface is chiseled in relief. On the outside of the arms are compartments containing idyllic pastoral scenes, and the points of the rowels with bearded heads; the workmanship is of high quality.

It seems likely that the chiseller of these spurs also worked on sword hilts of the type of Wallace Collection A685, and may in fact have been a medallist. For instance, Jean Revoir, appointed fourbisseur du Roi and given a logement in the Grande Galerie du Louvre in 1683, seems also to have been employed by the King as a medallist (Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 329 and 336). A386|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A387, of steel, with silver hatched on and fire-gilt all over. The inlaid silver sheet is in the form of oval and rectangular plates embossed, possibly mechanically, with masks, trophies, strapwork, and candelabra ornament.

The encrusting includes small silver pearls and cinquefoils. The background is decorated with a fret of punched dots. Slender sides, swan neck with small applied rosettes in silver; small, star-shaped rowel of eight points, gilt; buckle and hook on one side and a double hook on the other.

An early seventeenth-century sword hilt at Veste Coburg is decorated in this manner and with very similar designs (no. II A73), as is a sword hilt in the German Historical Museum, Berlin (Muller and Kolling, 1981, no. 138), another in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.192; Mariaux, 1927, pI. XV), and yet another in the Harding collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (no. 2088). Similar decoration also occurs on a pistol with a wheel-lock of French construction in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. M.1694). A387|1|1|Spur, a nineteenth-century restoration to make up a pair with A386, of steel, with silver hatched on and fire-gilt all over. The inlaid silver sheet is in the form of oval and rectangular plates embossed, possibly mechanically, with masks, trophies, strapwork, and candelabra ornament.

The encrusting includes small silver pearls and cinquefoils. The background is decorated with a fret of punched dots. Slender sides, swan neck with small applied rosettes in silver; small, star-shaped rowel of eight points, gilt; a double hook on one side; the buckle and hook which would have been on the other side are now missing.

An early seventeenth-century sword hilt at Veste Coburg is decorated in this manner and with very similar designs (no. II A73), as is a sword hilt in the German Historical Museum, Berlin (Muller and Kolling, 1981, no. 138), another in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.192; Mariaux, 1927, pI. XV), and yet another in the Harding collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (no. 2088). Similar decoration also occurs on a pistol with a wheel-lock of French construction in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. M.1694). A388|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A389, of bright steel. Heavy sides diagonally fluted and pierced; neck of three branches; at the end is a large, elaborately pierced, rose-shaped rowel, of twelve points, and on either side two smaller rowels each of eight points; large, pierced buckles on either side with a single hook beside each.

These spurs are typical of an exaggerated fashion which probably started in Spain, spread to Mexico about the second half of the seventeenth century, and has lasted until modern times. A389|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A388, of bright steel. Heavy sides diagonally fluted and pierced; neck of three branches; at the end is a large, elaborately pierced, rose-shaped rowel, of twelve points, and on either side two smaller rowels each of eight points; large, pierced buckles on either side with a single hook beside each.

These spurs are typical of an exaggerated fashion which probably started in Spain, spread to Mexico about the second half of the seventeenth century, and has lasted until modern times. A392|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A393, of steel, faced with copper alloy. The sides are wide, strongly bent, and pierced with a hole in the middle of one side, and chased with a narrow bead of roping; curved upturned crest; buckle and three eyeleted hooks attached; long neck of flat, rounded diamond section with star-shaped rowel of six points.

Compare with the original spurs of this form incorporated into the equestrian armour A21. A393|1|1|Spur, one of a pair with A392, of steel, faced with copper alloy. The sides are wide, strongly bent, and pierced with a hole in the middle of one side, and chased with a narrow bead of roping; curved upturned crest; buckle and three eyeleted hooks attached; long neck of flat, rounded diamond section with star-shaped rowel of six points.

Compare with the original spurs of this form incorporated into the equestrian armour A21. A394|1|1|‘Melon’ bit with a round port, of bright steel pierced and chiselled, the cheek-pieces decorated with trefoils and lobes containing a chevron above two circles; incised upon one side is the letter S. Heavy mouth-piece consisting of melon-shaped roller and bars with a four-lobed dangle or pendant at the centre and a roller for the roof of the mouth; deep round port. The chain is missing, but two hooks for securing this remain.

This bit is quite narrow by modern standards. Christian Wechel's edition of Laurentius Rusius (Paris, 1532) illustrates a similar port and roller 'Pour ung cheval qui tire la langue dehors'. Rusius's was the earliest book to illustrate bits and the first edition was published about 1489. It was followed in the sixteenth century by a succession of illustrated books, of which Grisone's Ordini di Cavalcare, 1550, was the most popular and was translated into many languages. This was largely drawn upon by Thomas Blundeville for his Art of Ridinge, 1566, which was the first book on equitation to be printed in English. The sketch-book of Filippo Orsoni of Mantua (1554), in the Victoria and Albert Museum, contains drawings of 204 varieties of bits (Mann, R. Arch. Journal, XCV, pp. 264-73).

Thomas Blundeville described a somewhat similar bit as 'A whole porte wyth olyues hauing a trench aboue', however, the rollers on either side of the port are more like melons than olives (The fower chiefyst offices belongyng to horsemanshippe, London about 1561, no. 5 of his 'Whole Portes'). A395|1|1|‘Cannon’ bit with a square port, or 'upset mouth', of darkened steel, pierced and chiselled, and of great weight and size. The branches are S-shaped and decorated with spiral ribands. At the sides in place of bosses are two pierced compositions of branches surmounted by a crown and ending in a finial of four addorsed scrolls. The cheek-pieces have heart-shaped piercings and notched edges; at the eye are two swivel rings, notched and chiselled. The branches are connected by two chains, curbed and roped. Cone-shaped or 'cannon' mouth-piece with a dangle or pendant of five small chains at the port. A396|1|1|Horse bit, one of a pair of A397, of bright steel pierced and chiselled; the cheek-pieces rigid and forming an openwork, scrolled design incorporating a grotesque winged monster with interlaced scrolls and acanthus leaves designed with great boldness and freedom, and finely wrought and finished; plain mouth-piece with a round port. These two bits were probably intended for a pair of carriage horses.The bosses are missing from both bits. A397|1|1|Horse bit, one of a pair of A396, of bright steel pierced and chiselled; the cheek-pieces rigid and forming an openwork, scrolled design incorporating a grotesque winged monster with interlaced scrolls and acanthus leaves designed with great boldness and freedom, and finely wrought and finished; plain mouth-piece with a round port. These two bits were probably intended for a pair of carriage horses.The bosses are missing from both bits. A407|1|1|Saddle, having a high bow or pommel terminating in a scroll, the cantle formed by two upward-curving, semi-circular plates. Constructed of wood faced with plaques of polished antler hatched and carved in low relief, with a depiction of St. George and the Dragon (the former is represented as wearing civilian dress of the mid- fifteenth century) on one side, and the Princess from the same story on the other. The background, filled with Gothic scrolls and monsters, is now black, but shows traces of red and green inlays of hard wax. On each side in the front is a hand holding a scroll issuing from clouds. There are two pairs of oblong slits for the passage of the girth and stirrup-leathers, and five pairs of round holes (on each side) for the attachment of the pad, which was pointed in place onto the underside of the saddle tree. The antler panels are missing in two areas on each side of the centre, and round most of the border where the voids had been filled with straight-grained leather. The underside, like that of A408, is lined with birch bark. A408|1|1|Saddle, similar in form to A407, having a high bow or pommel terminating in a scroll, the cantle formed by two upward-curving semi-circular plates. There are traces of three pairs of holes and two single holes on each side for the attachment of the pad, breast-strap, and crupper. Constructed of wood faced with plaques of polished and incised antler. The red, green and black colouring is inlaid hard wax. It is hatched and carved in low-relief with the figures of a woman and a man in the civilian dress of the mid- fifteenth century (below the cantel the figures are repeated with varied composition; the male and female figures being transposed); they hold the ends of scrolls which bear the following inscription (the free translation is that given by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick):

The underside of this saddle is covered, like A407, with birch bark and leather, the former being frequently used for lining saddles of this type. It has been restored, and many of the lining or trapping holes have been covered in the process.

For an account of the class of saddle covered with engraved antler, see J. von Schlosser, Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen der a.h. Kaiserhauses in Wien, XV (1894), p. 260

Two of the finest saddles of this kind are those in the museum at Modena and in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the latter coming from the Trivulzio family of Milan.

A saddle of the like shape and material is in the Royal Armouries (VI.95; illustrated in Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CLII.). This saddle appears to have been a gift from the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund to King Henry V of England, presented during the Imperial visit to England in 1416.
The comparable Körmend saddle (Von Schlosser, op. cit., no. 15) was sold at Sotheby's, 17 April 1969, lot 6, repr. in cat., and is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (J. F. Hayward, 'A fifteenth century carved bone saddle', Auction, I, No. 7, New York, March 1969, pp. 22-3). Schlosser, nos. 11 and 16 are both now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, respectively nos. 04.3.249 and 40.66. A third example not in Schlosser is also in that museum (no. 36.149.11). A409|1|1|Without question the best-preserved saddle in the Wallace Collection, and in an extraordinary state of preservation. All of its original and essential parts survive including the fine padded seat, bolsters and skirts, made of undyed, oil-tanned buff leather, and the integral stuffed linen pad. The latter allowed the saddle to be placed directly onto the horse’s back, without any need for a separate pad or saddle blanket. Saddles almost never survive in such a good state, since all of the materials used to make them are organic and therefore highly perishable.

It is now impossible to identify the saddlers who made the wood (probably beech) tree and upholstery. However the armour plates fitted to the saddle’s front and rear arçons are most likely the work of Jörg Seusenhofer, the son of the great Konrad, Court Armourer to the Emperor Maximilian I. This saddle belongs to an armour which was probably made for a member of the Schurff family of Vellenberg, near Innsbruck, where Jörg had his workshop. The Schurffs were a high-ranking Austrian noble family, who held the German Imperial office of Hereditary Chief Huntsman of Tyrol. Their badge was the fire-steel or fire-striker, a device most famously used by the Dukes of Burgundy but which was used independently by the Schurff family perhaps in homage to their masters, the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors, who had inherited the Ducal titles of Burgundy. The Schurff fire-steel, which lacks the symbols associated with the Burgundian version (the flints throwing off tongues of flame and the Burgundian saltire), features very prominently in the centre of the front plate of the saddle, along with the date 1549. The same date also appears on the armour to which the saddle belongs, now in the collection of the Royal Armouries, Leeds (Inv. II.169). A410|1|1|Armoured saddle, having a seat padded with horsehair and covered with green (? originally blue) quilted velvet, the bolsters and cloth embroidered in gold with a pattern of conventional leaves and fruit. The front arçon is faced with three plates (the middle plate backed by a fourth) of darkened steel deeply etched with interlaced strapwork enclosing, on each plate, a cartouche containing a view of a city counterfeit-damascened in gold and silver, the rest decorated with trophies and panels of gilt arabesques, the strapwork brightly damascened with silver and bordered with gold lines. The rear arçon of two plates is similarly decorated. The borders have flanged and roped edges, the plates secured by square-headed rivets. The saddle is heavily padded on the underside with horse-hair covered with canvas (stained with rust-spots), and furnished with three buckles and the remains of the girth-straps; two loops of leather for the trappings remain at the front and back. There is a single buckle for the crupper at the back.

The style of architectural decoration is not unlike the Wallace Collection shield A34. A411|1|1|Armoured saddle, a composite made up of a modern tree and authentic front and rear steels. . The front arçon is constructed of three plates embossed in low relief with oval panels containing figures of Pomona(?) reclining (on the left), Flora reclining (on the right), with Victory standing (in the centre); the panels are framed with strapwork all counterfeit-damascened in gold amid trophies of arms, interlaced strapwork and fruit, on a dark ground; the edges rounded and turned over but not roped. The rear arçon of one plate is similarly decorated with three oval cartouches, a large one in the centre shows a composition of many figures illustrating the story of Brennus throwing his sword into the scales; those on banners, among arms.

The modern saddle tree is made of wood, covered with canvas and faced with green velvet.

See Hayward, ''The Erlangen saddle plate design', Livrustkammaren, XIV, 1978, pp. 221-68, Figs. 21-2.

This saddle belongs to the group embossed armour at one time called the ‘Louvre School’, and now, for the part, identified with Eliseus Libaerts, see Wallace Collection A172. The decoration of this example however, although clearly influenced by the Antwerp Mannerist taste, is not strictly comparable to the known work of Eliseus Libaerts. S. Pyhrr (personal communication) compared the decoration of A411 with that of the well-known cuirass signed by D. V. G. Lochorst in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 38.159; S. V. Grancsay, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum, XXXVI, pp. 84-8). A412|1|1|Saddle, a composite of elements dating from the sixteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The tree is mounted with steels which do not match. The front arçon steel, constructed of three plates, is rather crudely embossed, chased and damascened in gold with a crowded composition of horsemen in combat, wearing Roman and Eastern costume; in each case a fortified city in the background, the borders are scrollwork damascened with gold arabesques. The upper borders are flanged and roped. The fluted and gilt-headed rivets appear to be modern.

The rear saddle steel is comprised of one plate, with a flanged and roped upper edge, embossed with three oval cartouches representing views of a city, in gold linear damascening, surrounded by embossed groups of putti bearing vases, cornucopias and festoons. The front plate, by contrast, is counterfeit-damascened in both silver and several different colours of gold.

The saddle tree beech wood retains two buckles, parts of the girth-straps and an oval ring. It may date from the eighteenth century. The green velvet cover is even more recent, probably dating from the mid-nineteenth century. A413|1|1|Front saddle steel, one of a pair with the rear plate A414. Formed of three plates. The upper borders are flanged with a hollow roping, within which is a sunken band etched with running foliage; the rest of the surface is entirely covered with crudely etched, strapwork ornament filled in with trophies of arms on coarse granulated ground. The middle plate contains a figure of Mars within an oval cartouche. The three pieces are pierced with eight circular holes in total for affixing them to the saddle tree, but they been joined together in recent times with nuts and bolts. The etching on the right side plate has probably been refreshed.

The decoration on this example shows the decline of the art of armour-making towards the end of the sixteenth century and into the early seventeenth century. The trophies have been derived from the 'mops and brooms' ornament of late Milanese armour, and the scribbled granulated ground borrowed from the earlier German school. Armour of this type was used by Spanish troops in the Netherlands. Much of it was almost certainly imported from Lombardy, but some may have been made at Pamplona in Spain. A414|1|1|Rear saddle steel, one of a pair with the front plate A413. Formed of two plates. The upper borders are flanged with a hollow roping, within which is a sunk band etched with running foliage; the rest of the surface is entirely covered with crudely etched, strapwork ornament filled in with trophies of arms on coarse granulated ground. Pierced with four circular holes for fixing them to the saddle tree, but they been joined together in recent times by nuts and bolts.

The decoration shows the decline of the art of armour-making towards the end of the sixteenth century and into the early seventeenth century. The trophies have been derived from the 'mops and brooms' ornament of late Milanese armour, and the scribbled granulated ground borrowed from the earlier German school. Armour of this type was used by the Spanish troops in the Netherlands. Much of it was almost certainly imported from Lombardy, but some may have been made at Pamplona in Spain. A416|1|1|Left side-plate from a front saddle steel, part of an incomplete set (originally of three; the central plate is missing) with A417. Of the finest quality, embossed with a female figure (the personification of Victory) seated and holding a palm branch on a background of matt gold partly etched with scrollwork, and part of the borders richly damascened in gold arabesques (compare with the shield A325 and the plaque A1341), the flesh plated with silver, the edges roped. The border is turned over to a hollow flange and roped. Part of the borders at the top and bottom, and the details of the clothing, are richly counterfeit-damascened in gold with arabesques. The background is etched with foliate scrollwork.

The decoration of A416-17 has affinities with some of the pieces attributed by Grosz to Lucio Piccinino (Vienna Jahrbuch, XXXVI, 1925, pp. 123-55), but also resembles a round target embossed with The Triumph of Bacchus, in the Museo Civico Marzoli, Brescia, which is inscribed BPF and dated 1563 (Inv. no. 373; Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 784, illus. on p. 802). Thomas suggested that this inscription might represent the signature of Battista Palto, the F standing for 'fecit' (Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 784, repr. on p. 802). In 1967 Boccia, however, reserved judgment on this suggestion (Boccia and Coelho, 1967, p. 335), but in 1979 Boccia, Rossi and Morin (pl. 150), while following Thomas in thinking that a member of the Palto family was possible, preferred Bartolomeo Piatti, cited by Morigia as being outstanding in the art of damascening, and as one who executed many original works in this technique (Nobilità de Milano, 1595, Lib. V, Chap. XVII).

Battista Palto is recorded in a list of Milanese armourers given by J. Gelli and G. Moretti (1903, p. 22) but nothing further seems to be known about him.
The matter is further confused if the letters MP on the left lower corner of the round target in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Lenz, 1908, no. H53, pl. XX) are really a signature. Grosz, who identified the engraved sources of the decoration, grouped it with the work of Lucio Marliani, called Piccinino.
The workmanship of these plates, both the embossing and the counterfeit-damascening, is very close to that of the 'Milanese Garniture' of the Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (Vienna, KHM, inv. no. A785; Boccia and Coelho, 1967, figs. 279-80). This was bought in 1560 from Giovanni Battista Serabaglio and Marc' Antonio Fava, both of Milan. Although the counterfeit-damascening on nos. A416-7 is less lavish, the embossing seems close to that of a burgonet and a round target in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden, which were made before 1567 (inv. nos. 149 and 148; Haenel, 1923, pl. 27; and Schöbel, 1975, pls. 21-2). A417|1|1|Right side-plate from a front saddle steel, part of an incomplete set (originally of three; the central plate is missing) with A416. Of the finest quality, embossed with a representation of a king (David?). dressed in Roman armour, wearing a spiked crown, clean-shaven, holding a baton is one hand, the left resting upon a viol. The border is turned over to a hollow flange and roped. Part of the borders at the top and bottom, and the details of the clothing, are richly counterfeit-damascened in gold with arabesques. The background is etched with foliate scrollwork.

The decoration of A416-17 has affinities with some of the pieces attributed by Grosz to Lucio Piccinino (Vienna Jahrbuch, XXXVI, 1925, pp. 123-55), but also resembles a round target embossed with The Triumph of Bacchus, in the Museo Civico Marzoli, Brescia, which is inscribed BPF and dated 1563 (Inv. no. 373; Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 784, illus. on p. 802). Thomas suggested that this inscription might represent the signature of Battista Palto, the F standing for 'fecit' (Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 784, repr. on p. 802). In 1967 Boccia, however, reserved judgment on this suggestion (Boccia and Coelho, 1967, p. 335), but in 1979 Boccia, Rossi and Morin (pl. 150), while following Thomas in thinking that a member of the Palto family was possible, preferred Bartolomeo Piatti, cited by Morigia as being outstanding in the art of damascening, and as one who executed many original works in this technique (Nobilità de Milano, 1595, Lib. V, Chap. XVII).

Battista Palto is recorded in a list of Milanese armourers given by J. Gelli and G. Moretti (1903, p. 22) but nothing further seems to be known about him.
The matter is further confused if the letters MP on the left lower corner of the round target in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Lenz, 1908, no. H53, pl. XX) are really a signature. Grosz, who identified the engraved sources of the decoration, grouped it with the work of Lucio Marliani, called Piccinino.
The workmanship of these plates, both the embossing and the counterfeit-damascening, is very close to that of the 'Milanese Garniture' of the Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (Vienna, KHM, inv. no. A785; Boccia and Coelho, 1967, figs. 279-80). This was bought in 1560 from Giovanni Battista Serabaglio and Marc' Antonio Fava, both of Milan. Although the counterfeit-damascening on nos. A416-7 is less lavish, the embossing seems close to that of a burgonet and a round target in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden, which were made before 1567 (inv. nos. 149 and 148; Haenel, 1923, pl. 27; and Schöbel, 1975, pls. 21-2). A418|1|1|Rear saddle steel, part of a set with the front steel of three pieces A419. Of one plate, embossed and counterfeit-damascened (rather more of the gold survives here than on the front steel), represents Neptune seated in a chariot drawn by sea-horses, with tritons and sea-centaurs on either side blowing conch shells. The compositions are boldly conceived on a large scale and well executed.

The design is reminiscent of the well-known engravings of merfolk by Andrea Mantegna (Bartsch, XIII, nos. 17-8). A419|1|1|Front saddle steel, of three pieces, part of a set with the rear steel A418. The middle plate has been vigorously embossed with a figure of Neptune sitting on a shell amongst sea-horses and dolphins; the side plates are similarly embossed with mermen and sea-monsters; the merman on the right side wields a club, while that on the left bearing a trident and blowing a conch shell; the whole finely chased, with some traces of counterfeit-damascening in gold on a darkened ground, the edges worked to a plain semi-circular section and gilt. The bare torsos of the figures bear some traces of overlaid silver, while the waves appear to have been blued.

The design is reminiscent of the well-known engravings of merfolk by Andrea Mantegna (Bartsch, XIII, Nos. 17-18). A422|1|1|Rear saddle steel, comprised of two plates; embossed with a depiction of the conversion of Saul, with remains of counterfeit-damascening in gold on a darkened ground. Saul is shown unhorsed, surrounded by fleeing, kneeling and supine soldiers in Classical armour, before the figure of God in the sky, wreathed in clouds and emitting rays of divine light. Traces of damascening also remain on the borders; the upper edge is flanged but not roped. A423|1|1|Rear saddle steel, made of one plate of steel rather crudely embossed all over with figures amid foliage and drapery; in the centre, Mars between two prancing horses; on the left side is a seated figure of a Roman warrior with a commander’s baton, and on the right a female figure with a trumpet (the personification of Fame); each of the figures is seated under a bursting bomb. The outer edge along top and sides has been crudely embossed with a narrow inset border of roping, in which traces of gilding remain, while the edge itself is not turned. A424|1|1|Middle piece of a front saddle steel, which would originally have been composed of three parts, a pair of side-plates in addition to this central plate. The edges are finely shaped, those at the top being flanged and roped. Embossed and chased with an equestrian combat between a Roman soldier and an Eastern warrior, with tents and a castle in the background, which is itself elaborately chased with foliage and other details; a fallen combatant kneels on the ground below. The whole composition is gilt, except for the flesh surfaces of the figures, which are blued. It is pierced with two circular holes for bolting it to the saddle-tree.

For other pieces with comparable decoration see A322. A425|1|1|Stirrup, of cast bronze, chased and gilt. The sides of the arch are decorated with candelabra ornament including a tazza of fruit at the top, foliage, two female satyrs back to back, two mermaids back to back, and at the lower edge two harpies. The box at the top for the stirrup leather is covered in front with an openwork composition of two small boys seated facing each other supporting a basket of fruit, pierced and chiselled.

A stirrup in the Kienbusch collection, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has identical decoration on its arch, but the box has a lion's mask with ram's horns (cat., no. 260, pI. LXXXIII). They are also of the same type as the stirrup illustrated by Zschille and Forrer, Die Steigbügel, pl. XI, fig. 3 (now Museo Stibbert, no. 3479) A426|1|1|Stirrup, a modern copy of A425, of cast copper, chased and gilt. The sides of the arch are decorated with candelabra ornament including a tazza of fruit at the top, foliage, two female satyrs back to back, two mermaids back to back, and at the lower edge two harpies. the box at the top for the stirrup leather is covered in front with an openwork composition of two small boys seated facing each other supporting a basket of fruit, pierced and chiselled.

This object has been cast in a different metal than that of A425, containing more copper. A426 also reproduces precisely the accidents and idiosyncracies of A425 and therefore must be a later cast taken from it. The purchase receipt made up when A425 was sold to the Vicomte Both de Tauzia in 1865 refers to one stirrup only, so it is highly likely that A426 is a reproduction of the A425 made after this sale, either on the order of the Vicomte, or of the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, who acquired it from him.

A stirrup in the Kienbusch collection, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has identical decoration on its arch, but the box has a lion's mask with ram's horns (cat., no. 260, pI. LXXXIII). They are also of the same type as the stirrup illustrated by Zschille and Forrer, Die Steigbügel, pl. XI, fig. 3, (now Museo Stibbert, no. 3479). A429|1|1|Stirrup, of steel now blackened, but traces of tinning remain. Arch-shaped in outline; the sides, which widen towards the base, have heavily roped borders, the space between being pierced and chiselled with double-headed eagles, interlacings and geometrical ornaments; oval tread formed of two inner twisted bars and two outer, the lower edges of the latter ornamented with a shell on the middle; the box for the leather is masked by a pair of upright, shell-shaped ornaments, pierced and chiselled. A430|1|1|Stirrup, of very fine quality, one of a pair with A431. Of bronze, cast, chased and gilt; arched in outline, the sides widening towards the base; they are decorated in low relief with conventional ornament with a female herm between seated satyrs, fruit and flowers, a peacock and grotesque heads, the borders roped; the broad tread consists of a plate pierced and chased with interlaced strapwork; rectangular box for the leather with a front panel decorated with a cherub's head in relief, scrolls and conventional fruit chiselled in low relief; the edges roped, chased also in relief.

Thomas suggested that these stirrups, and therefore the bit-bosses of the garniture also, might be the work of the Augsburg goldsmith Jörg Sigman (City Art Museum of St Louis: Museum Monographs, II, pp. 70-95). They form part of the 'Golden garniture' series of tournament armours with matching horse armour and equipment, made in 1555 for the Emperor Ferdinand I and his three sons, the future Emperor Maximilian II, Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol and Archduke Charles II of Styria, probably by Conrad Richter of Augsburg. Another pair of stirrups and a matching bit are still preserved at Vienna. These three pieces are recorded in the inventory of the Archducal armoury at Graz in 1668. The two remaining pairs of stirrups are now in the Musée de l' Armée , Paris (inv. no.G.657; said to come from the old French Royal collection) and the City Art Museum, St. Louis (inv. nos. 358-19 and 20), which came from the Spitzer collection (J. B. Giraud, La collection Spitzer, VI, 1892, nos. 464 and 469, pI. LVI). The tournament close-helmet A188 in the Wallace Collection also belongs to this series, while a second, similar helmet is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. no. H.I 14), and a visor of exchange is in the Bargello, Florence (inv. no. R9). The last piece, dated across the brow ‘1555’, was also in the Spitzer collection (sold Petit, Paris, 10-14 June 1895, lot 43, repr. in cat.). A431|1|1|Stirrup, of very fine quality, one of a pair with A430. Of bronze, cast, chased and gilt; arched in outline, the sides widening towards the base; they are decorated in low relief with conventional ornament with a female herm between seated satyrs, fruit and flowers, a peacock and grotesque heads, the borders roped; the broad tread consists of a plate pierced and chased with interlaced strapwork; rectangular box for the leather with a front panel decorated with a cherub's head in relief, scrolls and conventional fruit chiselled in low relief; the edges roped, chased also in relief.

Thomas suggested that these stirrups, and therefore the bit-bosses of the garniture also, might be the work of the Augsburg goldsmith Jörg Sigman (City Art Museum of St Louis: Museum Monographs, II, pp. 70-95). They form part of the 'Golden garniture' series of tournament armours with matching horse armour and equipment, made in 1555 for the Emperor Ferdinand I and his three sons, the future Emperor Maximilian II, Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol and Archduke Charles II of Styria, probably by Conrad Richter of Augsburg. Another pair of stirrups and a matching bit are still preserved at Vienna. These three pieces are recorded in the inventory of the Archducal armoury at Graz in 1668. The two remaining pairs of stirrups are now in the Musée de l' Armée , Paris (inv. no.G.657; said to come from the old French Royal collection) and the City Art Museum, St. Louis (inv. nos. 358-19 and 20), which came from the Spitzer collection (J. B. Giraud, La collection Spitzer, VI, 1892, nos. 464 and 469, pI. LVI). The tournament close-helmet A188 in the Wallace Collection also belongs to this series, while a second, similar helmet is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (inv. no. H.I 14), and a visor of exchange is in the Bargello, Florence (inv. no. R9). The last piece, dated across the brow ‘1555’, was also in the Spitzer collection (sold Petit, Paris, 10-14 June 1895, lot 43, repr. in cat.). A438|1|1|Stirrup, one of a pair with A439, of bright steel. Oval in outline; the sides (of great thickness) are of circular section at the top, but are flattened and contract towards the base where they are chiselled to the form of an acanthus leaf; oval tread formed of two twisted inner bars, and two curved outer ones, the latter pierced at the centre with a hole, their lower edges shaped and bevelled; a rectangular swivel eye for the leather is pivoted on the top of the arch.

In Skelton these stirrups are associated with a jousting armour which came from the arsenal of Munich, probably no. A. A439|1|1|Stirrup, one of a pair with A438, of bright steel. Oval in outline; the sides (of great thickness) are of circular section at the top, but are flattened and contract towards the base where they are chiselled to the form of an acanthus leaf; oval tread formed of two twisted inner bars, and two curved outer ones, the latter pierced at the centre with a hole, their lower edges shaped and bevelled; a rectangular swivel eye for the leather is pivoted on the top of the arch.

In Skelton these stirrups are associated with a jousting armour which came from the arsenal of Munich, probably no. A. A440|1|1|Stirrup, one of a pair with A441, of steel, chiselled and gilt. Arched outline, the sides circular in section, partly roped, broadening and flattened at the base, where they are chiselled with decoration faintly resembling a scallop-shell; oval tread of three inner bars (twisted) and two outer, the latter notched, chiselled and incised with lines; at the top is an oval ring for the leather working on a swivel.

A pair of similar type was in the Zschille Collection (Zschille and Forrer, pl. XV, fig. 7). A441|1|1|Stirrup, one of a pair with A440, of steel, chiselled and gilt. Arched outline, the sides circular in section, partly roped, broadening and flattened at the base, where they are chiselled with decoration faintly resembling a scallop-shell; oval tread of three inner bars (twisted) and two outer, the latter notched, chiselled and incised with lines; at the top is an oval ring for the leather working on a swivel.

A pair of similar type was in the Zschille Collection (Zschille and Forrer, pl. XV, fig. 7). A442|1|1|Stirrup, left, of ‘boot’-type, designed for use in the joust and tourney, one of a pair with A443. Of steel, etched and formerly gilt. To the arch-shaped stirrup has been added a large, rounded plate shaped to the front of the foot, along with a side plate to protect the outside of the ankle. At the top of the arch is a box for the stirrup leather. The whole surface is etched with trophies of arms and musical instruments on a scribbled, granulated ground, with bands, containing blackened, interlaced strapwork and oval panels of warriors and nude male figures also on a granulated ground, which still bears traces of gilding. The flat, iron sole is held in place by three lugs turned up and riveted to the foot-plate.

The flanking ankle-plate, which is decorated en suite, is fixed to the stirrup on the outer side and this, in turn, overlaps the foot-piece.

The style of decoration, especially the interlaced strapwork, is reminiscent of products from or associated with the Milanese workshop of Pompeo della Cesa (see also A59).

A pair of stirrups of the same form, but without decoration, is represented by Skelton I, pl. IV, fig. 6; other pairs are in the Royal Armouries and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

This pair probably form part of a garniture of which the arms, pauldrons, tassets, skirt and infantry cuirass are at Malta (Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 799, no. 9). The breastplate is signed POMPEO, by Pompeo della Cesa. The gorget does not belong to this garniture but to another for which the round target is still at Malta and parts of the man's armour at Sandringham (Laking, A Catalogue of the armour and arms in the Armoury of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, 1904, no. 370, pl. Xxi; and C. P. Clarke, 1910, no. 772, pl. 32). The buff and fall of the burgonet of the garniture to which nos. A442 and 443 belong are probably no. 98 in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1975 Cat., pl.90). Portions of this, or a vary similar armour are on loan to the Royal Armouries from the British Museum; a Spanish morion, a right pauldron for use with a lance-rest, the right rear arçon plate, and the right front arçon plate (nos. 43.5-7.285, 286, 287 and 288). A round target possibly from this garniture was formerly in the collection of William Randolph Hearst. Parts of a very similar garniture, also signed POMPE, but unfortunately largely re-etched apparently after heavy corrosion, was at Hever Castle (sold Sotheby's, 5 May 1983, lot 48, repr. in cat.). It consisted of a field helmet with gorget plates, left full pauldron pierced for a reinforce for the tourney, right full pauldron for combat on foot, symmetrical vambraces, cavalry breastplate and tassets, backplate, laminated cuisses for the field with poleyns, and greaves.

A portrait dated 1599, said to be of Juan Alfonso di Pimantel, Duque de Benevente (1533-1621), in the Instituo de Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid (no. 32), shows an armour of almost identical design, but without the lions' masks on the pauldrons. The small cartouche on which the maker's signature appeared is clearly visible.

A garniture with very similar decoration is represented by a burgonet with a so-called Hungarian visor, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 14.205.603). The principal difference is that the white band dividing the main decorative bands does not contain a narrow black line as it does on A442-3. While plain boot stirrups of this type are relatively common, decorated ones are distinctly rare. There is an etched example (formerly in the collection of the late Mr. F. H. Cripps-Day), is in the Royal Armouries (no. VI.348; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CXXXIV). A note on its decoration was published by A.V.B. Norman in the Journal of the Arms and Armour Society (VII, p.229). A443|1|1|Stirrup, right, of ‘boot’-type, designed for use in the joust and tourney, one of a pair with A442. Of steel, etched and formerly gilt. To the arch-shaped stirrup has been added a large, rounded plate shaped to the front of the foot, along with a side plate to protect the outside of the ankle. At the top of the arch is a box for the stirrup leather. The whole surface is etched with trophies of arms and musical instruments on a scribbled, granulated ground, with bands, containing blackened, interlaced strapwork and oval panels of warriors and nude male figures also on a granulated ground, which still bears traces of gilding. The flat, iron sole is held in place by three lugs turned up and riveted to the foot-plate.

The flanking ankle-plate, which is decorated en suite, is fixed to the stirrup on the outer side and this, in turn, overlaps the foot-piece.
The style of decoration, especially the interlaced strapwork, is reminiscent of products from or associated with the Milanese workshop of Pompeo della Cesa (see also A59).

A pair of stirrups of the same form, but without decoration, is represented by Skelton I, pl. IV, fig. 6; other pairs are in the Royal Armouries and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

This pair probably form part of a garniture of which the arms, pauldrons, tassets, skirt and infantry cuirass are at Malta (Thomas and Gamber, 1958, p. 799, no. 9). The breastplate is signed POMPEO, by Pompeo della Cesa. The gorget does not belong to this garniture but to another for which the round target is still at Malta and parts of the man's armour at Sandringham (Laking, A Catalogue of the armour and arms in the Armoury of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, 1904, no. 370, pl. Xxi; and C. P. Clarke, 1910, no. 772, pl. 32). The buff and fall of the burgonet of the garniture to which nos. A442 and 443 belong are probably no. 98 in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1975 Cat., pl.90). Portions of this, or a vary similar armour are on loan to the Royal Armouries from the British Museum; a Spanish morion, a right pauldron for use with a lance-rest, the right rear arçon plate, and the right front arçon plate (nos. 43.5-7.285, 286, 287 and 288). A round target possibly from this garniture was formerly in the collection of William Randolph Hearst. Parts of a very similar garniture, also signed POMPE, but unfortunately largely re-etched apparently after heavy corrosion, was at Hever Castle (sold Sotheby's, 5 May 1983, lot 48, repr. in cat.). It consisted of a field helmet with gorget plates, left full pauldron pierced for a reinforce for the tourney, right full pauldron for combat on foot, symmetrical vambraces, cavalry breastplate and tassets, backplate, laminated cuisses for the field with poleyns, and greaves.

A portrait dated 1599, said to be of Juan Alfonso di Pimantel, Duque de Benevente (1533-1621), in the Instituo de Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid (no. 32), shows an armour of almost identical design, but without the lions' masks on the pauldrons. The small cartouche on which the maker's signature appeared is clearly visible.

A garniture with very similar decoration is represented by a burgonet with a so-called Hungarian visor, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 14.205.603). The principal difference is that the white band dividing the main decorative bands does not contain a narrow black line as it does on A442-3. While plain boot stirrups of this type are relatively common, decorated ones are distinctly rare. There is an etched example (formerly in the collection of the late Mr. F. H. Cripps-Day), is in the Royal Armouries (no. VI.348; Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CXXXIV). A note on its decoration was published by A.V.B. Norman in the Journal of the Arms and Armour Society (VII, p.229). A444|1|1|Stirrup, one of a pair with A445, of Moorish fashion. Of bronze, richly gilt and enamelled in green and white. The rhomboidal sides are decorated in low relief with foliage upon a ground of green champlevé enamel bordered with a scrolled strapwork of white enamel, with female herms, masks and swags of fruit, gilt; the tread flat and without ornament; the cross-bar at the top of baluster form, the ends where they join the sides chased with a double rose; oval ring for the leather. Beneath the tread of one is an alphabet of scattered Roman letters (A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.L.N.W.) which have been roughly cut into metal for no apparent reason, unless as an exercise in chasing. A445|1|1|Stirrup, one of a pair with A444, of Moorish fashion. Of bronze, richly gilt and enamelled in green and white. The rhomboidal sides are decorated in low relief with foliage upon a ground of green champlevé enamel bordered with a scrolled strapwork of white enamel, with female herms, masks and swags of fruit, gilt; the tread flat and without ornament; the cross-bar at the top of baluster form, the ends where they join the sides chased with a double rose; oval ring for the leather. Beneath the tread of one is an alphabet of scattered Roman letters (A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.L.N.W.) which have been roughly cut into metal for no apparent reason, unless as an exercise in chasing. A448|1|1|Tail-plate of a horse armour, of steel, blued with traces of gilding and boldly embossed in the form of a grotesque dolphin's head, the surface etched with a leaf-pattern. Two keyhole-shaped hole at the back for attachment to the crupper, and a rivet on either side for securing a strap. This rare piece of horse armour shows great beauty for design and workmanship.
This piece is represented on the crupper in a drawing of the 'Buckhurst' armour (Wallace Collection A62; then displayed mounted as an equestrian figure), which was previously attributed to R. P. Bonington, but is now attributed to Eugéne Delacroix. Though previously thought to represent Goodrich Court - the collections were not moved there until after 1925 and thus the drawing must depict Meyrick's London House; 20 Upper Cadogan Place. This drawing is now in the library at Hertford House.
Another instance of a tailpiece in the form of a dolphin's head is in the Royal Armouries (VI.319, Dufty and Reid, 1968, pl. CLVI). A455|1|1|Sword hilt, of cast bronze having a green patina. The pommel takes the form of a flat oval-shaped disc engraved with lines and dots in the shape of a cross within a circular border; plain grip of oval section; short, flat arched guard, decorated with lightly engraved lines and dots, and split to receive the blade, which would have been secured by pins which project 1/16 of an inch; only small fragments of the bronze blade remain. Made in Denamrk in the late Bronze Age (about 1200 B.C.). A456|1|1|Sword, the hilt comprised of a pommel formed of two layers, the upper divided into five lobes, the underside of the lower part is pierced with two holes; short straight guard, roughly square in section and rounded at the ends; small holes are sunk at either end similar to those under the pommel. The sides of the guard are matted with fine close-set vertical incisions for taking overlaid silver-rich copper alloy decoration, some of which remains. Incised on the forward face of the guard are the letters HLI: the grip is now lost. The blade is broad, double-edged and has a shallow fuller running down the middle on both sides nearly to the point, and bears traces of ornament, or of an inscription, down the centre. Probably Frankish, 9th or 10th century.
This sword is one of a group of five extant examples having inscribed guards, four of which were made the subject of a study by Dr. Adolph Mahr, Ein Wilkingerschwert mit deutschem Namen aus Irland in Mannus: Zeitschrift für Vorgeschicte. VI. Erganzungband, 1928, pp. 240-52. The other four examples are: (2) in the University Museum at Oslo, from Melhus, Norway, signed HLITER; (3) and (4) in the National Museum of Ireland; one of which comes from the Kilmainham and Islandbridge excavation and is signed HARTOLFR; the other was found in the crannog in Ballinderry Bog in 1928 and is inscribed HILTPREHT. Dr. Mahr refers to a fourth sword 'aus Frankreich' inscribed HLITR, but was unaware that it had long since passed into the Wallace Collection. His knowledge of its existence was derived from Petersen, De Norske Vikingesverd, 1919, pp. 109-10, who followed Lorange (1889), who in his turn only knew of it from the illustration in Viollet-le-Duc, when it was in the Nieuwerkerke Collection; (5) a fifth sword of this group has been described by F. Morawe in Mannus XI, 1929, pp.292 ff. It is inscribed HIFIIF REHT HILTIP REHT and was formerly in the Zeughaus at Berlin.
The first three letters HLI on one side of the guard of A456 are quite distinct, the rest of the inscription, which may be as Mahr suggested similar to that on the Oslo sword is not clear.
The sword belongs to the type classified by Petersen (op. cit.) under Type K, of which he lists thirteen examples, and attributes them to the early ninth century (Laking, European Armour I, pp. 14-15, 62, placed number A456 much too late when he described it as 9th century). Sir Mortimer Wheeler, who refers to this form of sword as Type IV in his London Museum pamphlet, London and the Vikings, 1927 put the date between 850-950 A.D. A457|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a pommel of 'Brazilut' form; a straight guard of square section, narrowing slightly towards its ends; the grip missing. The blade is double-edged and has a shallow fuller down the middle on both sides and tapers to a point, now rounded and pitted by corrosion.
Laking states that this sword was found near Cologne. Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer, Middelalderens Tveœggede Svaerd, 1954, II Pl. VIII, c, where three similar specimens are illustrated, two in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum at Zurich, and one in the collection of Mr. R.E. Oakeshott in England. Another, stated to have been found in the River Ribble, was formerly in the collection of Sir James Mann. A458|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a flat, disc-shaped pommel; lightly fashioned guard thickening at the ends, and curving slightly towards the blade. The flat tang widens towards the guard. The grip is missing. The two-edged blade tapers slightly, is much corroded and like the hilt, very thin, with a central fuller on both sides.
There seems to be no reason to believe that the medieval swords, nos. A458, 463-5, are necessarily English as stated in early editions of the Wallace Collection catalogue. Two of them come from the Nieuwerkerke Collection and so were probably continental finds.
The circular pommel A458 is quite flat, often a feature of Italian examples. A459|1|1|Sword, the hilt comprising a hHeavy wheel-type pommel, the faces formed into flattened cones, giving it nearly the same thickness in section as in diameter; straight four-sided guard, beveled to an almost octagonal section swelling slightly at the ends; the tang has a marked and sudden hollow on both sides which constitutes the base of the fuller of the blade; the grip missing. The blade itself is two-edged and slightly tapering, and has a marked central fuller on both sides flanked with ridged borders, varying in width and running nearly to the point. A460|1|1|Arming sword, the hilt composed of a wWheel pommel, with circular sunken centre and a protuberant cap at the top; guard of oval section, slightly ridged on both sides, diminishing at the ends and curving towards the blade; the grip bound with cord (modern). The two-edged blade is of broad diamond section, stiff and strongly tapering; on one side it is heavily criss-crossed with scratches, but otherwise bright. A maker's mark, a small cross (in copper), appears on both sides.
Although in excavated condition, this archetypal late-medieval fighting sword has survived the centuries extraordinarily well. Given its date, it may well have been carried into battle during the Hundred Years War between England and France, which began shortly before the famous Battle of Crécy in 1346. Formerly in the comte de Nieuwerkerke’s collection, its earlier provenance is unknown, but there is a strong likelihood that it was found in France, the distinctive corrosion patterns on the blade indicating perhaps that it was a river find. The grip binding is a later (probably 19th century) restoration. A461|1|1|Thrusting sword, perhaps an early form of estoc, the hilt having a fFlattened oval pommel; straight, narrow crossguard, square in section and tapering slightly towards the ends; the grip missing. The double-edged blade, of hexagonal section, is stiff and tapers to an acute point, much corroded.
Swords designed primarily for cutting and slashing with the edges of the blade were of little use against the increasingly formidable, layered types of armour which were evolving rapidly in the second half of the fourteenth century, made of padded textile, hardened leather, mail, and increasingly, large plates of iron and steel. Puncturing, stabbing attacks with the point, especially into the gaps in an armour, were much more effective. This sword seems therefore to be an early example of an exclusively stabbing sword, made for battlefield use, as a response to the advancing technology of plate armour. A462|1|1|Sword, the hilt having a heavy wheel pommel, the sides formed into flattened cones; slightly curving crossguard oblong in section, being broader horizontally; the grip missing. The blade, which is double-edged with a very thick spine and therefore very stiff, has a flattened diamond section and tapers to a point. There is a maker's mark on both sides. Laking states that this sword was found in France; Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer, op. cit., Pl. XXVa dated as 1375-1400.
A sword bearing the same armourer's mark, and similar in workmanship, but one inch longer in the blade, was lent by Baron de Cosson to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1891-3, no. 70, and was later in the collection of Sir Guy Laking. This sword was also found in France. A463|1|1|Sword, the hilt comprised of a flattened pear-shaped pommel, with a triangular plane on each face; the cross is oblong in section, slightly rounded on two sides and inclining upwards to the point; the grip missing. The tapering double-edged blade is stiff and diamond in section; about 12.7 cm of the point is missing.
The late C.R. Beard compared A463 to examples from South Germany (Z.H.W.K., 1913, p. 204 figs. 23, 26). A464|1|1|Sword, the hilt having a triangular pommel with flat planes, the top slightly curved; straight guard, round in section, thickened in the centre; the grip missing. The blade is double-edged and flat, bearing the maker's mark, in copper. A465|1|1|Sword, the hilt having a faceted, fig-shaped pommel with a sunken hollow designed to accept a small, shield-shaped insert impressed on both front and back; straight, flat crossguard, broadening at the ends, and there pierced with a cross; the grip is missing. The two-edged blade, stiff and dramatically tapered, is of diamond section with a central fuller at the forte, where it bears traces of an inscription. In Oakeshott, 1964, p. 128, Pls. 26C and 27A, the author suggests that this type of guard might be English. However, the English examples he cites tend to be relatively broader at their ends and usually to be very slightly arched, as for example on a falchion found in the River Thorpe and now in the Castle Museum, Norwich (Oakeshott, op. cit, PI. 26B). A sword comparable with A465, and with a very similar guard, was found in 1972 in the tomb of Bartolomeo Colleoni (died 1501) in the Colleoni Chapel, Bergamo (C. Blair, personal communication, 1974). The sword of Estore Visconti (died 1417) has a pommel of comparable form still retaining its inlaid silver shields (Blair, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1962, pp.112-20).
Sever similar pommels were in the collection of Carl von Schwerzenbach (R. Forrer, Die Schwerter und Schwertknäufe, Pl. VII, figs. 6-9). A466|1|1|Sword, a late medieval and modern composite, having a hilt made up of an authentic medieval 'fish-tail' pommel of gilt bronze; modern guard of solid copper, thickly gilt, straight, of round section, and swelling at the ends to half-round knobs; modern grip of horn shaped as a continuation of the pommel. The original double-edged blade, of slightly concave diamond section, tapers to a point. It has a maker's mark on both faces, inlaid in copper.
A similar sword, from the collection of the late Edouard de Beaumont, is in the Musée de Cluny. Its blade is finer, and engraved with the arms of the Visconti family and of the German Empire; it is also marked with a moon in copper. It has been ascribed to Ludovico il Moro, and dated 1490-1500 (No. CL11821; Boccia & Coelho, 1975, Figs. 168 and 189). A sword with a similar fish-tail pommel was found in Lake Constance, and is in the Swiss National Museum at Zurich; and that (not its own) on the two-handed sword of Charles V at Madrid (G 3) is a further example.
Contrary to the suggestions of a very late fifteenth-century date for this sword, most representations of this type of pommel in art are in fact earlier than this, for instance those in the Crucifixion and Resurrection panels of the Altarpiece from the Dreifaltigkeitskirche in Hof by Hans Pleydenwurff, dated 1465 (Munich, Alte Pinakothek, Cat. Nos. 666 and 670); and that on the effigy of Christopher Sigwein (died 1478) at Hall in Tyrol. Swords with cross-guards like those of A466 are among the group thought to have been excavated on a site connected with the battle of Castillon which took place in 1453 (see Oakeshott, loc. cit.). A468|1|1|Two-handed sword, having a mushroom-shaped pommel of bright steel, fluted and chiseled; oval-section wooden grip bound with velvet, broken by two oval mouldings bound In leather; horizontally re-curved guard of circular section, moulded and chiselled with formalised monsters' heads and ending in scrolls; side-rings on either side similarly decorated; both crossguard and side-rings are wrought in one piece; the two-edged blade of hexagonal section at the base, with strong ricasso and side lugs; the ricasso is covered with wood and bound with leather tooled with a fretted pattern. A469|1|1|Two-handed sword, of unusually large proportions, having a spirally fluted, fig-shaped pommel; oval grip of wood bound with canvas and leather; straight guard spirally fluted or roped, and terminating in blunt knobs; double side rings (one within the other) on either side, of circular section, the outer twisted like a rope; ricasso of great length and thickness incised with lines, crescents, and small circles; strong side-lugs; the two-edged blade of flat section inlaid, on either side, with the running-wolf on one side and the half-orb and cross marks on the other in brass.

Compare the marks on a two-hand sword at Bern (Wegeli, No. 181), and one at Dresden (Ehrenthal, p. 147). The mark of a half-orb and cross with the initials W.S. is on a two-hand sword dated 1588 in the German Historical Museum, Berlin, and probably denotes Wolfgang Stantler of Passau and Munich.

The crudely outlined beast found on many blades is thought to represent the wolf of the ancient iron-working town of Passau in Eastern Bavaria, an important centre for the manufacture of blades from early times. At a later date this town mark was copied at Solingen in the Rhineland, not far from Düsseldorf, and elsewhere. How far it is possible to distinguish between the marks of Passau and Solingen is not clear. Schmid in Z.H.W.K., V, pp. 312-17, suggested that in general, the short coupled beasts, such as that on No. A469, probably represent Passau, while the elongated ones, such as that on No. A576, probably represent Solingen. See under No. A620 for the possibility that the wolf was copied outside Germany. A470|1|1|Two-handed sword, having a blackened hilt; cylindrical pommel of octagonal section, with button on top; long oval grip bound with leather (spirally grooved), and studded with brass-headed rivets; forward-curving guard of oblong section terminating in curls, with two more springing from the sides; large side-ring on either side surrounding a fleur-de-lys; the two-edged blade with wavy, flamboyant edges bearing on each side the maker's mark; strong ricasso covered with wood and bound with leather tooled with a fretty pattern; strong side lugs.

The mark is that used by Christoph I (d. 1601) and II (d. 1634), Stantler of Munich. Christoph I Stantler was a Passau swordsmith who had emigrated to Munich by about 1555. (For Christoph I see Stöcklein in Z.H.W.K., V, pp. 244-8, for Stantler family see Stöcklein in Z.H.W.K., V, pp.288-9). There is a series of two-hand swords with this mark in the Bayr. Nationalmuseum at Munich; in the Historical Museum at Vienna (one dated 1575); five are in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (J 41, 42, 48, 50, 51), and many others elsewhere. Compare the mark on No. A467. A471|1|1|Two-handed sword, the blackened hilt comprised of a pear-shaped pommel; octagonal wooden grip bound with leather with a raised moulding in the middle, steel mounts at either end; straight guard of circular section with turned baluster ornaments; both cross and side-rings are wrought in one piece; the two-edged blade of diamond section with a maker's mark inlaid in copper; strong ricasso and side lugs etched and gilt with the figures of St. Barbara and St. Peter on one side, St. Catherine and St. Paul (?) on the other, in niches of Renaissance style, and prolonged by a band of scrolled foliage in the Italian manner. A472|1|1|Two-handed sword, the spherical pommel chiseled with acanthus leaves; tapering wooden grip of octagonal section bound with black leather, and with mounts of gilt steel at either end; straight guard of baluster form decorated with acanthus leaves chiseled and gilt, and ending in knobs like the pommel; side-rings similarly worked; the two-edged blade of hexagonal section with shallow central hollow; strong ricasso and side lugs, richly decorated with a Renaissance ornament of vases and scrolls of foliage, etched and gilt, continued along the blade and incorporating three human heads, the last one crowned. The etching on the blade has been partly reworked. A473|1|1|Two-handed sword, the blued hilt including a fig-shaped pommel; straight guard of circular section ending in fig-shaped knobs like the pommel; single side-rings swelling in the middle and ridged; shouldered grip bound with cord and covered with leather. The two-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section with long ricasso, from which project two lateral lugs, incised with lines and rosetted circles; it is grooved for a short distance. A maker's mark in copper (the letter S surmounted by a cross) is set into the blade, which is also inscribed:–

I∙O∙A∙N∙E∙S/ D∙E∙A∙G∙I∙R∙E

The hilt is very like that of No. A477. Referring to the use by Solingen swordsmiths of spurious Spanish and Italian signatures and marks, C. Blair has drawn attention to a letter, dated 26 February 1677, specifically mentioning the use of the Toledo mark on Solingen blades being exported from Solingen to Paris (1974, p. 90, quoting F. Sommer, Z.H.W.K., X, p. 23). For a discussion of the group of two-handed swords to which No. A473 belongs, see G. M. Wilson in A. MacGregor, 1983, pp. 206-8, No. 93, PI. LXVIII. The signature probably denotes one of the Aguirre family of swordsmiths, of whom Domingo and Nicolas Hortuño Aguirre flourished at Toledo in the later 16th and early 17th centuries. Ortuño (Hortuño) de Aguirre is one of the names mentioned by C. Suarez de Figueroa in his list of the best swordsmiths in Spain, published in his Plaza universal de todas ciencias y artes, Madrid 1615 (p. 334). A blade apparently signed by him and dated 1614 was at Hever Castle (sold Sotheby's 5 May 1983, lot 15, repr. in cat.). According to Francisco Palomares in his list of Toledo swordsmiths published in 1762, his mark was a capital H with a small letter o above, all within a shield-shaped punch (No. 38; Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). Palomares states that Domingo de Aguirre was the son of Hortuño de Aguirre el viejo, while Nicolàs Hortuño de Aguirre, alive in 1637, was his grandson (Nos. 22 and 80 respectively). Count Valencia de Don Juan mentions an armourer Juan de Aguirre as working in 1493 at Villaviciosa de Marquina in the Basque provinces. A474|1|1|The cumbersome, heavy two-handed sword is one of the great clichés associated in the modern imagination with medieval knights. In reality the ‘twahandswerd’ was of little value to ‘men-at-arms’ who wore full plate armour, yet were expected to be adaptable at the same time, fighting on foot or on horseback as required. They were never especially heavy (the Wallace Collection example is 2.89 kg, only about twice the weight of a cricket bat) but their size alone meant that they were only practical for combat on foot and could not be used while mounted. Thus the two-handed sword was a more specialised weapon, lethal in infantry combat but of little value otherwise. The late fourteenth-century historian Jean Froissart described such a sword being used by a warrior monk, the Canon de Robesart, in 1358:
Il tenoit une espée à deuz mains, don’t ill donoit les horions si grande que nul les osoit attendre. (‘He held a sword of two hands, with which he dealt blows so great that none dared to face them’)
(Chronicles of England, France and Spain (1369-1400), Book I)
The Wallace Collection two-handed sword is one of only a very few examples dating from before the sixteenth century. Its ‘fish-tail’ pommel and straight cross-guard ending in spherical terminals suggest that it might be English; among the eighty swords found in the River Dordogne near the city of Castillon in the early 1970s were a number of similar but smaller arming swords and longswords with very similar hilts, the so-called ‘Castillon ‘Group B’. In 1453 the last battle of the Hundred Years War was fought at Castillon, the French delivering a final terrible defeat against their English enemies. The source of the river-find is thought to have been some kind of river barge accident, part of the English supply effort before the battle, or transport of French battlefield loot afterwards. Either way, it is likely that many of the Castillon swords are English, indicating a similar origin for the Wallace Collection two-handed sword. Very similar swords are now in the Museum of London (found in the Thames) and the Royal Armouries, Leeds (probably from the Castillon find), while they also appear on English funerary effigies of this same period. A476|1|1|Longsword, the blackened hilt having a flat diamond-shaped cap to the grip which enlarges towards it and is bound with leather; guard of diamond section, curving towards the blade and swelling at the ends; forward finger-guard on one side, and side-ring on the other, the latter decorated with a slight roping. The blade is single-edged and slightly fullered; it bears a maker's mark incorporating the letter S, 9 cm from the hilt.
Swords of this essential size and proportions have often been called 'bastard' or 'hand-and-half' swords. The former is a contemporary term, apparently applied to any sword of unusual size or form. The latter is a 19th-century collectors' term probably based on the Italian term spade... da una mano e mezza... (See C. Buttin, 'Notes de M. Charles Buttin sur quelques articles de I' inventaire de 1549', Mémoires et documents publiés par la Societé Savoisienne d' histoire et d' archéologie, XXXVIII, 1899, p. 388). A479|1|1|Longsword, the hilt comprised of a fig-shaped pommel spirally fluted ('writhen') and gadrooned; shouldered wooden grip bound with cord; slightly forward-curving guard, flat and widening at the ends, decorated with roping on the left side and bordered with lines on the other; a side-ring chased with baluster ornament in the middle and ending in grotesque heads, is applied to the guard on the left or outer side; on the other side a semi-pas d' âne connected by a slanting ring. Broad, two-edged blade stiff, tapering, of diamond section with hollow faces, and bearing the maker's mark on each side.
Two Landsknecht swords at Dresden (A155-6) bear a similar mark of an orb and cross between two spots. A480|1|1|Longsword, having a blackened hilt similar to those of A483 and A485, made up of a cone-shaped pommel of octagonal section; shouldered grip of wood bound with fish-skin; long straight, spatulate guard engraved with feathering at the ends on the left side; knuckle-guard, side-ring, pas d' âne, and counter-guards, all riband-like and triangular in section; single-edge blade (except towards the point), doubly grooved and stamped with the maker's work.
The swords A481 and 534 bear like marks, which have been attributed by Dr. Hans Stöcklein to Melchior (Melchart) Diefstetter, the Munich bladesmith (Z.H.W.K. band 8, Heft 12, pp. 370-85)
This sword probably comes from Schloss Ambras in Tyrol where a considerable number of comparable swords survive. Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 151. Other examples bearing like marks are to be found in the Armeria Reale, Turin (G 16), at the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (B 402), and at Vienna (Boeheim, Album I, Taf. XI 2).
In addition to this swords marked with the crossed flails of Diefstetter and the shield of Bavaria are a hand-and-a half sword in the Pauilhac Collection; one sold at Sotheby's, 15 August, 1941, lot 19; and another in the Lockett Collection, sold Christie's, 1942, lot 307. The swordsmith Melchior Diefstetter worked at Au near Munich. He was the son of Caspar I and is recorded as not being of full age in 1497.About 1523 he was recorded with two sons, Georg and Ulrich. He died in or before 1556 and was survived by a widow, Barbara, and eight children still minors. One of his other sons, Caspar II, was a swordsmith in Munich by 1537 and died in 1552. His son Ulrich was Bavarian court swordsmith "in der Au", and is recorded by frequent payments in the Ducal accounts between 1555 and 1589. A sword blade inscribed ARIAS PANTMER IN VRI / VLRICH DIEFSTETER IN MANAGI, with the arms of Bavaria and the monk's head of Munich stamped on it, is in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich (Inv. No. LM27328; Schneider, 1980, No. 183). A fourth generation of the family is represented by Arsatius Diefstetter, active 1588-1616, and a fifth by his sons Hans, who died in 1613, and Albrecht, active 1616 to 1630, latterly in Passau. (H. Stocklein, Z.H. W.K., VIII, 1918-20, pp. 371 and 375-82). If the blades of this group of swords are contemporary with the hilts, they are probably by Ulrich Diefstetter rather than by Melchior, to whom they are usually attributed as Ulrich Diefstetter also used the mark of crossed flails, often in conjunction with the head of a bull transfixed with an arrow. A481|1|1|Longsword, the blackened hilt comprised of an onion-shaped pommel; shouldered grip of wood bound with fish-skin and leather; long straight guard with spatulate terminals ; double side-rings, finger and thumb guards, all of flattened oval section. Double-edged blade of hexagonal section, with a single short fuller eminating from the hilt and inscribed:

IN MANACI ME FECIT

The strong ricasso bears the marks of Melchior Diefstetter. The swords A480 and 534 carry similar marks.
This sword possibly comes from Schloss Ambras near Innsbruck in Austria, where a considerable number of comparable swords survive. A482|1|1|Longsword, the blackened hilt made up of a fig-shaped pommel; shouldered grip of wood corded, leather bound, and of oval section tapering towards the pommel; horizontally recurved guard of circular section terminating in blunted fig-shaped knobs; knuckle guard (which is secured by a fluted ring half-way up the grip, an unusual feature), and pierced; rosette shaped shell-guards on either side; broad, double-edged blade of hexagonal section with ricasso and traces of a maker's mark (a fleur-de-lys) on either side.
Compare the mark of a fleur-de-lys on A474. A483|1|1|Longsword, with a blued hilt similar to those of A480 and A485, composed of an inverted, cone-shaped pommel of octagonal section; shouldered grip bound with fish-skin; straight, spatulate guard; knuckle-guard and single side-ring, with a hilt-arm; a counter-guard connects the bottom of the hilt arm to the ring guard forming a forward cage; the double-edged blade is flat, triple-fullered near the hilt and stamped with a maker's mark on both sides.
The hilt with spatulate guards and semi-basket for the knuckles is characteristically German of the middle of the sixteenth century, although the mark on the blade is Italian in character. A480 and A485, which have very similar hilts, retain their original German blades. A similar German hilt on a blade with what appear to be Italian marks is in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (Inv. no. 1104; Carpegna 1961, No. 215). A484|1|1|Longsword, the blued hilt made up of a pommel in the form of an elongated oval, divided by a central ridge, and notched in the middle on each side; grip, swelling in the middle, corded and bound with leather; diagonally curved guard with scrolled tips, and accommodating two large pierced shell-guards; the double-edged blade of hexagonal section with hollow groove, bears the running wolf mark inlaid in copper alloy. A485|1|1|Longsword, having a blued hilt similar to A480 and A483, composed of a cone-shaped pommel of flattened octagonal section; oval grip bound with fish-skin; straight crossguard with spatulate terminals; knuckle-guard, side-rings, counter-guard and hilt-arms connected to form a forward cage; all are riband-shaped and triangular in section; the double-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section, trebly fullered towards the hilt, with a strong ricasso, and bearing the running-wolf mark on one side, inlaid in copper alloy.
The hilt was originally exactly like that of A483, but the guard outside the hand has been broken and its end filed down. A487|1|1|Longsword, a composite of parts from several different periods. The hilt, originally russeted, is now partly blackened. Seventeenth-century pommel of trilobate form suggesting a fleur-de-lys; wire-bound grip (modern); horizontally recurved crossguard of rectangular section with button; solid shell-guard curved towards the hilt, fluted and pierced with two holes, and side-ring on the other side; all parts of the guard date from c. 1540-50. Single-edged blade, of triangular section (except at the point), dating from the third quarter of the sixteenth century, doubly fullered along the whole length; it is stamped on one side with a maker's mark and two series of twelve stars and twelve circles; strong ricasso. The blade has the appearance of having been cut down and repointed. A488|1|1|Longsword, the hilt comprised of an oviform pommel, with ten facets, and button; plain, leather-bound grip of octagonal section; diagonally curved (up and down) crossguard with riband ends; large side-ring on either side surrounding shells pierced with stars; the double-edged blade of diamond section, is trebly-fullered along the whole length; strong ricasso stamped twice on each side with a claw-like maker's mark. A489|1|1|Curved longsword, or hand-and-a-half sabre, the hilt composed of a lobed pommel, fig-shaped and writhen; horizontally recurved crossguard of diamond section, with knobs similar to the pommel at the tips; side-ring of trefoil shape; hilt arms with forward guards, one of which projects at right-angles and ends in a twisted knob like the cross; another transverse one joins the ring near the centre; long knuckle-guard of two bars joined by another (S-shaped); shouldered grip of wood bound with leather over cord. The blade is slightly and very gracefully curved, for two-thirds of its length single-edged, with a long, partial rear edge at the top third. There is a mark, possibly that of the maker, resembling that of a Lyons bladesmith referred to by Boeheim, 675.
This type of sabre is usually thought to be Swiss (see E. A. Gessler, "Die Entwicklung des 'Schweizrsäbels' im 16. bis ins 17. Jahrhundert", Z.H.W.K., VI, 1912-14, pp. 264-77 and 303-13; and Gessler, "Vom Schweizärsdbel",Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, 1923, Kleine Abhdndlungen, Zurich 1924, pp.25-30). The mark on the blade resembles that found on the blades of a number of two-handed swords from the old Zurich Zeughaus (now Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich (inv. nos. KZ199, 200, 671, and 676, see 1980 CM, nos. 143, 144,145 and 159). It has been attributed by H. Schneider to a Zurich bladesmith Itelhans Thumysen, recorded in 1531, died 1566 (Schweizer Waffenschmiede, 1976, p. 264). A490|1|1|Longsword, the blackened hilt composed of a heavy, rounded, pear-shaped pommel; shouldered grip bound with black leather slightly tooled in the upper section, the lower part corded; narrow crossguard of circular section swelling at the ends; double side-rings and hilt arms. The double-edged blade of triangular section (except towards the point where it is double edged), doubly fullered, and inlaid with the maker's marks in copper; trebly fullered ricasso. A491|1|1|Longsword, the russeted hilt comprised of a hexagonal, cone-shaped pommel, supported on an iron neck which engages the grip; the latter is heavily shouldered and wire bound, fluted, with scalloped mounts at both ends; diagonally curved crossguard, of diamond section, terminating in cone-shaped knobs; the forward guards consist of a hilt-arm, and double ring-guard joined by an S-shaped bar of riband-like triangular section; two bars crossed in saltire join the hilt-arm on the right side; double-edged blade, of flattened hexagonal section, trebly fullered at the forte o the left side and inscribed:–

SHAGVM EL VIEIO

Incised ricasso. The panel of inscription is terminated by the orb and cross, and a typical decorative motive.
A very similar hilt appears in the portrait of Ludwig König-Widmer of Basel, dated 1618. Similar hilts survive in various Swiss arsenals, for instance inv. no. KZ695 in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich, which came from the old Zurich Zeughaus (1980 cat., no. 203, where its date is given as 1540-1570). A very similar hilt to A491, in an Austrian private collection, has a pierced plate filling the side-ring on the guard. Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 59, 115, 228 and 251. A blade in the Armeria Reale at Turin is signed, like No. A491, SAHAGUM EL VIEIO, but bears the correct mark of a crowned S (no. G74; Mazzini, 1982, no. 135). Others undated are in the Instituto del Conde Valencia at Madrid, No. 64; in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; and no. A669 below. A rapier signed ‘Alonso de Sahagun el Mozo’ (the younger) is at Turin, no. G 74.
Shagun is the name of a family of Toledo swordsmiths, of whom there were at least two generations: Alonso the elder, and his sons Alonso, Luis and Juan, called Sahaguncillo. Their name was much made use of by German bladesmiths in the 17th century and many examples bear it, in addition the German wolf mark. According to a note in the Baron de Cosson's MS. dictionary of marks in the archives of the Royal Armouries, the first reference to a swordsmith in Toledo called Sahagun is in the accounts of the future Philip II of Spain, 1538 (quoting Archive de Simanca, Casa Real, Leg. 51). This could be the same man as the Alonso de Sahagun "el viejo" (the elder) referred to as being alive in 1570 by Francisco Palomares in his Nomina de los ultimos,y mas famosos armeros de Toledo, published in Toledo in 1762 (no. 1; Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). In 1572 a man of this name sold a house in the Calle de Armas in Toledo to the swordsmith Tomas de Ayala, presumably the maker of the blade of no. A567 here (R. Ramirez de Arellano, 1920, pp. 14-15). In the 1962 catalogue Mann suggested that the distinction of ‘el viejo’ would have been left for the younger generation to make, and the author thus concluded that the blades were ‘almost certainly later productions.’ However the writings of Jean Lhermite suggest another explanation. Lhermite, writing of his visit to Toledo in 1600 and apparently copying a document in Spanish, refers to ‘Sahagun en Toledo’, and says that
‘he placed his name in the fuller on the one side and on the other and as his mark an S very well formed and large with a crown above it on the ricasso. He had three sons, also sword-cutlers, Alonso, Luys, and Juan de Sahagun, who used the same mark as their father together with their own names; therefore, Sahagun the Elder, to distinguish himself from his sons put ‘Sagagun el viejo’ on one side and the other. His swords had a smooth ricasso and were of medium size, and some were also narrow without a fuller and with three flats [i.e. of flat hexagonal section] and also ridged, and on these he put his name in monogram on the ricasso.’
Since not all the people listed in the document Lhermite was copying were still alive when it was compiled, it is possible that it is referring to the swordsmith of 1538 and 1570. (Le passetemps, II, 1896, p. 295, No. 11). On the other hand, Gristobal Suarez de Figueroa, writing of the best Spanish swordsmiths in his Plaza universal de todas ciencias y artes, published in Madrid in 1615, names Alonso de Sahagun el viejo as working in Toledo. Figueroa gives the names of his sons as Alonso, Luis and Juan, which suggests that his Sahagun the elder and that of Lhermite are identical. If this is the case he cannot be the man recorded in 1538 and is somewhat unlikely to be the swordsmith of the 1570s. These names are apparently repeated by Rodrigues del Canto who gives Juan the nickname Sahaguncilla. Palomares also gives the same names to the first two sons but, presumably accidentally, names the third as Luiz also (op. cit., nos. 2, 73 and 74 respectively). He gives an S crowned in a shield-shaped compartment as the mark used by the father, and with very slight variations, by each of the sons. The absence of the crowned S mark on A491 suggests very strongly that the signature is a contemporary forgery (see A669). A492|1|1|Longsword, the blackened hilt made up of a pear-shaped, gadrooned pommel; horizontally recurved crossguard; side-ring, hilt arms and counter-guards, all terminating in twisted and gadrooned knobs (writhen); shouldered grip fluted, roped and leather-bound. The blade is double-edged, with central groove inscribed SIGNOR, with a cross on both sides. The meaning of the inscription is uncertain. A493|1|1|Longsword, the blackened hilt made up of a fig-shaped pommel, with button; straight crossguard of circular section swelling slightly at the ends; simple side-ring on either side. Fluted, wire bound grip. The blade of flattened hexagonal section, is fullered and incised with lines and inscribed;-

IN TE DOMINE SPERAVIT

(‘He trusted in Thee, o Lord’) terminated by a cross. On one side of the ricasso occur the Roman numerals XX, and as the Windsor example (see below) bears the number XII (engraved on the inner face of the ring-guard); it is possible that there was once a series of these swords in the arsenal of Valetta.

This sword and A494 are similar in all respects to one in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (no. 44 in the catalogue of 1904). The Windsor sword was given to King George III in 1821 by General Pigot, and came from the Armoury of the Knights of St. John in the Palace at Valetta, Malta. A fourth sword of exactly similar type is still in the Arsenal there; it has a fluted grip of dark wood (unbound) and a fluted pommel (Laking, Malta Catalogue, No. 440, p. 44, Pl. VIII). All these swords bear the same inscription. Another example is in the Royal Armouries (no. IX.21). A494|1|1|Longsword, similar to A493, and similarly inscribed, but of slightly larger dimensions. The blade has a fullered ricasso. There are no Roman numerals cut on the ricasso, and the lettering of the inscription is larger and more florid. A495|1|1|Arming sword, the 19th-century hilt made up of a pommel in the form of a gilt bronze medallion with slightly sunk centre, and on either side the profile heads of Agrippa and Julius Caesar in relief (after the antique), inscribed;-

M AGRIPPA LF COS III

DIVIIVLI (divi julii)

There is an engraved finial on the top and the sides of pommel are engraved; forward curving crossguard of copper decorated with acanthus leaves in relief; modern cord bound grip. The original Italian blade is double-edged and of diamond section, strongly ridged, tapering, and etched at the forte with four panels, two of acanthus leaves and two of mythological subjects on an obliquely hatched ground in the Italian manner. The etching is defaced by five pairs of sickle marks heavily stamped on either side. There is a maker's mark, on both sides.

The hilts of A495-8 and A512 are all very much open to doubt, and are probably the work of early restorers. The same pattern on guards combined with an antique medal on the pommel, occurs on a sword in the Lazaro-Galdiano Museum, Madrid.

The three twig-marks are commonly found on Italian blades, as well as occurring singly, e.g. rapier at Bern (Wegeli, no. 251); Graz (Pichler,pl. XXI, 5) ; Vienna (Leitner, pl. LXIII) ; Dresden (Ehrenthal, p.18, no.83); and on a sword in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; see A623. The loop-shaped marks on the base of the blade appear to be a variant of the well-known Italian ‘sickle-mark’, which is sometimes found with the name Fringia (see Z.H.W.K. II, 27, 151, 270, and cf. nos. A929-30, 1103). It also occurs on two-hand swords in the Doge's Palace at Venice.

The etching of the blade appears to be of the 19th century. This group of marks also occur on a Venetian infantry sword, probably of the last quarter of the 15th century, at Vienna (Waffensammlung, inv. no. A896; Boccia and Coelho, 1975, Fig. 150); and on an early 16th-century sword also at Vienna (Waffensammlung, inv. no. A91; Boccia and Coelho, 1975. fig. 173). A496|1|1|Arming sword, the partially restored hilt composed of a wheel-pommel of gilt bronze with sunken centre incised on each side with a bird pecking a rabbit, surrounded by conventional leaves, and diagonally ribbed round the circumference; hexagonal ivory grip with gilt bronze mounts at either end; straight crossguard of gilt bronze horizontally curved at the ends, chased and engraved, with a stag and a doe at the ends in the same manner as the birds on the pommel; roped bands on the front and engraved with conventional leaves on the back; the two-edged blade of flattened diamond section Has an additional flat facet at the forte; here it is decorated in gold on a blued ground, with the Resurrection on one side, and the figure of St. Michael on the other, now almost defaced.

The pommel and grip of this sword are modern, but the cross and blade are old, and the last is a fine specimen. The cross was until recently bent backwards, but has been straightened to its original shape.

The scene on the blade, described above as the Resurrection, may in fact be the Annunciation, while the figure described as St. Michael seems to represent Charlemagne, the lower part of the Imperial arms being visible on his shield. The pommel is apparently based on that of the sword, at Vienna, thought to be that of Philip the Handsome (Waffensammlung, inv. no. A456; Thomas and Gamber, Katalog der Leibrüstkammer, I, 1976, pp. 120-1), but the copyist did not realise that in that case the pommel is of ivory faced with gilt copper alloy. A497|1|1|Arming sword, the modern hilt made of gilt bronze and made up of a pommel in the form of a grotesque human mask ending in acanthus leaves, expressing Joy on one side, and sorrow on the other. Crossguard of oblong section, which are curved towards the point, of gilt bronze decorated with acanthus leaves, exactly resembling those of A495, extended over the blade, and have a raised decoration of acanthus leaves. Modern grip covered with shark-skin. The blade is double-edged, bevelled with a shallow central fuller. It bears the running-wolf mark and other faint signs on both faces.
The bronze guard resemble those of A495 so closely that they are probably cast from the same mould. Another modern sword with precisely the same guard and pommel, again probably cast from the same mould, is in the Felix Joubert collection, now in the Musée Masséna, Nice. A498|1|1|Arming sword, modern in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The pommel is flat and shield-shaped in form, chiselled with Renaissance decoration enclosing an oval cartouche on either side of Justice and Fortitude in relief on a gilt ground; shaped grip chiselled en suite in low relief and enriched with punched spots (pointillé) filled in silver and gold; crossguard curving towards the blade, decorated with masks, in the middle with garlands, and on the back with scale ornament; double-edged blade, with a single fuller (except at the forte, where there are three), pierced, incised with C-scrolls.

The form of this object is that of a rich Italian parade sword of the High Renaissance. The blade has been deeply pitted and, at one time, over-cleaned; the surface is now a dull laden colour suggesting the use of acid.

There is a cinquedea in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (Edouard de Beaumont Bequest), with a hilt of similar design; another is in the Louvre (Laking, figs. 655, 654). Compare also the beautiful sword of Cesare Borgia, which is preserved in the family of the Duke of Sermoneta (Prince Caetani); its scabbard of cuir bouilli is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 101, 1869). It is reproduced by de Beaumont (Fleur des Belles Epées), and in Laking, II, figs. 648-9, C. Blair, ‘Cesare Borgia's sword-scabbard’, Victoria and Albert Museum Bulletin, II, pp. 125-36. There is another in the Lazaro-Galdiano Museum in Madrid, the hilt of which is open to doubt. A499|1|1|Civilian side-sword, the hilt of gilt-bronze, having a cap-shaped pommel of eight planes, displaying six vertical panels containing Classical figures in low relief, one having been pierced at a later date for a cord or tassel; octagonal grip of horn; horizontally recurved crossguard of gilt bronze, spirally twisted and decorated at the centre on either side with a small panel , each containing a classical female head in profile; narrow and tapered double-edged blade of diamond section with hollowed bevels.

A weapon with a like hilt but shorter blade is represented in Dürer's famous plate Der Spaziergang, which was published about 1495; another is shown in the picture Judith, a late work by Vincenzo Catena (d. 1531)in the Galleria Querini Stampalia, Venice.

O. Gamber suggested that the grip was probably originally inlaid with longitudinal decorative strips (personal communication, 1978). The decoration of the pommel-cap links it with some cinquedeas (see Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 179, where it is dated about 1480-1500, and compare fig. 224a, the cap of a cinquedea in the Museo Civico at Bologna, no. MG335). Illustrated by Vollon in his Curiosités of 1868 (Savill, 1980).

This sword appears to have been disassembled in the 19th century. Under X-ray it is clear that the tang has at some point been lengthened by means of reforging, to allow the end of the tang to be re-hammered over the pommel button, which is itself a modern addition required for reassembly (since the reforged tang would have been too narrow for the original hole in the pommel itself). Nevertheless all parts of the sword, blade and all hilt parts apart from the button, appear to be original. A501|1|1|Short sword, having a spherical pommel, oval-section, cord-bound grip; short straight guard split into four blunt branches; broad tapering, double-edged blade stamped with a maker's mark on either side.

The pommel and grip may be modern restorations. A502|1|1|Short sword, the hilt made up of a pommel and grip of ivory made in one piece, carved with grotesque heads and acanthus leaves in relief; short crossguard of steel, of plain, square section ending in chiselled heads of grotesque animas; short, broad double-edged blade, with a maker's mark on one side.
Scabbard of wood covered with black leather; broad locket and ferrule of steel, the former is chased on a band at the mouth en suite with the mounts of the hilt; the scabbard is ridged at the top to prevent it slipping through the belt, and at the back is a long belt-hook which is rather rough and was probably added at a later date.
The ivory grip-pommel piece is a handle from a 17th-century presentoir. The guard is 19th-century. The blade is possibly Italian, mid-16th century.
There is a similar sword in the possession of M. Géroudet of Geneva. The twig-mark is of a common Italian type. For a discussion of the middle mark, which appears to be a small capital M over the hull of a ship all in a rectangle, see A710. A variant with a mast and standing rigging in place of the M appears on A620 where it is accompanied by a wolf mark of Solingen type. A504|1|1|Two-handed thrusting estoc, or ‘tuck’. The blackened steel hilt is composed of an eight-sided, fig-shaped pommel; long leather-bound corded grip, swelling in the middle; horizontally recurved crossguard of octagonal section, thickening slightly at the ends; long stiff, narrow blade of diamond section the short ricasso covered with leather, to facilitate grips involving a finger or fingers wrapped over the crossguard. A505|1|1|Estoc, or ‘tuck’, comprising a flattened spherical pommel (with button), chiselled with three cockle shells; shouldered grip of wood bound with black leather; horizontally recurved crossguard of circular section ending in knobs chiselled like the pommel; strong, stiff blade of hollow triangular section, and a maker's mark on one side. There is a leather washer at the base of the blade for easing the contact of the hilt when it was returned to the scabbard. A506|1|1|Estoc or ‘tuck’, the blackened hilt made up of an eight-sided, not quite globular pommel; oval grip bound with fish-skin, mounted with bands at either end, and thin, vertical bars; it is bent inwards; straight , spatulate crossguard; two side-rings, hilt-rings and thumb-guards. The hilt is mounted on a stiff blade of hollow, triangular section; there is a leather socket inside the hilt-arms, designed to fit over the scabbard.
The De Beaumont Catalogue (no. 11) states that this sword came from the Electoral Armory at Dresden, which is probably correct.
The hilts of swords A506, A528 and A552, with their spatulate guards and octagonal pommels belong to a class of which large numbers exist in the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Dresden. In the 19th and 20th centuries many objects were sold from Dresden, as they were considered duplicates. The richer specimens are overlaid with silver and engraved. A507|1|1|Estoc or ‘tuck’, the hilt made up of a spirally fluted, oviform pommel; wire bound grip overlaid with heavy twin cabling; straight crossguard, oblong in section with spirally twisted terminals; compressed hilt arms, double oval shell-guard, enclosed by rings spirally twisted in the centre, the panels pierced with stars; the whole of bright steel. The blade is of hollow triangular section, etched with the sun, moon, and stars, with a leather washer remaining at the hilt. A508|1|1|Estoc, or ‘tuck’, the hilt composed of an elongated, oviform pommel and button in one, the surface chiselled on either side with an oval panel containing a cornucopia in low relief; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; short, straight crossguard of flat, plaited form pierced, ending in spherical knobs; circular saucer-shaped guard, chased with entwined strapwork panels enclosing the cornucopias, the background pierced with quatrefoils and stars, the edge formed of pierced plaiting like the cross; the whole of bright steel.

The hilt is mounted on a long, stiff, slender blade of diamond section, very slightly broadened, and flattened at the point, and flattened also to hexagonal section near the hilt where it is inscribed with various mottoes frequently found in Solingen blades of the Thirty Years War period:–

PRO CHRISTO ET PATRIA
FIDE SED CUI VIDE
NEC TEMERE NEC TIMIDE
PRO FIDE ET PATRIA

and two smaller panels;-

SOLI DEO GLORIA
PRO ARIS ET FOCIS

The blade is engraved on both sides with the letter S, the half-moon, a griffin or winged lion rampant and a spread eagle; the ricasso is stamped with the king's head mark associated with the house of Wundes.

The mark of the king's head on this sword however differs from the version used by the Wundes family in the shape of the crown. The Wundes crown is usually five-pointed, or occasionally flat-topped, while one variation exists with a mural crown with three towers.

The shape of the crown on this sword suggests that this is the head of an emperor rather than that of a king. The bladesmith's mark (an emperor's head) is recorded in the Bruderschaftsbuch des Schwertschmiede Handwerks in Solingen for the year 1665, as being the property of the Solingen master, Peter Koell. None of his work is at present known. An emperor's head appears as an engraved mark on an early 17th-century rapier (no. 16.1522) in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Long Collection, No. E59). The blade is signed; ADAM AOLLICH, and among others, bears the motto: SOLI DEO GLORIA, also found on A508. Since at Solingen Marks could be sold or inherited, this does not rule out the possibility that the mark of the emperor's head became later the property of Peter Koell. Compare the similar letter S, crowned griffin and half-moons on a sword blade with the unicorn mark of Clemens Horn of Solingen and etched with the Royal Stuart arms and Latin mottoes, which was sold at Sotheby's, 16 July, 1920, lot 61, and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Mallet Coll., No. M54-1947).

This type of sword was called a ‘flamberge’ by Egerton Castle, who adopted the term to denote a rapier, of which the characteristics are a long, quadrangular or narrow, unwaved blade with a simple hilt, generally without knuckle-guard or hilt-arms, the guards consisting of a shallow shell or saucer, and short straight crossguard. This form marked the transition between the rapier and the small sword. For other rapiers in the Wallace Collection which come more or less within this definition, see A507 and A676.

The mark on the ricasso apparently includes two partly illegible letters, perhaps ‘W.S.’ Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 168, pI. 73. An identical hilt is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Kienbusch Collection (cat. no. 389, pI. CVI). A510|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a vase-shaped pommel with a button of diamond section; oval wire-bound grip; short straight crossguard terminating in vase-shaped knobs; the pommel is chased with goat's heads, masks and strapwork in relief on a gilt ground, and the guard are similarly ornamented.

The double-edged blade of flat hexagonal section with a single shallow fuller, and a maker's mark inlaid in copper on either side; short ricasso doubly grooved.

The tang button is 19th century, the hilt about 1570, and the blade is German, probably about 1600.

The mark is a common German one, and usually set within a circle. This hilt originally had arms of the hilt, the filed down stumps of which are visible on the guard. A511|1|1|The use of silver encrusting as a method of sword hilt decoration, while not unique to England in the early seventeenth century, is certainly characteristic of Jacobean taste. London hilt-makers, the most prominent of whom was Robert South, became adept at chiselling fine relief ornament into the steel of their pieces, which they then overlaid with silver foil, creating a very stark contrast between the raised and encrusted areas of the hilt and the background steel, usually blackened. This particular sword was actually an exception to this practice, since very close inspection reveals that the entire ground to the decoration, all the areas which are now black, were once fire-gilt. This was therefore once an even more impressive work than it is today, the silvered relief standing out from a background of matte-gold. Only faint traces of the gold remain, around the base of the pommel and the guard.

The richness of this royal sword is further enhanced by the decoration on the blade, the forte of which has been blackened and counterfeit-damascened in gold with the prince’s ‘HP’ monogram and the feathers and crown device of the Prince of Wales, both framed by twisting laurel branches. Although the blade is German, signed by the Solingen blade-smith Clement Horn, the decoration is undoubtedly English, executed to make the blade a more suitable mate for the hilt. The branches of the true laurel or bay tree, with their obvious associations with Roman emperors and heroes, unite the blade with the hilt, which itself features Roman profile heads crowned with laurel wreaths. A fine basket-hilted sword in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. M.54-1947), said to have belonged to Prince Henry’s father, King James I, is composed of a silver-encrusted hilt decorated in the same way and married to a Clemens Horn blade.

Swords of this simple cruciform design seem for a short time (c. 1610-20) to have supplanted rapiers as the dress sword of choice in fashionable circles in England. They appear in several portraits of well-dressed Jacobean gentlemen, including Sir William Playters, Vice Admiral of Suffolk (dated 1615; Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, Inv. R.1951-269).

Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales (1594-1612) was the eldest son of King James I of England and VI of Scotland, the successor of Queen Elizabeth I. As a boy he already showed great promise, being intelligent and physically active, widely read, an enthusiastic art collector, curious about military and political matters, and an excellent horseman and martial artist. Showing all the qualities valued by the nobility at the time, Henry was seen as promising England a bright, heroic future, a return to the muscular, triumphal days of Henry VIII. A whole literary and artistic cult grew up around Prince Henry; allegorical portraits represented him as the perfect prince, waiting to take up the reins of power, poems extolled his virtues, and elaborate courtly festivals were organised to glorify him and the promise of a new chivalric golden age which he was seen to represent. His early death at the age of just eighteen led to his younger brother Charles eventually succeeding as King Charles I. A513|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a slender oviform pommel with button; wire-bound grip; guard of oval section with lobated terminals, curved respectively upwards and downwards, and with the ends slightly bent horizontally. Both pommel and guard are blackened and overlaid in silver with a network of ovals enclosing rosettes. Slender, tapering double-edged blade of diamond section.

A comparable hilt is illustrated in a portrait of an unknown man by Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck, signed and dated 1639 (sold at Sotheby's, 23 May 1951, lot 83), and another in a painting of a man smoking by Gerbrandt van den Eeckhout, signed and dated 1655 (Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). This, or a very similar hilt, mounted on a flamboyant blade, is illustrated as no. 130 of 'Armi lunghe a taglio' among Dassi's drawings of the collection of Ambrogio Uboldo, in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 66. A514|1|1|Sword, a 19th-century composition, employing: a fig-shaped pommel with large button dating from the early 17th century; a modern iron grip swelling at the centre and inlaid with four oblong panels; a short, heavy guard curving towards the blade, springing from a massive central block; their undulating shape resembling bean-pods; the whole of russeted iron overlaid with silver foliage; the guard is inlaid with oval panels containing annular ornaments of silver; in the centre of the escutcheon, on either side, are larger, kidney-shaped panels encrusted with silver putti and flowers. The central part of the hilt has been constructed from the shells of a smallsword c. 1700.

The broad, double-edged blade of flattened oval section, with a hollow fuller at the forte, dates from the 19th century and is etched throughout its length on both sides with a frieze of military scenes. The arms on the tents of the respective armies are those of France and the Empire, and probably refer to the battles of St. Quentin or Pavia.

This clumsy and ill-balanced sword cannot have been intended as a fighting weapon. The etching of the blade is free and characteristically German, though not of so fine a quality as that by Ambrosious Gemlich, A711. It is probably earlier in date than the hilt. The latter which is crude and heavy, may have a ceremonial or symbolic purpose. Illustrated as no. 1 or 'Armi lunghe a taglio' among Dassi's drawings of the collection of Ambrogio Uboldo in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, and on an un-numbered folding plate in the Uboldo sale catalogue (Paris, Fillet, 21 May 1869). A515|1|1|Arming sword, the hilt composed of a four-sided, fig-shaped pommel; crossguard with oblong central block, the ends curving towards the blade, of diamond section; leather-bound grip. The blade, double-edged, tapering and doubly fullered; etched and gilt at the forte with scrolled flowers and foliage on a hatched ground. There is a maker's mark on each face. Compare the fleur-de-lys mark on A474. A516|1|1|Sword, the hilt of bright steel made up of a flattened, cylindrical pommel with button; oval wooden grip bound with red velvet laced with silver wire; crossguard, strongly curving towards the point, of oval section, widening at the ends; single side-ring. The form of the hilt resembles, on a larger scale, that of a contemporary parrying dagger. The tapering, double-edged blade of diamond section is stamped near the hilt:

CAINO

and etched with a shield, chased with three bends and surmounted by a coronet (unidentified).

Numerous other swords in the Collection carry the name Caino of Milan. There is no reason to believe that the many blades in existence bearing this name are the work of one Francesco Caino of Brescia, or that they can be identified with Pietro Caimo (sic), swordsmith, who signed blades with his name and address 'at the sign of the golden lion at Milan', and who worked at the end of the 16th century. The name is found in conjunction with various single letters, e.g. S, C, M, M, S, P, S, the pseudo Toledo mark O/T, a cross, a series of Roman letters, the half-moon mark of Spanish espaderos del Rey, and one example bears also the guild mark of Amsterdam. Antonio Petrini, in his MS. Work L' Arte Focile (1642), speaks of blades marked Caino as being of excellent quality, 'four-sided and without grooves'. In 1567 Cicogna writes of a certain Franchesceni Cain (sic) of Brescia who made 'arms of marvellous temper'.

Caino is the name of a small town nine miles north-east of Brescia, which happens to have been an important blade-smithing centre since the Middle Ages. Other examples in the Wallace Collection bearing the name Caino are A559-60, 564, 608, 616. The inscription on this blade and on others in the Collection (A543, 559, 564, 608, 616 and 649) therefore almost certainly indicates the place of manufacture, rather than a single bladesmith or family of bladesmiths of this name (see Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 483 and note, p. 385). A comparable hilt appears in a portrait of Pio Capo da Lista, dated 1617, while a similar hilt survives in the Farnese armoury at Capodimonte (Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 536 and 549 respectively). A517|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a pierced pommel, with a scroll on either side; oval grip of pinewood (a restoration); crossguard curving towards the point and pierced with scrolls at the ends en suite with the pommel; single side-ring of large size, similarly pierced; the whole minutely decorated with delicate arabesques overlaid in gold on a darkened ground, the pommel incised with double-headed eagles, the edges overlaid with a pearled ornament; the long double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, singly fullered along the whole length, with triple grooving near the hilt; the ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark; a crowned B/A.

The bold, openwork hilt is of a type commonly found in Spanish collections, e.g,. no. G 55 in the Real Armeria at Madrid. C. Blair (personal communication, 1964) pointed out that the chiselling of the hilt resembles that on the English crossbow in the Real Armeria at Madrid (no. J111; see Reid, Connoisseur, 146, 1960, pp. 21-6, figs. 5 and 7). A518|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of an inverted, fig-shaped pommel, chiselled with flutes and ending in a button; baluster-shaped grip of steel, of octagonal section bound with plaited copper wire (modern); crossguard, curved towards the point, deeply fluted and ending in balls chiseled with classical egg-ornament, which also appears on the escutcheon; large side-ring, decorated en suite, with a smaller ball in the centre. All the mounts are blackened steel. The blade is straight, double-edged, of diamond section, with strong, rectangular ricasso bounded with engraved lines.

The pommel is of the right period, but, since it does not match the guard, is probably associated. A519|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a pear-shaped pommel with button, chiselled with acanthus leaves and showing traces of gilding; oval grip bound with fish-skin, and steel collars at either end; crossguard of oval section curving towards the point, with a single side-ring, similarly decorated and ending in acanthus leaves chiselled and gilt; tapering, double-edged blade of diamond section with a maker's mark on both sides. It has no ricasso. A520|1|1|Sword, the blackened hilt comprising a fig-shaped pommel with spirally writhen gadroons (cf. A489), pierced for the end of a knuckle-guard and therefore not the original to this hilt; oval, wooden grip bound with leather and studded with ten brass-headed rosettes (five now missing); horizontally recurved guard of diamond section ending in knobs writhen like the pommel; oval side-ring and trefoil thumb-guard; single-edged blade of triangular section, the central hollow etched with the following Spanish inscription:–

NO ME SAQUES SIN RAZON

('Draw me not without reason')

NO ME ENVAYNES SIN HONOR

('Sheathe me not without honor')

Near the hilt, on one side, is engraved the maker's name: P. Knecht, and the word Solingen stamped; on the other, Solingen is engraved and the name P. Knecht stamped, together with the number 259. The blade does not appear ever to have been sharpened.
Wallace Collection A641 carries the same inscription. The name is that of the Solingen family that traded in swords, rather than manufactured them, in the 18th century; a Peter Knecht was born in 1796, son of Johann Peter Knecht. A521|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a cylindrical pommel, a little broader at the top than the bottom, vertically fluted and with a button on the top; vertically fluted, wire-bound grip (of a later date); crossguard curved alternately upwards and downwards, of octagonal section, thickening at the ends; oblong escutcheon and single side-ring. The whole surface has been silvered. The blade, probably not belonging to the hilt, is broad and single-edged for the greater part of its length, and of triangular section, changing to diamond section at the point. It carries three deep grooves pierced with small holes in groups of three; short ricasso. A522|1|1|Horseman’s sword, the hilt made up of a flattened rhombodial pommel, of rectangular section; wire-bound grip of herring-bone pattern (modern); crossguard curved alternately upwards and downwards, of flattened section widening at the ends; double side-rings enclosing shells pierced with a trellis of quatrefoils, stars, and circles (the larger shell is a restoration), on the inside of the smaller is a heart-shaped thumb-ring; the right (outer) side of the pommel and guards is broadly encrusted with silver foliage roughly chiseled.

Broad, flat, double-edged blade, tapering with a single fuller at the forte where it is etched with trophies of arms.

This type of hilt is discussed by H. Seitz, Fataburen, 1946, pp. 93-112.
A ring for the thumb, instead of for the index finger, will also be found upon the swords A523 and A526. A523|1|1|Horseman’s sword, the hilt made up of a spherical pommel decorated with scrolls resembling fleurs-de-lys, roughly chiselled in low relief, and with flat button; the pommel is pierced for a knuckle-guard and is in any case of the wrong type for this type of hilt; vertically fluted, wire-bound grip, the wire of unusual fineness; crossguard of oval section curved alternately upwards and downwards with scrolled ends; double side-rings enclosing pierced shells, the sides incised with rough ornamentation on the front, and furnished with a ring for the thumb behind the guard.

The double-edged blade is of diamond section fluted with triple hollow fullers extending to the point.

A thumb ring, instead of one for the index finger, also occurs on the swords A522 and A526. A524|1|1|Sword, of elegant form, the Italian, possibly Brescian hilt comprising a flat, circular pommel of steel, concave on one side, and convex on the other, encircled with gilt bronze ornamented with a series of contiguous oval hollows; steel grip chiselled with scales and tapering slightly towards the crossguard, where a band of brass chased with a pattern of interlaced hurdle or basket-work is applied; crossguard curving strongly towards the point, and single knuckle-guard of diamond section, both with a hollow fluted section, slightly twisted in one with the guard. Both guard and knuckle-guard terminate in gadrooned knobs of gilt bronze. The double-edged blade is German and earlier than the hilt, by as much as a century. It is of flattened hexagonal section with a short ricasso.

The hilt is apparently lacking a side-ring mounted on the guard outside the hand, the rivets for which survive. The maker's mark of the orb and cross is inlaid in copper on both sides.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 38 and 375.
An unusual and attractive piece. A525|1|1|Left-handed sword, one of a ‘case’, or pair of swords intended to be used together, one in each of the swordsman’s hands. The hilt is comprised of a semi-oviform pommel with button; fluted, leather-bound grip; crossguard, curving towards the point, from which spring a knuckle-guard and solid, ovoid shell. The pommel, grip, and guard are all half-round in section and would have formed, put together with its twin (now lost), a complete hilt. Both could then have been carried in a single scabbard, as if they were a single sword. The inner face of the pommel is tongued to fit into a groove on the inner face of the companion weapon; the outer surface of the hilt, including the shell-guard, is overlaid in silver with a hexagonal section, is incised in large capitals on each side:

IN TOLEDO

The strong ricasso is stamped on one side with a maker's mark.

An exactly similar case of swords, with scabbard, is reproduced on plate no. 170, (Fig. 2) of Asselineau (1844). These were then in the collection of Moreau, vîcomte de Courval. These were lot 17 in the de Courval sale 1861, to the Tsar's collection at Tsarskoye-Selo for 350 fr (marked catalogue in the Library of the Royal Armouries. In 1962 it was thought that the amount was 600fr, but the Royal Armouries copy records 350fr). They are now in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. One sword is inscribed ‘James Brach’, the other ‘In Toletto’; but the mark commonly attributed to Brach is absent (see Lenz; Z.H.W.K., Band 5, pp. 394-5). The 1986 Supplement notes that the overlaid decoration on this case was now lacking. Another case, also complete with scabbard, is in the Historisches Museum at Dresden.

A 'case' of rapiers or swords consisted of a pair of twin weapons flattened on the inner side and fitting into the same scabbard. A duel with a case of swords, one in each hand, much resembled that with the sword and dagger.
Despite the inscription, the lettering of which is not in the Spanish manner, the sword is probably German, like the other 'cases' of rapiers alluded to above. A Spanish swordsmith might be expected to inscribe his blades EN TOLEDO rather than IN TOLEDO. See A584, 648, 654, 662 and 686. A526|1|1|Horseman’s sword, the hilt of military broadsword type, comprising a cylindrical, cap-shaped pommel, the flat, pierced plate at the top secured by a small button; at the side is a very small loop for attaching a sword-knot; horn grip spirally fluted, the flutes bond with wire, the surface piqué with small holes for silver spots; two knuckle-guards and short, single rear guard arm or quillon, the end shaped as the head of a grotesque animal; heart-shaped shell-guard, which has applied to it a small inner shell, pierced and roughly chiselled with acanthus leaves connected by a transverse loop-guard fixed by screws to a knuckle guard; ring for the thumb behind the left side of the hilt; the whole of bright steel broadly chiselled in low relief with scrolled and entwined foliage.

Blade of flattened hexagonal section.

A hilt comparable in both form and decoration in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (1980 cat., no. 511), is very like that shown in the portrait of William Kerr, 3rd Earl of Lothian, by David Scougall, painted about 1645 (property of the Marquess of Lothian). The style of the chiselling of the foliage, though broader, is reminiscent of that upon some Spanish cup-hilt rapiers. A thumb ring, instead of one for the index finger, will also be found upon the swords A522-3. This came into use in order to ensure a firmer grip when the hilt arms were disappearing. A528|1|1|Sword, the blackened hilt composed of an octagonal, fig-shaped pommel, oval grip bound with fish-skin, mounted with rings and vertical bars; slightly forward-curving crossguard of triangular section, widening towards the ends; single ring and thumb-guards; a socket, fitting over the locket of the scabbard, is incised with a dotted ornament; the double-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section, is partly grooved, and inscribed:–

M∙A∙I∙L L∙A∙N∙D

Short ricasso incised with the letter S, possibly the maker's mark.

Scabbard of wood bound with black leather slightly tooled; locket (with two rings at the side) and ferrule of blackened iron, the locket decorated with a granulated ornament; part of the leather belt remains.

The form of the word 'Mailand' for Milan, is German, not Italian. The sword is in a remarkable state of preservation, the blade retaining its original surface and edge (no doubt due to the presence of the scabbard), the hilt showing no signs of rubbing or use. Compare the hilts of A483, 485, 506, 536, 552. A529|1|1|Longsword, the hilt composed of a large, round, pear-shaped pommel with button; oval, wire bound grip swelling in the centre (modern); straight crossguard, oblong in section, slightly bent, with strawberry-shaped knobs at the ends; two-side-rings, hilt-arms, and two transverse bars on the right side. The entire hilt (except the thumb guard) is richly decorated with strawberry leaves and scroll-work in high relief, chiseled and gilt, the pommel and side-rings have cartouches enclosing trophies of Roman armour; the inner sides of the guards are overlaid with gold scroll-work. Broad, double-edged blade of flat, hexagonal section with a central fuller, inlaid in copper with the wolf mark; short ricasso. Compare the very similar hilt of sword, A530. A530|1|1|Longsword, the hilt closely resembling that of A529, although the chiselling is of lesser quality. Note that the pommel is turned around and has retained a considerable amount of silver plating, as have the guards. The tooling in places is particularly sharp, and overall the hilt has been well preserved. The gold decoration on the inner guards, which has been overlaid rather than inlaid, is almost undamaged. The grip is vertically moulded, bound with wire chains.

The broad, double-edged blade is of flattened hexagonal section, with a central fuller, and decorated at the forte with traces of scroll-work overlaid in gold; short ricasso. The blade is longer than that of A529, has been considerably corroded. A531|1|1|Sword, the plain, blued hilt comprising a spherical pommel with button; oval grip, swelling in the centre (restored), bound with fish-skin; straight crossguard of circular section swelling at the ends; two side-rings and hilt-arms, and on the reverse side three transverse bars and a ring; double-edged blade of diamond section, with a single fuller at the forte, and stamped with a maker's mark on one side; plain ricasso which is not part of the blade but has been joined afterwards. A532|1|1|Rapier, the hilt made up of a flattened oviform pommel, with button; vertically fluted wire bound grip; straight crossguard widening towards the ends and finishing in small knobs; hilt arms, two side-rings and bars at the bend crossing in saltaire, all flat in section, the smaller ring is filled with a shell pierced with a diamond-shaped holes; the whole of bright steel, chased in low relief with conventional flowers bound with riband, on a punched ground. The double-edged blade is of hexagonal section, the single groove at the forte being inscribed:–

SEBASTIAN/HERNADEZ

The ricasso bears on either side a crowned S/T.

The blade is Spanish (Toledo) or a German imitation.

Compare the rapier A611, which bears the same maker's name but a different mark. The rapier A533 also appears to be a member of the Hernandez family; the rapiers A612 and A652 bear a crowned ST but of a different type. That upon A532 closely resembles a mark upon two swords at Dresden (E 601, 609). At least three swordsmiths of this name are recorded as working in Toledo. Sebastian Hernandez is listed by Jehan Lhermite, writing of his visit to Toledo in 1600 and apparently copying a document in Spanish. He states that he signed his name in the fuller and struck a mark on the ricasso consisting of a small figure 3 with a crown above. On his earlier blades he had at the end of the fuller a device inlaid in latten which Lhermite draws. It looks like a capital letter C followed by the letter X inclined so that the sinister arm is parallel to the bottom of the page and forms the cross-bar of a reversed figure 4. (Le passetemps, II, 1896, p. 295, No. 15). Lhermite also says that the son-in-law of this Sebastian Hernandez, a swordsmith called Roque de Guital, on the death of his father-in-law was allowed to make use of his name and mark. In addition he placed on the edge of his ricassos the words espadero del Rey (op. cit., p. 297, No. 22). Clearly, when the source used by Lhermite was written, the first Sebastian was already dead. It is presumably this second man that C. Suarez de Figueroa includes in his list of the best swordsmiths working in Spain, which he published in 1615 (Plaza universal de todas ciencias y artes, p. 334). Francisco Palomares, in his list of Toledo swordsmiths published in 1762, includes two men of this name. One, his no. 89, he calls el viejo (the elder) and says that he was alive in 1637; the other, no. 90, he calls el mozo (the younger) but gives no dates for him. Both used very similar marks, a small figure 3 under a crown all in a shield-shaped stamp. Neither man used a wildman as his mark as stated in the 1962 Catalogue on pp. 273 and 281. Palomares says that the younger man also worked in Seville (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). The only Sebastián Hernández recorded as a swordsmith in Seville J. Gestaso y Pérez in his Ensayo de un diccionario de los artífices que florecieron en Sevilla desde el siglo XIII al XVIII inclusive, III, 1909, p. 171, is mentioned in the year 1599. There were in fact a number of swordsmiths called Hernández in Seville in the 16th and early 17th centuries, but the relationship, if any, between them and the Toledo families of the same name is unknown. Blades signed and marked by what is thought to be the oldest Sebastian are in the Real Armeria, Madrid, nos. G53 and G56. The blade of a sword in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden, the hilt of which is attributed to Othmar Wetter between 1590 and 1597, is signed SEBASTIAN HERNANDEZ / INTE DOMINE SPERAVI (1899 cat., no. E277; Schöbel, 1975, pl. 45b). The mark on the blade of A532 in fact resembles that attributed by Palomares to Tomás de Ayala, alive in 1625 (no. 93; see under no. A567 here), which suggests that this blade is a German imitation. A533|1|1|Rapier, the blued hilt composed of an oviform pommel with button; wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of circular section, trumpet-shaped at the ends; hilt arms, two side-rings, and the bars at the back crossed in saltire. The narrow double-edged blade of hexagonal section, the central fuller inscribed:–

SEBASTIAN HERNIE

on the one side and

HERNIE SEBASTIAN

on the other, the letters separated by small stars. There are traces of a maker's mark on one side of the ricasso.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 113. The inscription is a German corruption of the name of a 'Sebastian' of the Hernandez family in Toledo. For the marks of the various members of the Hernandez family called Sebastian see A532. (None are recorded as using a wildman holding a club as stated in the 1962 Catalogue). For other rapiers by members of the Hernandez family, see A532, 572, 586, 611. Cf. also A549. A535|1|1|Sword, the blued hilt, closely resembling that of A531 and A534, composed of a spherical pommel with button; oval grip bound with fish-skin; horizontally re-curved crossguard, round in section, swelling into knobs at the ends; side-rings, hilt arms and three transverse bars at the back, and ring-guard; single-edged blade (which may not belong to the hilt) of triangular section changing to hexagonal towards the point, doubly fullered and stamped with the maker's marks; grooved ricasso. The blade resembles that of A489.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 114. The significance of the so-called 'sickle' mark was debated in a series of articles in Z.H.W.K. , II, 27, 75, 151, 217, 270, 300, 355, and VIII, 71. Sometimes it is found associated with the words 'Fringia', 'Ferara' and 'Genoa'. It also occurs on swords of Teutonic and Hungarian type, and it is possible that it was used by more than one place of manufacture.

Compare A715 in the Wallace Collection, and also Royal Armouries IX. 8 (two-handed sword), IX. 150 (cinquedea); Musée de l' Armée J 34; Museo Stibbert, 2165; Graz (sabres), pl. XXIV, 5 and 6; Turin, G 27; Dresden. J 51 and 120; numerous examples are in the Hermitage and in the German Historical Museum, Berlin. This mark is sometimes found on bills, cf. A930, and on the European blades of weapons mounted in the East. It also occurs on the blade of the mourning sword of the Lord Mayor of London.

The other mark is also a frequent one, cf. Museo Stibbert, No. 2700; Hermitage (Lenz, p. 127); and Dresden (Ehrenthal, P. 8, No. 30). See also Z.H.W.K., II, p. 27, etc. Provenance: Possibly from Schloss Ambras in Tyrol. A537|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a conical, vase-shaped pommel of hexagonal section with button; wire-bound grip; horizontally re-curved crossguard of fluted riband form; hilt arms, single side-ring, and transverse bars at the back; from the hilt arms project two curved counter-guards of fluted riband form like the crossguard; the pommel is chased with scrolls and conventional leaves in low relief, and the enlarged centre of the side-ring is chased en suite. The broad double-edged blade of flat hexagonal section triply grooved at the forte; strongly shouldered ricasso, the central fuller shallow and bearing on one side the orb and cross inlaid in copper alloy; the narrow grooves on either side are incised with a zig-zag ornament.

Although swords of this type and date, having wide blades very like those of medieval arming swords, are often termed ‘riding swords’, there is nothing about them that specifically designates them as a type designed specifically for horsemen. Swords of this form would be perfectly at home in the hands of a North Italian follower of the Bolognese fencing master Achille Marozzo. Indeed many of the swords illustrated in Marozzo’s Opera Nova (1536) have guards of a similar form, with scrolled crosses and without knuckle-bows. The hilt, which recalls in a simplified way the designs of Filippo Orsoni, is certainly ornate enough to be worn proudly by someone of considerable status; a similar example, gilded but otherwise no more elaborate, is found on the hip of Francesco de’ Medici (1541-1587) in a portrait of the subject in civilian dress, c. 1560 (attributed to Alessandro Allori; versions in Wawel Royal Castle, Cracow and the Art Institute of Chicago, inv. no. 1965.1179). A538|1|1|Rapier, the hilt made up of a flattened cylindrical pommel with button; spirally fluted and recurved, like A537, with wire-bound grip; crossguard; single side-ring, hilt-arms, and transverse bars at the back; from the hilt-arms project two short counter-guards with the ends shaped like the guard in the same way as A537; pommel and side-ring are chased with cartouches, containing in relief Venus and Cupid (twice), and another classical subject; the écusson is chiselled on each side with an acanthus leaf; the blade of hexagonal section, deeply grooved at the forte, followed by two sunk hollows and inscribed:–

∙IACOBVS∙ / ∙ME∙ FECIT∙

Short ricasso stamped twice on each side with a cross. The hilt may not belong to the blade.

The guards must originally have been very like those of A537. The side-ring, which is too small, is a later replacement riveted to the stumps of the original one. It has been chiselled to match the later pommel. A539|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a flat oviform pommel with button; oval, wire-bound grip (modern); 'crab-claw' guard curving strongly downwards enclosing the hilt-arms, the latter ending in square knobs; tapering, broad, double-edged blade of diamond section with a strong ricasso, narrow within the hilt-arms, stamped twice on each side with a unicorn's head, the mark of Clemens Horn of Solingen.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 80. For numerous instances of Clemens Horn's mark, see A511. The experimental targeteers of Prince Maurice of Orange carried swords of this type (see Adam van Breen, De Nassav' sche Wapen Handelinge, The Hague 1618). A540|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a flattened mushroom-shaped pommel, closely ribbed or fluted, and finished with an eight-lobed rosette; wire-bound, spiral grip; horizontally re-curved crossguard of flat section; side-ring, hilt-arms, almost meeting the side-ring, the usual transverse guards at the back; all the guards of blackened steel and oval section, the ends of the crossguard and counter-guards and the centre of the larger ring decorated with fluted shells, the rest of the guards incised with flat roping; the double-edged blade is of flattened diamond section, grooved the whole length and signed at the hilt:

**ANTONIO**/**PICININO**

The ricasso stamped on each side with a mark, which resembles that upon the rapier A626.

The mark here is of a mound of three parts under a crown.

The Milanese bladesmith, Giovanni Antonio Marliani, called Piccinino (c. 1504- 7 October 1588), stamped his blades with various marks, the earlier form being a castle encircled with his name, the later, a castle crowned (Boeheim, p. 162). The mark on A540 resembles the latter (and compare that on A626). A great number of very well made blades exist by this celebrated bladesmith and by his son, Federico. Morgia, writing in 1595, in his Nobilita di Milano, said that Giovanni Antonio Piccinino 'was the first man not only in this Italy of ours but also in the whole of Europe to make a blade for a sword, or dagger, or knife, or any cutting weapon, which would cut through any type of iron without damaging the blade; he was therefore not only known but very well known indeed by the most important Christian Princes and other masters of arms' (Lib. V, chap. XVII). A blade signed by G. Antonio Piccinino is fitted in the famous enamelled gold hilt at Vienna, given to the Emperor Maximilian II by Wratislav II von Pernstein between 1549 and 1554 (Waffensammlung, inv. no. A588; Thomas, Gamber and Schedelmann, 1964, pI. 37). Boeheim records a blade then in the collection of Archduke Franz d' Este in Vienna, signed 'Antonio Piccinino me fecite in Milano 1584' (Meister der Waffenschmiedekunst, 1897, p. 163).

The form of signature found on A540 is not the one usually employed by Piccinino, which normally resembles that of his son Federico on A646. However, Boccia and Coelho do accept as genuine a blade at Turin with the name extended along the blade as on A540 (1890 cat., no. G42; Boccia and Coelho, 1976, fig. 565, n. on p. 396). For Federico, son of G. Antonio Piccinino, see A646. The Carlo Piccinino, presumably a hilt-maker or steel-chiseller, who signed a cup-hilt in Spanish fashion in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 11.89.2), may also be a member of this family. The celebrity of G. Antonio Piccinino's blade led to numerous forgeries of his name, and that of his son, in the second half of the 17th century (see A629, 661, 685, 788). G. Antonio was also the father of Lucio, the goldsmith-armourer (see A51, 52, 325), who was in fact his eldest son but not his heir; Lucio waived his rights as heir in 1565, upon the granting of his majority. A541|1|1|Sword, the hilt of blued steel comprised of a flattened cylindrical pommel, striped diagonally with sunken bands, which are gilt and bordered with dots of silver piqué, the button replaced by a quatrefoil washer; crossguard, reversed upwards and downwards, of flat, riband section widening at the ends, each terminating in a button; large, double side-rings and hilt-arms, striped like the pommel; original leather-covered grip. The left side of the hilt is plain. The associated double-edged blade is straight, of flattened hexagonal section, with strong ricasso bearing the letter S twice on either side (cf. A615). The forte has a central fuller, deeply stamped on both sides with a succession of Hs and rosettes.

This sword appears in a photograph, apparently of a dealer's stock, among the papers of William H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 500 fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A sword with a similar silver piqué hilt was sold at Sotheby's, 29 November, 1931, lot 32. A542|1|1|Rapier, the hilt comprised of a vase-shaped pommel, of hexagonal section, the facets divided by ridges; oval, wire-bound grip of diamond-shaped pattern; nearly horizontally re-curved crossguard, the riband ends split and scrolled; single side-ring, hilt-arms, with a projecting prong, its ends curled and split like the crossguard terminals, strongly marked écusson; all the guards are of triangular section, the edges grooved, and the whole surface gilt. The stiff, double-edged blade, which is later, is cut with close-set parallel ridges and grooves, pierced at the forte; the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb and stamped twice with a maker's mark: a stag's head within a pearled border. It has been suggested that this mark was used by Meves Berns, the Solingen bladesmith, but the rapiers by him, mentioned below, at Vienna (Boeheim, Album I, Taf. XXVIII, 4) and at Dresden (E 706, 716) bear as a mark a complete stag, and not the head only.

This rapier was not in the Pourtalès-Gorgier sale of 1865, and may have been acquired previously. Illustrated in L' Art Ancien, no. 608, as being then in the possession of M. Maillet du Boullay. (See also under A498).

Referencing rapiers at Vienna (Boeheim, Album I, Taf. XXVIII, 4) and at Dresden (E 706, 716) which bear as a mark a complete stag, and not the head only, the 1962 catalogue argued that these marks and A542's mark of the stag's head within a pearled border were all used by the same Meves Berns, a Solingen bladesmith. However, by 1986 referencing (A. Weyersberg, Z.H.W.K., XII, pp. 137-8), it has been argued that there seems to be no evidence that Meves Berns ever used the stag's head within a pearled border mark. A Meves (a diminutive of Bartholomäus) Berns is recorded in Solingen in 1614, while in 1640 a second man of this name took the oath as a swordsmith. Weyersberg records several variants of the mark of Meves Berns on sword blades, the stag represented in profile standing within a circle (Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 11-12). However, a sword blade at Vienna, signed and dated 1613, bears as a mark an ibex in profile standing within a circle (KHM, inv. no. A1027). He is further represented by several swords at Dresden, two in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin (one dated 1612), and at Vienna, dated 1613. A543|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a pear-shaped pommel, with large button; silver wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard (up and down) of oblong section; double side-rings and hilt-arms, the pommel, the centres of the rings and the ends of the crossguard decorated with scrolled cartouches containing a lozenge in low relief, the smaller ring filled with a shell pierced to a scale pattern. The entire surface of the hilt is hatched with silver, parcel gilt, and incised partly through the use of shaped punches, with conventional foliage terminating in dragon heads, all on a finely matted ground. The long, double-edged blade of flattened diamond section; the ricasso stamped on each side with the word C A I N O, and bearing traces of a crowned S, the mark of Pietro Caino of Milan.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 21 and pl. 3; Laking, European Armour, IV, fig. 1394; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 142, 219, 251 and 358, pI. 65.
For the bladesmith's mark see A516. A544|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a flattened cylindrical pommel with a cone-shaped button; an original spirally-fluted, wire-bound grip; crossguard curved alternately upwards and downwards, with a slight horizontal recurve; single side-ring joining the trilobate hilt-arms, and two projecting double counter-guards. The crossguard and counter-guards terminate in oval lobes bearing masks chiselled in relief; the pommel and side-ring are chiselled with cartouches containing an equestrian and a standing figure in relief. There is no decoration on the left side of the hilt, except on the pommel; the whole is of blackened steel. The double-edged blade of hexagonal section, the double flute at the forte being inscribed on each side:–
· A N D R E A · F E R A R A ·
The ricasso stamped on each side with the Toledo mark.
The blade is probably a German imitation of Spanish (Toledo) and Italian (Belluno) work.

Two very similar hilts are in the Musée Dobrée, Nantes, from the collection of the comte de Rochebrune (1917 Cat., pI. X, nos. I and V). Belluno is a small town on the right bank of the River Piave at the edge of the mountains fifty miles to the north of Venice. Andrea and his elder brother, Giovan Donato or Giandonato de i Ferari, are both mentioned as being talented masters in the first edition of the Trattato militare of Giovan Matteo Cigogna, published in Venice in 1567. They were employed in one of the two forges of maestro Giovan Battista detto il Barcelone (died 1583), presumably a Spanish immigrant, at Fisterre in the parish of Cusighe near Belluno, where they also lived. The first name of their father is unfortunately unknown, but since his surname was da Fonzàs it is possible that the family originally came from Fonzaso, a small community some twenty-two miles south-west of Belluno. It is possible that the nickname Ferari, incidentally a common one in Belluno at that time, was taken from their working in iron, rather than from their coming from the city of Ferrara. One of their sisters, Maria or Mariana, both names being given, married another swordsmith, perhaps also a man of Spanish birth or extraction, Zuan or Giacomo Castellano, who also had a forge at Fisterre. Both brothers were old enough for each to be the head of a workshop by 1567, and so they were probably born about 1530. Andrea, whose first wife Franchescina, the daughter of maestro Zuan de Cesa, a bell founder, had died at some unknown date, married again, on 24th July 1580, Fiametta, daughter of ser Zaneto Cavalaro da Treviso, living in Cividale. She died in 1603, and he lived on until 21st April 1612. (D. F. Pellegrini, 'Di un armaiuolo Bellunese del secolo XVI', Archivio Veneto, X, 1875, pp. 43-53, but quoting the second edition of the Trattato of Cigogna, published in 1583. There appears to be no evidence of what mark, if any, Andrea dei Ferari used. The name, which was widely forged, as here, appears with a large variety of marks and there is no certainty that any are genuine. A signed rapier blade in the Royal Armouries is mounted in a hilt dated 1597 (no. IX.1018). Of the immense number of blades bearing versions of Andrea's name, the great majority cannot have been wrought by him, as they are of later date, and few have been isolated as his work with any certainty. Similarly, the Toledo mark was freely imitated in Germany. The hilt is of poor design, rough workmanship, and does not approach in quality the best Italian work.

For other blades inscribed Andrea Ferara, see A545, 565, 588, 592, 636, 696. A545|1|1|Rapier, the blackened steel hilt made up of an eight-sided, fig-shaped pommel engraved with scrolled ornament; wire-bound grip; crossguard of riband section with the ends broadened and turned sharply to right and left; side-rings with bars joining the hilt-arms and covered by a medallion of the Imperial eagle. The spaces between the shells are filled with triangular plates, similarly pierced and embossed, thus giving the outward appearance of a cup-shaped guard. The two plates filling the spaces between the shells appear to be modifications made during the working life of the sword. The two-grooves down each side of the forte inscribed:–

A.N.D.R..A.F..R.A.R.A.

A.N.D.R..A.F..R.A.R.A.

twice on each side, and further up the half moon mark. The rectangular ricasso stamped on one side with the remains of a Toledo mark.
Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 42 and 46.

The incongruous combination of a Toledo mark and the half moon of an Espadero del Rey with the name of the Italian bladesmith, Andrea Ferara (dei Ferari), suggests that this is a production of Solingen.

For notes on Andrea Ferara and for the four other blades here inscribed Andrea Ferara, see A544. A546|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of an elongated oviform pommel with button, decorated in relief with a crude head in profile on each side; diagonally wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard, alternately up and down, with slight horizontal recurve ending in chiselled, conventional heads; double side-rings swelling in the middle where they are chiselled with crude two-tailed mermaids; hilt-arms and small loop on the reverse side bent at right angles. The entire hilt, except the grip, is of blackened steel decorated with masks and scrollwork roughly chiselled the blade of hexagonal section is much worn, with the single groove at the forte inscribed on both side:–

IN VALENCIA

Short, thick ricasso with the letter S faintly incised on each side of the groove.
The inscription 'in Valencia' is not necessarily an indication of the city of that name in Spain. A547|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a diagonally-fluted oviform pommel, decorated with four oblique panels of laurel leaves chiselled in low relief on a gilt ground, and with a spherical button; oval grip, bound with iron wire; diagonally curved and twisted crossguard with thickened ends terminating in acanthus; hilt-arms and double side-rings, the forward ring enclosing a small shell pierced with circular holes; the guards spirally decorated like the pommel and gilt; double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, singly grooved at the forte; no ricasso.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 113. A hilt very similar in both form and decoration is depicted in a portrait of Jean de Chambrier, Burgomaster of Zurich, by Peter Meret, dated 1609. A548|1|1|Rapier, the hilt comprised of a flattened oviform pommel, with button; tubular steel grip of oval section; crossguard curved alternately upwards and downwards and ending in medallions; large hilt-arms, and double rings enclosing shells decorated with open octofoil, embossed and chiselled. The whole hilt is of steel incised with wavy lines and bound with a riband enriched with silver spots and showing traces of gilding. The pommel, grip, crossguard and ring-guards are inlaid with small oval medallions of silver containing equestrian and nude classical figures in relief, the centres of the shells are filled with two small copper plaques of Cupid with a peacock, and with a dog. Blade of diamond section becoming hexagonal at the hilt where it bears an inscription. This has been nearly obliterated, only the words:–

ME FECIT SOLINGEN

being now legible. There is an etched ornament of the usual Solingen type. It probably bore the name of a member of the Wirsberg family whose mark of the pincers is clearly stamped on both sides of the ricasso. The remains of the signature (WI)RSBERG are also legible on the blade. This mark resembles most closely that attributed to Wilhelm Wirsberg (see below). The tang is deeply incised on one side with the letter W.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 42, 152, 153, 369 and 374.

For other swords here by the Wirsberg family see A594. There was almost certainly more than one swordsmith of this name in Solingen. The man who was Burgomaster in 1573/4 was probably older than the man of the same name who was Kirchmeister in 1585, but the latter could have been the Burgomaster of 1590/1 and 1594/5. According to A. Weyersberg this man can be traced in the town records from 1581 to 1628. It was he who signed a lease in 1603, 'Wilhelm auff dem Ollich'. The Kirchmeister of the same name in 1622/3 was almost certainly of a third generation. There is at present no way of distinguishing between their work (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 52-4). A550|1|1|Sword, the hilt of bright steel and made up of a pear-shaped pommel, vertically relieved with seven raised and fluted or roped ribs; fluted, wire-bound grip; short, straight crossguard, square in section, thickening at the ends; knuckle-guards, side-rings, hilt-arms, and plain transverse guard at the back, all square in section, the edges chiselled with rope pattern; long double-edged blade of hexagonal section, the outer faces slightly hollowed, plain ricasso; traces of the maker's mark remain.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 220, 261-2 and 368.

A sword of like workmanship was lot 109 at Gerard Lee Bevan sale (Puttick and Simpson, 20 July, 1923).

Without knowing the context of its original use, it is not possible to be entirely sure whether this fine weapon should be called a rapier or not. Its cut-and-thrust blade would be perfectly serviceable for military use, while at the same time it could also have been found in action in a civilian duel. The developed hilt, comprised of two side-rings, hilt arms, knuckle-bow and a single counterguard in addition to the straight cross, is also of a type found in both civilian and military portraits of the time. Swords of this type, paired with a buckler, target or dagger, were employed by swordsmen of Marozzo’s Bolognese School of swordsmanship, which, although it included new innovations such as the parrying dagger, was, in its essence, following the older medieval martial tradition, which also included the use of staff weapons and the two-handed sword.

The simple but elegant decoration of the hilt of this sword seems to be following civilian fashion of the time. This is especially apparent in the form of the pommel, which may have been intended to complement the ‘puffed and slashed’ clothing style and which is most typical of weapons dating from c. 1530-50 A551|1|1|Sword, the swept hilt composed of a pommel (with spherical button) decorated with entwined serpents and two mermen in high relief; spirally fluted wire-bound grip; straight crossguard fluted and widening at the ends where they terminate in small volutes; knuckle-guard terminating in a ram's head; double side-rings; the first molded at the centre with the entwined heads of two serpents whose tail cross the hilt arms and form a forward loop on the other side of the blade, the hilt-arms being decorated with two mermen. The entire hilt is of steel, chiselled in high relief at the gilt. Double-edged blade of bi-convex section at the point, faceted, of hexagonal section in the middle and octagonal at the hilt; the ricasso is stamped on each side with a maker's mark; a crowned S.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 118 and 337, pI. 28.

The crowned S upon this rapier resembles the mark used by Alonso de Sahagun the Elder, of Toledo, but it is much too worn for certain identification; compare the mark upon the rapier, A669.

J. F. Hayward has compared the design of this hilt with those of both Pierre Woeriot of Lyons and Filippo Orsoni of Mantua (Livrustkammeren, VIII, 1958-60, pp. 79-110).

The crowned letter used by Alonso de Sahagun, as recorded by Francisco Palomares in his list of Toledo swordsmiths published in 1762, is in a shield-shaped compartment, rather than in a rectangle as on A551.
(Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). A552|1|1|Sword, the blued hilt made up of a large mushroom pommel; oval grip bound with linen; straight crossguard with spatulate terminals; three connected knuckle-guards composed of flat bands widening at the centres; S-shaped counter-guard; semi- hilt-arms; small-shell, pierced with two hearts, and thumb-guards; blade of bi-convex section, grooved at the forte and stamped:

∙RR RRR RR∙

Trebly fluted ricasso, stamped twice on each side with the maker's mark of an orb and cross.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 71, 151 and 317.

For this type of hilt with broad guards, compare A483, 485, 528, 536.
This type of basket-hilt is usually thought of as being purely military, but North German portraits occasionally show them worn with civilian dress. A553|1|1|Sword, the blackened hilt made up of an octagonal, pear-shaped pommel with button; oval, wire-bound grip; short, straight crossguard, square in section, thickening at the ends; knuckle guard, shell (pierced with two circular holes) and semi- hilt-arms, with transverse bar, all decorated with molding or roping. Double-edged blade of diamond section, hollowed, inscribed on a plane at the forte, the words separated by cross-crosslets in saltire inlaid in brass on both sides:

VIVE LE ROY

There are signs of brazing near the hilt, probably a repair executed at a later date.

The blade is Savoyard or French, early 18th century.

For remarks on the inscription, see under A632. The hilt is probably earlier than the blade, which may be Savoyard. (cf. Wegeli, Bern Cat., nos. 568 , 758, 853). A554|1|1|Sword, the swept hilt composed of a reduced spherical pommel with button; oval, wire-bound grip, the wire twisted into cords; straight crossguard of oval section ending in spherical knobs; knuckle-guard, hilt-arms and swept loop-guard joining the knuckle-guard to the hilt-arms. From one side of the hilt-arms a short bar projects at right angles, and on the inner side are two plain transverse bars. The hilt is richly encrusted with scrolls, conventional flowers, foliage resembling seedpods, and cherubs' heads in chiselled silver; the knuckle-guard and bar are interrupted by a double ball at the centres. Double-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section with one narrow and two shallow grooves at the forte; it bears the maker's name inlaid in brass:

+HEIN+RICH+

+PAET+THER+

The ricasso is stamped twice on each side with the maker's mark.
The hilt closely resembles that of a rapier sold at Sotheby's, 16 April, 1943, lot 44, and with its heavy pommel and strongly marked silver decoration resembles those on some English hilts. A sword bearing the same mark, and also inscribed; Heinrich Pather, is in the Livrustkammaren at Stockholm (Stockholm, no. 569, fig. 72); others are at Dresden (E 487, E 603 and E 481). There is an executioner's sword with Heinrich Patter's signature and mark at Emden (no. 353). One of the swords by him at Dresden (no. 603) was presented by the Margrave Joachim Ernst of Brandenburg (d. 1625).
This type of hilt is sometimes thought to be English by comparison with A596 and 597 here, but this has not yet been proven beyond any doubt; see Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 98, col. 2, paragraph 1. Two comparable hilts with very similar decoration are in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden (Hettner-Buttner, pls. 95 centre and 85 right). Another is in the Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe, no. G89, whither it came from the armoury of the Dukes of Baden.

A comparable mark rather more like a horseshoe in form is found with the signature HEINRICH PATHER, on a sword blade at Veste Coburg (no. II.A.81), and on another with the spelling Pater, from the Oldenburg Armoury, now in the National Museum, Copenhagen (no. 10124). Weyersberg found no trace of a swordsmith called Heinrich Paether, Pater, or Pather in the Solingen archives, but he suggested that he might have belonged to the Poeter family, a number of whom were swordsmiths in Solingen. Heinrich Botter (Potter), Vogt of the Swordsmiths' Guild, is mentioned in a document of 18 June 1608, in the archives of the Abbey of Altenburg. A swordsmith Heinrich Poeter, alive in 1641, had a son, Peter, who took the oath as a Swordsmith in 1660. (Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 41-2.) The same, or a very similar mark, occurs on a blade signed ADOLF KRONENBERGH, and on another signed HEINEKKE, both in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden (1899 cat., nos. E481 and E487 respectively). A555|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of an oviform pommel with button, divided into four panels of decoration; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of flat oval section; knuckle-guard, hilt-arms, and two ring-guards, the largest connected by a swept loop-guard to the knuckle-guard. The entire hilt is encrusted with conventional flowers and foliage, in silver. In the écusson is a cherub's head on one side and a crowned lion on the other, and similar cherubs' heads on the centre of each guard. On the inner side three curved bars connect the hilt-arms to the knuckle-guard. The long, double-edged blade is of flattened diamond section, with a maker's mark stamped on each side of the ricasso; this marks resembles the crozier head of Basel (see A1278)

De Beaumont Catalogue, No. 35

This handsome, swept-hilt rapier with silver-encrusted hilt is similar in general build to A566-7. This type of heavy silver encrustation was specifically popular in England, cf. no. A511, the sword of Henry, Prince of Wales.
It has not yet proved possible to isolate the centres of manufacture of this style of encrusting in silver on a cod's-roe matted ground (see Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 360-1). It seems to have had a wide popularity, particularly in the first twenty years of the 17th century, and was probably made in many different places. A556|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of a pear-shaped pommel, of doubtful authenticity, divided by grooves into eight sections, with a button; oval, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard, of flat oval section, widening towards the ends; knuckle-guards, hilt-arms, side-ring; and two other guards, the largest connected by a swept loop-guard to the knuckle-guard, and with three curved bars at the back joining the hilt-arms to the knuckle-guard; richly encrusted with cupid's heads and conventional flower and foliage in silver on a blackened ground. The double-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section, with three grooves at the forte; the ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark: The letters C I with a device above.

Compare the silver cherub's on the spurs, A377-8, and rapiers in the loan exhibition, Metropolitan Museum, New York, New York, 1931, nos. 155 and 156. A hilt in the Harding collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (no. 2081) is decorated with a very similar scheme of encrusting, but is not by the same hand.

It has not yet proved possible to isolate the centres of manufacture of this style of encrusting in silver on a cod's-roe matted ground (see Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 360-61). It seems to have had a wide popularity, particularly in the first twenty years of the 17th century, and was probably made in many different places. A557|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of an oviform pommel with a flat button grip; grip bound with alternating black iron and silver wire, with 'Turk's heads' at either end; straight crossguard of flat oval section; hilt-arms, side-ring and two guards, the largest connected by a swept loop to the knuckle-guard; three plain curved bars at the back, decorated with silver studs, also join the hilt-arms to the knuckle-guard; apart from this, the whole hilt is decorate with masks and scrolls of conventional foliage encrusted in silver on a hexagonal ground. The long, double-edged blade is of hexagonal section, the single groove at the forte incised with the letters:

OANOANOANO

on the one side and:–

OANOANOANO

on the other. The ricasso is stamped on each side with the marks of a Toledo and the half-moon of an Espadero del Rey, but probably in imitation only.
Illustrated by A. Vollon in his Curiosités of 1868 (Savill, 1980). Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 133.

A series of letters is often found on Italian sword-blades and their significance is unknown.

It has not yet proved possible to isolate the centres of manufacture of this style of encrusting in silver on a cod's-roe matted ground (see Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 360-1). It seems to have had a wide popularity, particularly in the first twenty years of the 17th century, and was probably made in many different places. A558|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a heavy, oviform pommel (with button) divided by grooves into six vertical panels; silver and steel, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of hexagonal section terminating in knobs; double ring-guards, joined by a swept loop to the knuckle-guard, hilt-arms, knuckle-guard, all of hexagonal section; cage scroll; decorated with masks, grotesque animals' heads and herring-bone ornament in silver on a blackened ground. The double-edged blade of flattened diamond section with ricasso; no maker's mark. The decoration of this hilt is unusual in including narrow strips of silver, engraved and punched, inlaid into the steel.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 364. A559|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of an oviform pommel (with button), divided into eight vertical sections by bands of pyramidal excrescence, each tipped with silver, the intervening surfaces inlaid with silver scroll-work; wire-bound grip of octagonal section; double side-ring, hilt-arms, joined by a loop to the knuckle-guard, and three swept bars on the inner side; the centres of the guards and the ends of the quillons are decorated with pyramidal knobs like the pommel, the flat surfaces inlaid with silver spots and scrolled lines; double-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section, grooved at the forte and inscribed:

NRSNRSNRSD

on one side, and:

RNSRNSRNDSD

on the other; the strong tapering ricasso is stamped on each side with the word Caino, and a crowned S. The crowned S is placed above the word Caino on the one side, and below it on the other. Traces of fire-gilding survive on pommel and knobs.

For the inscription CAINO see note under A516.

The bladesmith has been described as the "Master S of Caino" (Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 483, n. on p. 385).

Mormon and Barne, 1980, p. 360. A560|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a hollow cylindrical pommel (with button) formed of interlaced strap-work; oval, leather and wire-bound grip; straight crossguard terminating in knobs of pierced strap-work like the pommel; the escutcheon in the centre is similarly treated; triple ring, hilt-arms and knuckle-guard, a swept loop-guard joins the largest ring to the knuckle-guard.The guards inside the hand have been cut off, and, to conceal their removal, the blocks on the ends of the arms have been inlaid in silver on their inner sides. The centres have hollow knobs of strap-work like the pommel; the entire hilt is decorated with patterns inlaid in silver; double-edged blade of flattened hexagonal section grooved, and inscribed:

NRSNRSNRSD

on the one side, and:

RNSRNSRNDSD

on the other; the strong ricasso ends before reaching the hilt, where it narrows to become the tang, which suggests that the blade does not belong to the hilt. The blade is stamped on each side with the mark of Caino, the Milanese bladesmith. The crowned S is placed above the word Caino on the one side, and below it on the other.

For numerous other swords in the Collection with the name Caino of Milan, see A516.

Very similar decoration occurs on the sword hilt A563 and on the dagger hilts A788 and 800. For the bladesmith's mark see A559. A561|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of an oviform pommel with button (19th-century); diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard, round in section, swelling towards the ends; triple ring, hilt-arms, knuckle-guard, with loop-guard, and three plain bars on the inside, joining the hilt-arms to the knuckle-guard; the entire hilt is chased with entwined strap-work, enriched with a beaded decoration of silver and lines of dots. Double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, the strong ricasso stamped on each side with two marks.

The entire hilt was originally fire-gilt.

A rapier bearing a like mark is at Dresden (E 21). A562|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of an oviform pommel, faced with four ovals in flat relief incised with lines forming a chequered pattern, the large button similarly incised; wire-bound grip of herring-bone pattern (of later date); straight crossguard of hexagonal section, with chequered escutcheon, and ending in chequered knobs; triple ring-guard, hilt-arms, joined by a loop to the knuckle-guard, the whole of hexagonal section with ovoid knobs at the ends and centres. The surface is overlaid with minute arabesques in gold on a russeted ground. Long, straight blade of diamond section, the ricasso stamped on one side with the Toledo mark. The overlaid decoration also incorporates fine lines in silver.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 133 and 135. A563|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of an oviform pommel with button; spirally fluted, brass, wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard with two loop branches connecting with the hilt-arms, that on the inside dividing into three; straight crossguard of circular section swelling slightly towards the ends; large hilt-arms, and triple bars on the outer side. The whole decorated with interlaced oval, piqué ribands containing quatrefoils encrusted in silver on a russeted ground originally gilt, traces of gilding remaining on the inner faces; the pommel decorated en suite. Double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, the single flute, at the forte incised:

∙ IOHANNES ∙ / ∙ ME ∙ FECIT ∙

The central groove is continued up the ricasso.

Blades inscribed with various spellings of the name Iohannes are legion. In the form in which it appears here, it occurs on a sword in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, no. J117, and a two-handed sword at Bern, no. 210.

Very similar decoration occurs on the sword hilt of A560, on the dagger hilts A788 and 800, and on a sword hilt formerly in the Estruch collection (cat. no. 944, PI. XXXIX).

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 130, 234 and 360. A564|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a pommel with flat button; wire-bound grip (modern); straight crossguard of circular section swelling towards the ends; knuckle-guard branching into loops on each side joining the hilt-arms, that on the inside divides into three bars; at the end of the hilt-arms is a side-ring enclosing a solid shell; the bars are of circular section decorated with flowing scroll-work, and dots encrusted in silver on a ground now russet in colour, and similar to A563, the pommel being decorated en suite. Double-edged blade of diamond section, marked with an S and inscribed ‘CAINO’.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 133 and 360. A565|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of a flattened cylindrical pommel with button; wire-bound grip; straight crossguard terminating in oval knobs; triple ring, hilt-arms and knuckle-guards, a swept loop-guard joining the largest to the top of the triple knuckle-guard. The plain, inner guards connect the hilt-arms to the knuckle-guard, the forward ring contains a small pierced shell-guard, and the knuckle guard is holed at the tip; the pommel is overlaid with conventional leaves and flowers, and there are traces of fire-gilding all over the pommel and guards. The crossguard and other guards are also decorated with overlaid chains of oval loops in silver. The decoration of pommel and guards is rather different, showing that they are associated. Double-edged blade, probably Italian, doubly grooved the entire length; tapering ricasso, also grooved; the grooves on the blade stamped indistinctly on each side:

ANDREA FERARA

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 133. A566|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a spherical pommel with fourteen facets and elongated, turned button; wire-bound grip; straight crossguard, thickening towards the ends; hilt-arms, triple ring- and loop-guard joining the knuckle-guard, the last terminating in a shaped ring, and the usual three narrower bars on the inner side; the hilt of plain, blued steel, the bars of hexagonal section; two-edged blade of flattened diamond section, grooved at the forte, where it is inscribed:

* I H S *

The ricasso is stamped on either side with the letter S, the blade also. The pommel and guards are thickly coated in brown varnish, possibly original.
For other instances of the Sacred Monogram on swords here, see A600 and A622. A568|1|1|Rapier, the swept and fluted hilt, comprised of an oviform pommel with faceted button; vertically ribbed, wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard with loop branches on either side connecting with the ring-guards and hilt-arms; straight crossguard of quatrefoil section swelling slightly at the ends, with escutcheon; triple ring-guard on the outer side. On the inner side the branch from the knuckle-guard on the inner side divides into three bars. The whole decorated with a flowing riband ornament and rosettes encrusted in silver on a blackened ground, which shows traces of the original gilding. The rear arm of the crossguard is a reconstruction. Blade of convex section, the single flute at the forte incised:

: ANIES : MVRIO : / : INRI : MARIA :

The blade also has a long, plain ricasso of rectangular section.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 231.

There was a Portuguese family of armourers of the name of Anes, but the name here may be a contraction of Iohannes.

Exhibited: probably Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1891 (Nieuwerkerke).

A similarly decorated hilt is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 170; Carpegna, 1969, No. 25). A569|1|1|Rapier, the swept and fluted hilt, made up of a melon-shaped pommel with a flat button; original wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard branching into loop-guards, the outer joining the straight crossguard which swell slightly at the ends, the other branch dividing in three before joining the hilt-arms at the forward end of which is a side-ring enclosing a pierced shell. All the bars are of circular section, the outer chiselled with rosettes alternating with lozenge-shaped panels of dots encrusted in silver on a russeted ground originally gilt, traces of the gilding remaining on the inner side. Blade of flattened diamond section, the single flute at the ricasso being incised with the bladesmiths' name:

∙ GONCALO ∙ / ∙ SIMON EN T ∙

The ricasso stamped on each side with his mark, a crowned G, and that of Toledo; the latter is also deeply impressed in the tang on one side.
In the Real Armería at Madrid is a rapier (G 77) inscribed GONZALO . SIMON . EN . T . His name is given in the list of Toledo swordmakers drawn up by Palomares, no. 35; Rodríguez del Canto also mentions him, but ascribes to him a different mark.

Gonzalo Simón must have been working in or before 1615, since C. Suarez de Figueroa included him in his list of the best swordsmiths in Spain in his Plaza universal de todas ciencias y artes, Madrid, p. 334. His name has not yet been traced in the Toledo archives, but a man of this name is included under no. 35 in the list of Toledo swordsmiths published by Francisco Palomares in 1762. His mark is there given as a shield charged with an inverted chevron, between an anulet in chief, and the letters G° in base, all beneath what may be a crown with a rather prominent central cross (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). De Leguina lists him in Toledo in 1617 and describes his mark as G° with a cross above, in a shield (1897, p. 158). A blade signed with the name of Gonzalo Simón, but without a mark, is in the Real Armería at Madrid, No. G77. A570|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a grooved pommel, associated but contemporary, ornamented with wavy lines and small rosettes of silver, the vertical grooves showing traces of gilding; flattened tang button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard ending in small shells; knuckle-guard with two loop-guards, one joining the ring-guard and the other dividing into three at the back, and joining the hilt-arms; hilt-arms; side-ring of circular section. The whole hilt is decorated with scrolls and dots encrusted with silver on a blackened ground; the escutcheon, the crossguard terminals and the centres of the guards display a cockle-shell chiselled in low relief. Double-edged blade, possibly Spanish, stiff and tapering, and of diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with a bladesmith's mark; a crowned P (reversed).

The mark of a crowned P was one used by several Toledo bladesmiths listed by Palomares and Rodrígues del Canto, and unless accompanied by an inscription on the blade, is of little help in identifying the maker. The cockle-shell, probably in allusion to the pilgrimage saint, St. James of Compostella, is not uncommon as a decorative motif for sword hilts, usually of Spanish origin, cf. A585-6, 607 and 646 in this Collection. A571|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a flattened oviform pommel, with a button; wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of flattened oval section, widening towards the ends; hilt-arms, double ring and knuckle-guard, a swept loop-guard joining the larger ring to the knuckle-guard, and the usual three bars on the inner side similarly connected to the knuckle-guard, all of oval section. The greater part of the hilt finely overlaid with arabesques in gold and silver. The narrow, long double-edged blade is of flattened diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with a crucifix; possibly the mark of Pedro Hernandez, the Toledo bladesmith.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 359, L' Art Ancien, V, no. 590.

See the rapier, A586, which bears the same maker's mark and is signed

PEDRO . HERMAN . A572|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of an oviform pommel with tang button; oval, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of oval section; knuckle-guard, hilt-arms, side-ring, a swept loop-guard, joining the large upper ring to the knuckle-guard, enclosing a upper ring to the knuckle-guard, enclosing a pierced oval shell. The triple, transverse inner guards are of the usual form. The entire hilt is of dark steel overlaid with fine arabesques in gold and silver, the interior surfaces gilt. Double-edged blade, associated, of hexagonal section, with shallow groove at the forte, inlaid with the running-wolf mark (inlaid in copper) on one side, the ricasso being stamped on each side with a maker's mark, crowned.

L' Art Ancien, V, No. 590

The lower mark is a common one of Italian origin, which seems to have been adopted by German bladesmiths, as the wolf mark accompanying it in this instance confirms. Cf. A614, below, and Musée de l' Armée, J 192 (where it is combined with the mark of Daniele Seravalle of Milan), and Z.H.W.K., VIII, 373, where a very similar mark is associated with Melchior Diefstetter of Munich. Single instances of it are very common.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pI. 2, but wrongly captioned as pI. 3. A573|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of an oviform pommel with eighteen hollow facets, and tang button; wire-bound grip of oblong section; straight crossguard, of hexagonal section, thickening towards the ends; side-ring, hilt-arms and knuckle-guard, joined by a swept loop-guard from the hilt-arms, and the usual three bars on the inner side; the hilt minutely decorated with arabesques in gold and silver on a russeted ground. Double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, grooved at the forte and inscribed:

P R S B P R B P R B B

on the one side, and :

R S P B R P B R P B B

on the other; the strong tapering ricasso is stamped on each side with a crowned M/S, the mark once thought to belong to a Caino bladesmith working in Milan (see A560). However the word CAINO, which usually accompanies the crowned mark, is here absent.

A rapier with the same mark and also the name of CAINO and the letters BRFSRFSB is in the Royal Armouries (IX.65). Cf. also Museo Stibbert, no. 2137; Musée de l’Armée, Brussels, cup-hilt rapier, V, 57; and a rapier in the German Historical Museum at Berlin which bears the crowned MS mark but accompanied by the wolf mark, stressing the fact that it is a German imitation.
The combination of the word CAINO and a mark combining the letters MS also occurs on a blade in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (inv. No. 2562; 1980 cat., no. 528); and, with a jumble of letters in the fuller, on a blade at Windsor Castle (1904 cat., no. 719). A574|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprising an oviform pommel with turned base and large cylindrical button; wire-bound grip; long straight crossguard of circular section, thickened at the ends; hilt-arms, triple ring and knuckle-guard, a swept loop-guard joining the largest ring to the knuckle-guard, the whole of blackened steel. Double-edged blade of hexagonal section; a single groove at the forte is stamped on each side with the letter MMMMM five times alternating with a device resembling a thistle; the ricasso bears faint traces of what was thought to be a maker's mark, but now seems likely to be a simple flaw in the metal.

For the repetition of the letter M, cf. A598; Royal Armouries, IX. 55 (Antonio Picinino) and IX.98; and other series of disconnected letters on the blades of rapiers. A considerable number of very similar swords survive in the armoury of the Knights of St. John in Valetta, Malta (C. Blair, personal communication). A575|1|1|Rapier, dagger, scabbards, sword-belt and rapier hanger.

The swept hilt of of the rapier constructed of blackened steel, matted with small, wavy lines (cf. A635). The hilt is composed of a flattened cylindrical pommel with tang button; vertically fluted, wire-bound grip; horizontally re-curved crossguard widening at the ends; knuckle-guard; large hilt-arms, double side-ring, joined by a loop-guard to the knuckle-guard, the smaller ring enclosing a pierced shell and the thumb-guard is fitted with a like shell of narrow triangular form; the surface of the guards is chased with close-set, wavy lines. The stiff blade of diamond section with a sharp ridge down the centre of each side with a groove on either side of it, the ricasso stamped on each side with a double-headed eagle.

The rapier scabbard is made of wood covered with black leather, the mouth split and furnished with a projecting lip to engage the hanger; the chape of diamond section has been blackened and chased to match the hilt; both the leather and the chape are restorations.

The sword-belt and hanger, possibly Saxon, are made of leather covered with black velvet embroidered with silk, the buckles, hooks and mounts of blackened steel chased with wavy lines like the rapier hilt. The hanger is divided into two broad loops for carrying the sword, fastened by means of two large slides.

The hilt of the parrying dagger comprises a flattened cylindrical pommel, vertically fluted, wire-bound grip; horizontally recurved crossguard; single side-ring containing a pierced shell; the whole of blackened steel chased with wavy lines. The blade is of diamond section, deeply ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb. A washer remains at the hilt to ease contact with the locket. Although the blade is genuine, the workmanship of the dagger hilt and dagger scabbard furniture differs from that of the rapier and were probably made in the 19th century, to complete the rapier and dagger set. No reference to the dagger is made either by De Beaumont or Juste.

Norman and Barne 1980, pp. 130, 233 and 297. De Beaumont Catalogue, No. 46, refers to the belt and hanger (which became separated from the rapier and were not restored until its discovery in a store-room at Hertford House in 1908). De Beaumont stated that it came from the Pourtalès-Gorgier Collection, but it is not mentioned in the sale catalogue of 1865, and this may be an error.

Provenance; Comte de Belleval, La Panoplie, 1873, catalogue du cabinet d'armes, Nos. 125 and 152 (dagger). Cf., also E. Juste aîné (Une épée en fer noir ciselé et son ceinturon en velours noir brode complet. 1,118.25 fr. With Commission 1,200 fr.). Receipted Bill, 5th December, 1865; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A rapier bearing a like mark, and inscribed with the name of the Solingen bladesmith, Andreis Berns, is at Dresden, no. 297. The mark of a double-headed eagle with wings displayed and elevated on the sword signed ANDREIS BERNS in the Electoral Armoury at Dresden, mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, has a straight upper edge to the punch rather than a shaped one as on A575. Weyersberg does not seem to have found any record of this man in the Solingen archives, although several other swordsmiths with the same surname are recorded there; Arnold or Arndt (recorded 1626-61), another man of the same name (recorded 1649-88), Johannes (recorded 1640-60), and Moves, a diminutive of Bartholomaus, discussed under no. A542 (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 10-11). For the eagle mark of Andreas Berns, see Weyersberg, op. cit., p. 10, fig. 4. A blade at Windsor Castle signed ANDREIS BERNS bears only a spurious Toledo mark, the letters O over T all crowned (1904 cat., no. 34). A sword blade at Waddesdon Manor signed JOHANNES BERNS bears a mark very similar to that of A575 (Blair 1974, no. 35). A576|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of a spherical pommel with ten facets, and button; wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of octagonal section thickening towards the ends; hilt arms, triple ring joined to the top of the knuckle-guard by two loop-guards and the usual triple, transverse bars on the inner side; the whole of plain, blued steel and of mediocre make. Associated double-edged blade of hexagonal section, grooved at the forte, bearing on one side the wolf mark inlaid in copper alloy; on either side of the ricasso, a maker's mark of the same kind as that upon the rapier A605. A577|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprising a faceted, oviform pommel and button, decagonal in section; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of hexagonal section widening towards the ends; knuckle-guard branching into loop-guards to join the ring, inner bars and hilt-arms to which is attached a side-ring, all of pentagonal section, the dark surface formerly gilt. Blade of diamond section, the groove at the forte inscribed with the name:

· FRIEDERICH · / · MVNICH ·

The blade lettering of Spanish type; strong ricasso.

Friedrich Munich was probably a member of a family of Solingen bladesmiths, of whom the best known is Peter Münch, who frequently signed his name Peter Munich. Weyersberg (Solinger Schwertschmiede, p. 32) has found references to a swordsmith, Freidrich Munich, in the Solingen archives under the years 1645, 1670, 1673 and 1674. A Friedrich Münch died at Schaberg on 11 January, 1705, at the age of 80. A578|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of a spherical pommel decorated with herring-bone fluting, and with large button; vertically fluted, wire-bound grip (modern); straight crossguard; knuckle-guard, with a loop-guard joining the hilt-arms, double ring-guard, on the forward end of which is a side-ring; all of hexagonal section chiselled with herring-bone fluting, the ends and centres of the guards enhanced with knobs of rectangular section. Slender blade, of diamond section changing to hexagonal at the forte where it is etched with scrolls and inscribed in neat Roman capitals:

SI . DEUS . PRO NOBIS . QUIS . CONTERA NOS . 1627
…….ME . DOMIN . VICTORIA . A . DEO . 1627

The ricasso is etched with scrolls and bears a bladesmith's mark on each side.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp.120, 126,232 and 372; De Beaumont Catalogue, No. 48 and pl. 3. A579|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of a fluted, oviform pommel with button; herring-bone grip bound with wire; straight crossguard of hexagonal section, thickening towards the ends; hilt-arms, ring and knuckle-guard, the last branching with two loop-guards joining the hilt-arms. The whole hilt is of blackened steel. Double-edged blade of hexagonal section, triply grooved at the forte, the central groove inscribed:

WEILHELM · TESCHE · VON · VIRSBERGH

HISO · IN · ALMANIA · ME · FECIT ·

The ricasso is stamped on either side with the maker's mark. This is an example of a sword given a Spanish flavour by the form of the inscription, though the meaning makes its German origin quite clear.

The word 'Hiso' (hijo) means 'son', and denotes the work of Wilhelm Tesche junior. Wilhelm Tesche was probably not a member of the Wirsbergh family, see A548. In this case it is thought that 'Wirsbergh' is the Solingen dialect form of Weyersberg, which used to be an estate to the north of the wall encircling the town centre. This was where Tesche lived. He added 'von Wirsberg' or 'Am Wirsberg' to his signature to distinguish himself from another swordsmith of the same name, see A658.

A very similar hilt is depicted in The Corporalship of Captain Dirck Theulingh by Nicolas Elias called Pickenoy, dated 1639 (Amsterdam, Historical Museum, no. A7314).

For William Tesche of Weyersberg, see Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, p. 47. A580|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprising a fluted, cylindrical pommel, with tang button; vertically fluted, wooden grip, of the original wire binding, only the Turk's head at either end remains; straight crossguard of circular section, thickening towards the ends; hilt-arms, triple ring joining the knuckle-guard by a loop-guard, the inner one splitting into two transverse bars. All of circular section; perhaps originally blued. The double-edged blade is of flattened diamond section, singly grooved at the forte; the ricasso bearing on either side the maker's mark. The surface of the hilt has been decorated with small punched circles and hatched as preparation for gilding, traces of which remain. A582|1|1|Rapier, entirely composite, the swept hilt comprising a large, hollow, oviform pommel of early 17th-century date, pierced and chiselled with combats, figures and masks among interlaced strapwork; small button; wire-bound grip, modern; knuckle-guard, straight crossguard ending in pierced oviform knobs like the pommel; double ring-guard (the larger ring not returning to the smaller on one side, but joining the knuckle-guard by a loop); hilt arms and two transverse bars at the back. All elements of the guard are probably 19th-century. The whole of circular section, the centres of the guards decorated with oviform knobs pierced and chiselled on one side and addorsed C-shaped scrolls on the other, the rest of the surface closely engraved with interlacing strapwork and acanthus leaves. The Toledo blade, dates from c. 1600 and is of diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with the Toledo and half moon marks. The Toledo mark is also repeated on the tang. A583|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of an oviform pommel and spherical button; vertically fluted, copper wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard with two loop-guards, that on the outside joining the short, straight crossguard; triple ring-guard, covering the outer side of the hilt arms, the branch on the other side divides into three before joining the forward end of the hilt arms; all of oval section. The pommel, crossguard terminals, centres of the guards and escutcheon are all decorated with oval medallions inlaid with mythological figures including Mercury, Diana, and possibly Mars in silver within dotted borders; the rest of the surface is lightly hatched and has been overlaid with silver arabesques. The slender blade is of hexagonal section, triply fluted at the forte and incised with the bladesmith's name:

HEIRMAN . KEISSER . ME FECIT .

HEIRMAN . KEISSER . SOLINGEN .

The ricasso gilt and stamped on each side with the maker's mark.

The Keisser family of Solingen bladesmiths (spelt variously Kaiser, Kayser or Keyser) was still working as late as the 19th century. Johann was Bürgermeister of Solingen in 1708 (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, p. 25). A sword ascribed to the Duke of Montrose, signed Hermann Keisser 1570, was sold at Sotheby's, 24 July, 1925 (Morkill and others). A rapier, signed Hermanus Keisser, was in the Dreger Collection, sold Lucerne, 1927, lot 106, and a broadsword, signed by him is illustrated in Drummond's Ancient Scottish Weapons, 1881, pl. IX. A584|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of a hollow pommel pierced with scrolls holding four shells containing two male and two female busts chiselled in relief;fluted, wire-bound grip; crossguard horizontally recurved at the ends; double ring, hilt arms, knuckle-guard, branching into a loop-guard, the bars on the inner side crossed in saltire; the ends of the crossguard and the centre of the ring and knuckle-guards (as well as the end of the latter) are decorated, like the pommel, with male and female busts on shells. The double-edged blade of hexagonal section, singly grooved at the forte, and inscribed on both sides:

PETRVS IN TOLEDO

The ricasso stamped on each side with an armourer's mark of a lion rampant.
Blades signed PETRUS are in the collection of the Pauilhac Collection at the Musée de l’Armée in Paris (inv. no. J.Po.1880), and on a ‘main gauche’ type parrying dagger once in the possession of Mr. Loder at Taunton. One in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, is signed Iuan Petrus (inv. no. 14.25.1036). Cf. also no. A638.

Additional blades signed PETRUS IN TOLEDO are in the Historical Museum at Bern (Wegeli, Inventor, II, no. 438), and in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. IX.889). Nothing seems to be recorded about this maker. A585|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of an oviform pommel, pierced and decorated with close-set scallop shells chiselled in high relief, and faceted button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip (restored); straight crossguard with a pierced escutcheon clustered with scallop shells, triple ring-guard, hilt-arms, joined by loop-guards to the knuckle-guard; the crossguard and guards of hexagonal section, broken at intervals with pierced cockle shells pierced and chiselled in high relief showing traces of gilding. Double-edged blade of hexagonal section with a single flute at the forte, the ricasso and upper part etched with guilloche ornament and scrolls on a hatched ground.

Compare the hilts of Wallace Collection nos. A570, 586, 589, 607, 648. A586|1|1|Rapier, the symmetrical swept hilt made up of a hollow, oviform pommel decorated with shells, with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight crossguard of baluster form; three ring-guards on either side, the two forward rings enclosing shells pierced with quatrefoils; hilt arms joined to the knuckle-guard by loop-guards; the pommel, the centres of the guards and the crossguard, the ends of the crossguard and the knuckle-guard are all decorated with pierced knops chiselled with cockle-shells and rosettes (now bright, but traces of the original black remain). Double-edged blade of hexagonal section, the groove at the forte inscribed on each side:

PEDRO HERNAN[DEZ]

the strong ricasso stamped on each side with his mark: a crucifix.

Compare to the rapier A571, which bears the same maker's mark. In the Real Armería of Madrid is a rapier blade inscribed in full and bearing the same mark, with crowned F in addition (G 202); other examples attributed to Pedro Hernández are in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (J. 254), and one at Dresden (E 395), with a crowned OT, is inscribed: Sebastian Hernandez.
Pedro Hernández's blades are not to be confused with those of Hannes Cleles or Enrique Coll (possibly Heinrich Koel), German bladesmiths, who also marked with a crucifix, but of a slightly different character.

A sword with a very similar hilt was formerly in the Saxon Electoral Armoury (Sold R. Lepke, Berlin, 5 May 1927, lot 31, repr. in cat.). Pedro Hernández was not recorded by Francisco Palomares in his list of Toledo swordsmiths published in 1762 (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7), nor apparently by Rodríguez del Canto, but a blade signed by him and bearing the mark of the Crucifixion is in the Real Armería at Madrid, no. G202. According to de Leguina, Pedro or Pietro Hernández worked in Seville. He gives his mark as Cruz grande de brazos iguales (1897, p. 108). A Pedro Hernández, swordsmith in Seville, died in 1596, leaving a widow, Juanna Ortiz (J. Gestaso y Pérez, Ensayo de un diccionano de los artifíces qu florecieron en Sevilla, III, 1909, p. 170). A blade at Waddesdon Manor (Blair, 1974, no. 26) is inscribed PETRVS HERNANDEZ. It also bears the Toledo mark flanked on each side by an S, as well as the mark, presumably also spurious, of Sandro Scacchi, as on no. A613 here. The same combination occurs on a sword in the Odescalchi collection in Rome (inv. no. 197; Carpegna 1969 no. 257). A blade signed PIETRO HERNANDEZ, stamped with the letter S a Toledo mark, is in the Military Museum, Prague, inv. no. 1337. Two blades in the Institute de Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid, are signed PIETRO HERNAN (cf. nos. 68 and 70). A587|1|1|Rapier, the frontally symmetrical swept hilt comprised of a faceted oviform pommel with button; cord-bound grip of octagonal section; knuckle-guard and straight crossguard of circular section; hilt-arms, double shell-guards of squelette type (the term ‘squelette’ is given in France to this type of hilt from its resemblance to the ribs of a skeleton), each composed of sixteen narrow bars joined down the centre; the whole of blackened steel. The long blade is of hexagonal section with a single groove at the forte inlaid on one side with the mark of the running-wolf, and on the other with the orb and cross. Long, square ricasso with central hollow. The blade has been bent, broken and repaired.

It is not clear whether the 'beast' on the blade really does represent a wolf, and if so whether it is of Passau or of Solingen (see A469). The rib-like bars of the hilt are formed by piercing a convex plate fitted into a groove in the side-ring. A588|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt composed of an inverted, pear-shaped pommel chased with basket work, with tang-button; diagonally wire-bound grip; straight crossguard swelling slightly at the ends; hilt arms, triple ring and knuckle-guard, the last joined by loops to the hilt arms, with an additional curled bar, and the unusual plain triple guards on the inner side; heart-shaped escutcheon ribbed. The entire hilt is made of blackened steel, the bars undulated and chiselled with fine parallel lines to simulate basket-work; double-edged blade, doubly grooved the entire length, each groove being incised with the name:

ANDREA FERARA

Long ricasso stamped with two crosses.

Italian, about 1570-80.

Boccia and Coelho, Armi bianche italiane, 1975, fig. 482; Norman and Barne 1980, pp. 122, 232 and 252, pI. 37. See A544. Compare also the crosses stamped on A538. A590|1|1|Rapier, with swept hilt of an early type, made up of a spherical pommel, with large button, chased in low relief with acanthus leaves, alternating with a shield of arms (a shield with three crescents addorsed inflamed, gilt); spirally fluted grip bound with iron and gilt wire; crossguard curved in opposite directions, the ends of riband form chased with acanthus leaves; double side-rings, hilt arms and a single loop-guard joining the hilt arms to the guard; all of gilt steel, the centres of the guards decorated with acanthus leaves chiselled in relief; two-edged strongly grooved blade, pierced with small holes and slits within 5.5 inches of the point. The device on the pommel is one of those used by the Strozzi family of Florence. The blade has been shortened.

North Italian, about 1550-60.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 54 and 121. A591|1|1|Rapier, with a swept hilt composed of an oviform pommel of twelve facets, with button; leather and wire-bound grip; diagonally curved (up and down) crossguard (of flat oval section) with slight horizontal recurvature; ring-guard, with a loop-guard from the guard to the pas d' âne, knuckle-guard and three inner bars; the entire hilt overlaid with fine arabesques in gold and silver on a blued ground. Blade of diamond section, grooved at the forte and inscribed on both sides:

MONTE ∙ EN ∙ TOLEDO

Strong tapering ricasso.

Spanish (Toledo), about 1610.

About 1580; hilt possibly Italian, decorated in Milan; blade Spanish (Toledo).

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

L' art ancien, I, 26, but not identified among Nieuwerkerke's exhibits at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 145 and 232.

The inscription on this blade may refer to Pedro del Monte who signed A648, or at least to a member of the same family. A592|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprising a cylindrical pommel with nine hollow facets; short wooden grip of octagonal section bound with wire; diagonally curved crossguard with slight horizontal recurving, side-ring hilt arms and loop-guard joining the knuckle-guard, and three transverse bars on the inner side, all of oval section; the hilt is of steel chiselled in low relief with monsters, masks, conventional flowers and oval panels containing classical figures on a gilt and matted ground. The blade of hexagonal section, with a single groove inscribed on each side:

ANDREA FERARA

The ricasso is stamped with a cross twice on each side.

About 1610; decoration of hilt probably 19th century; blade Italian.

L' Art Ancien, IV, no. 568.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

For other blades here inscribed by Andrea Ferara, see A544. A593|1|1|Rapier, the large, swept hilt composed of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, chased with four arch-shaped panels divided by columns (undercut and spirally fluted), the two larger ones chiselled in relief with scenes representing Mucius Scaevola before King Porsenna, the two smaller ones have a single Roman figure; oval grip bound with iron and copper wire; reversely curved crossguard with slight diagonal curve; knuckle-guard, joining the hilt arms by a loop-guard, single side-ring, all of oblong section, the ends of the crossguard and the centres of the other guards have been richly chased with oblong panels containing classical figures in combat, masks and dolphins in low relief on a matte gold ground, the intervening surfaces filled with floral scrolls, acanthus leaves, masks and herms the edges chiselled to a pattern of scales. The three transverse bars on the inner side are restorations. Long, two-edged blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark, a cross with the letter S.

Pommel possibly German (Saxon); guards 19th century; blade about 1600.

J.F. Hayward, (Apollo, June, 1947), noted the similarity of this hilt with the work of Othmar Wetter of Munich (later Dresden), and drew a comparison with swords from the Dresden Rüstkammer now (1) in the Metropolitan Museum, New York: (2) W. Koeller Collection, sold Amsterdam, April, 1930; and (3) one at Sotheby's, July, 1930. A594|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of a hollow pommel, the upper part formed of three pairs of scrolls linked together; wire-bound grip; horizontally recurved crossguard terminating in scrolls pierced like the pommel; double ring-guard (the larger ring joined by a loop to the knuckle-guard), hilt arms and two transverse bars on the inner side; both rings and the knuckle-guard are decorated at the center with pierced double scrolls like those on the pommel. The hilt overlaid throughout with vine leaves, incised and gilt. Blade of flattened diamond section, grooved from the ricasso nearly to the point, and inscribed:

∙ CLEMENTES / WIS ∙ PERCH ∙

in letters in the style of those on Toledo blades. The dagger A817 is of like design and workmanship.

Pommel 19th century; guards North Italian, about 1545-55; blade associated

German (Solingen) about 1600.

L' Art Ancien, I, no. 26; De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 19 and pl. 2, The pommel is much too tall for one of this date. Its proportions should reproduce exactly those of the knobs on the ends of the crossguard.

Provenance; de Courval sale, Fillet and Roussel, Paris, 17-18 April 1860, lot 8,840 fr. (sketch by Edouard de Beaumont in the marked catalogue in the archive of the Royal Armouries). L' art ancien, I, 26, Nieuwerkerke (with a different pommel); Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 125.

The large and important Wirsbergh family of Solingen bladesmiths (spelt variously Wirsberg, Wiersberg, Warsberch, Weyersberg) is traditionally of Styrian origin, but a Peter Weyersberge is recorded as a property owner in the Solingen records as early as 1488. No member of the family with the name Clementes appears to be recorded, but from 1638 onwards various members are known to have been called Clemens (see A653). It seems possible that Clementes was in fact Clemens Tesche, since another member of that family, Johannes Tesche, signed himself Jantes Wirsberg (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, p. 45). Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, probably no. 1834.

For other blades of this family, see A548 by Wilhelm, A640 by Johannes, and A634 by Peter.

See also Cronau, Geschichte der Solingen Klingenindustrie, 1885, pp. 50-51; Weyersberg, op. cit., pp. 47-55. A595|1|1|Rapier, of exceptional quality, having a swept hilt , with the pear-shaped pommel carved out into a hollow framework formed of scrolled bands, with a tang button; hexagonal grip of wood bound with copper wire; diagonally curved quillons also slightly re-curved, of oblong section, terminating in scrolls; knuckle-guard, joined to the hilt-rings by a loop-guard, single projecting bar, and transverse guards on the inner side; the entire hilt richly chiselled and gilt with masks, scrolls and festoons of drapery on a dark ground, also panels in the central parts chased with garlands and trophies of arms fully gilt. The broad, two-edged blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with two maker's marks: a bull's head and the letter B crowned, which are those of Jaspar Bongen the Elder, who was working at Solingen about 1620. Compare the mark upon the rapier at Dresden, E. 581, which is inscribed: Jaspar Bongen me fecit Solingen.

The general form and the decoration resemble that on the sword by Clemens Horn of Solingen, ascribed to James I, at Windsor Castle (Laking: Windsor, No. 62; European Armour, IV, fig. 1378). Both swords have similar hollow, scrolled pommels and this feature also occurs on swords in the Scott and Burrell Collections at Glasgow, and in the Swedish Royal Armoury at Stockholm (J.F. Hayward, Scottish Art Review, IV, 1, 1956, p. 19.)

In 1963 Claude Blair suggested that this hilt might be English and pointed out that the decoration was similar to that on contemporary English guns and crossbows at Madrid, and on the wheel-lock pistol formerly at Belchamp Hall, Essex. A hilt with guards and pommel of identical form is in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. no. 1025). A pommel and part of the guards identical to those of A595 appear in a portrait of an unknown man, British School about 1610-20, at Welbeck Abbey. Jaspar Bongen is not apparently mentioned in the Solingen city records. A. Weyersberg believed that the name was borne by a father and son in succession. A blade in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden, bearing the larger size of mark, is signed JASPAR BONGEN ME FECIT SOLINGEN (1899 Cat., no. E581; Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 13-14). A596|1|1|Rapier, the very fine hilt comprised of a pear-shaped pommel, hollow and composed of scrolled bands, with button; hexagonal grip of wood bound with copper wire; diagonally curved crossguard also slightly re-curved, of oblong section, ending in a scroll; knuckle-guard, joined to the hilt-arms by a loop-guard, single projecting bar, and transverse guards on the inner side; the entire hilt richly chiselled and gilt with masks, scrolls and festoons of drapery on a darkened ground, also panels in the central parts chased with garlands and trophies of arms fully gilt. The broad, double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with two maker's marks: a bull's head and the letter B crowned, which are those of Jaspar Bongen the Elder, who was working at Solingen about 1620. Compare the mark upon the rapier at Dresden, E. 581, which is inscribed: Jaspar Bongen me fecit Solingen.

Hayward, 'English swords 1600-1650', Arms and Armor Annual, I, 1973, pp. 142-61, fig. 22; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 53, 54, 98, 222, 231, 261 and 335. The general form and the decoration resemble that on the sword by Clemens Horn of Solingen, ascribed to James I, at Windsor Castle (Laking: Windsor, no. 62; European Armour, IV, fig. 1378). Both swords have similar hollow, scrolled pommels and this feature also occurs on swords in the Scott and Burrell Collections at Glasgow, and in the Swedish Royal Armoury at Stockholm (J.F. Hayward, Scottish Art Review, vol. IV, no. 1, 1956, p. 19.)

In 1963 C. Blair suggested that this hilt might be English and pointed out that the decoration was similar to that on contemporary English guns and crossbows at Madrid, and on the wheel-lock pistol formerly at Belchamp Hall, Essex. A hilt with guards and pommel of identical form is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 1025). A pommel and part of the guards identical to those of A595 appear in a portrait of an unknown man, British School about 1610-20, at Welbeck Abbey. Jaspar Bongen is not apparently recorded in the Solingen records. A. Weyersberg believed that the name was borne by a father and son in succession. A blade in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden, bearing the larger size of mark, is signed JASPAR BONGEN ME FECIT SOLINGEN (1899 Cat., no. E581; Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 13-14).

Distinct in style from the work of the larger Italian and German sword-producing centres, these two beautiful swords are exceptionally rare examples of Jacobean swordsmithing. They are robust yet refined, exemplifying, like the English basket-hilt, the domestic taste for a combination of strong construction and stout ornament. In his work An Illustrated Catalogue of Weapons and Detached Specimens of Armour from the Collection of Wm. Meyrick (1861), William Meyrick, the cousin and heir of the great arms and armour scholar Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, stated that the hilt and pommel of the richer of these two rapiers (A596; embellished with gold as well as silver) had been ‘recently dug up at Saffron Walden’ in Essex. The parts were cleaned, the decoration refreshed and a ‘suitable blade’ added, to form the fragments into a complete weapon. Although now in a restored state, this fine rapier remains an important example of the type of sword fashionable at the court of King James I (reigned 1603-25). It is closely similar in design and decoration to the other example, which is fitted with an Italian, possibly Brescian blade.

A number of features mark the hilt of this weapon out as English work of high quality, rather than the product of an Italian or German workshop . The very large pear-shaped pommel is typical of English swords of this period, not just rapiers but also cross-hilted and basket-hilted swords. The rounded quality of the hilt was further emphasised by the oval lozenges forming the cross-guard and forward-guard terminals and placed centrally on the knuckle-bow and loop-guard. The use of these small ovoid plates is again reminiscent of the construction of the English basket-hilt, making the English rapier seem a closer relation to it than to its continental counter-parts. The rich silver encrusting, although not exclusive to English weapons, was nevertheless especially popular in England. It is found on many comparable English swords . The typical decorative scheme found on English encrusted rapier-hilts involves the same masks surrounded with feathers and foliage as found on the basket-hilts, with the addition of lines of silver beads forming rectangular and lenticular panels, sometimes filled with fine foliate scrolls false-damascened in gold, as on the richer of these two examples. The style is also closely comparable to the decoration found on knives bearing London cutlers’ marks . The feathers and masks motif is also found in English domestic interior decoration of the same period. A597|1|1|Rapier, the fine swept hilt made in the English style of similar form to A596 made up of a large pear shaped pommel, with button; oval, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard of oval section; knuckle-guard, joined to the hilt arms by a loop-guard, with a short counter-guard projecting from one side of it; two plain, curved bars on the inner side; the ends of the crossguard and counter-guard, and the centre of the pommel, knuckle-guard and bar are encrusted with cherubs' heads with rays, and in silver the remainder of the hilt decorated with flowing scrolls of flowers and foliage encrusted in the same metal on a russeted ground. The doubled-edged blade is of hexagonal section, singly grooved at the forte and incised on one side:

E · B · C · E · B · C · E · B · C · B

and on the other:–

E · C · B · E · C · B · E · C · B · E

The ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark: the letters A/F crowned.

In the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, is a rapier which bears the same mark, the blade being also inscribed Caino (Robert, J 156). The fullers of the blades made in Caino, a blade-smithing centre near Brescia in northern Italy, are often incised with disconnected letters; see A559, 560, 573, 608. For other instances of sequences of unconnected letters, see A574, 598, 599, 629.
The heavy, silver-encrusted pommels and guards of A569 and 597 recall many English hilts of the period c. 1580-1610 (e.g. Windsor, nos. 60 and 61, Laking, op. cit., IV figs. 1379, 1381, and at Warwick Castle, Z.H.W.K., XV, p. 53, etc.) when the fashion seems to have been brought to this country by foreign craftsmen (cf. A511).

A number of features mark the hilt of this rapier out as English work of high quality, rather than that of an Italian or German workshop . The very large pear-shaped pommel is typical of English swords of this period, not just rapiers but also cross-hilted and basket-hilted swords. The rounded quality of the hilts was further emphasised by the oval lozenges forming the cross-guard and forward-guard terminals and placed centrally on the knuckle-bows and loop-guards. The use of these small ovoid plates is again reminiscent of the construction of the English basket-hilt, making the English rapier seem a closer relation to it than to its continental counter-parts. The rich silver encrusting, although not exclusive to English weapons, was nevertheless especially popular in England. It is found on many comparable English swords.

The typical decorative scheme found on English encrusted rapier-hilts involves the same masks surrounded with feathers and foliage as found on the basket-hilts, with the addition of lines of silver beads forming rectangular and lenticular panels, sometimes filled with fine foliate scrolls overlaid in gold, as on the richer of these two examples. The style is also closely comparable to the decoration found on knives bearing London cutlers’ marks. The feathers and masks motif is also found in English domestic interior decoration of the same period. A598|1|1|Rapier, the swept-hilt comprised of a spherical pommel decorated with horizontally notched facets, and separate button; copper, wire-bound grip of herring-bone pattern; crossguard, diagonally curved upwards and downwards; knuckle-guard, with loop-guard connecting with the hilt-arms; ring-guard (the third ring enclosing a small pierced shell), the bars being of hexagonal section decorated with rusticated notching and entirely gilt. Blade of hexagonal section, triply fluted at the forte, the central flute incised:–

M [O] M [O] M[O] M

The ricasso stamped on each side with the maker's mark, a crowned B.

Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 133 and 234.

A similar mark of a crowned B, surmounted by a cross occurs, together with the Toledo mark, on a rapier in the Hermitage, Leningrad (Lenz, p. 159, B 293), inscribed: De Pedro de Velmonte en Toledo; and on a rapier in the Fitzwilliam Museum, inscribed: De Pedro de Vela/monte en Toledo. Compare also the crowned B used by Peter Tesche of Solingen (Dresden, 314, p. 84, and in Weyersberg, pp. 46-7). The same repetitive inscription, M.O.M., etc. occurred on two rapiers in the Keasbey sale, 1924 lot 231, and 1925, lot 104. A599|1|1|Rapier, the blued swept-hilt composed of a fluted pommel of tapering cylindrical form, with button; wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard; triple ring-guard, symmetrical on either side; hilt-arms, joined by a loop-guard to the knuckle-guard; the guards of slender section with the knobs at the centres; slender blade of flattened hexagonal section with hollow at the forte, and inscribed in Spanish type of lettering:

EMIOENEVENDO

LD?EVLENEELO

The inscription does not make sense and is possibly a German corruption of '...EL VEYO/EN TOLEDO'. Strong ricasso with the traces of a maker's mark on either side. The shell-guards originally bolted to the ends of the arms of the hilt within the guards are now missing (see A640). There is no gap in either inscription. The third letter in the lower line is in fact illegible.

Compare the hilts of nos. A605, 640, 807, 841 and 843 A600|1|1|Sword, the swept hilt composed of a cone-shaped pommel chased with a grotesque head, plumed and moustached; wire-bound grip; horizontally recurved crossguard with bifurcated riband ends in the form of acanthus leaves; knuckle-guard, loop-guard from the cross to the hilt-arms, and the usual transverse bars on the inner side; the hilt is of bright steel, shaped and chased with medallions with rosettes supported by acanthus leaves at the centres of the guards; the broad blade of flat hexagonal section grooved at the forte and inscribed on each side:
IHS
Boccia and Coelho, Armi bianche, 1975, fig. 418; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 50,54, 118 and 221.

Ornamented with medallions and leaves in relief, this fine Italian sword hilt is very similar in design to a number which appear in the contemporary design album of Filippo Orsoni (Mantua, dated 1554; Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. nos. E.1725-.2031-1929) and exhibits several of Orsoni’s key stylistic elements.These include the treatment of the ends of the crossguard, scrolled in opposite directions, and the vase-like pommel. Most characteristic however is the structure of the decoration on the side-rings and knuckle-bow. Many of the sword hilts conceived by Orsoni are made up of twisting vines, foliage, or other material, which support masks or medallions placed centrally on the side-rings, knuckle-bow, and sometimes also on the cross. In this case the hilt bars have been chiselled and filed to create the impression of simple circular medallions held in place on either side by splitting vines, worked below with the bearded masks of leafy green men or forest spirits. The same motifs are repeated on the pommel.

Although the wide blade of this sword is later and not original to the hilt, it is not entirely out of place; many of the Orsoni album sword hilt designs show similarly broad cut-and- thrust blades. A601|1|1|Rapier, the swept-hilt of blackened steel made up of a pommel in the form of a turbaned head; wire-bound grip; diagonally curved guard, ring-guards, hilt-arms, joined by a loop to the knuckle-guard, and the usual three transverse bars on the inner side; the main guards are chiseled with scales, their centres and the ends of the crossguard lobed and decorated with cockle-shells; the escutcheon is also chased with a cockle-shell; blade of hexagonal section, with short groove at the forte, the ricasso stamped twice with a cross and the blade once on either side. Both pommel and guards bear traces of encrusting with silver. Pommel associated. A602|1|1|Rapier, the swept-hilt comprised of a spirally fluted, oviform pommel with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard (slightly recurved horizontally) triple ring-guard, hilt-arms, loop-guard and knuckle-guard with end hooked, and four transverse bars on the inner side; the guards of bright steel, all boldly roped; blade of diamond section with slightly hollowed facets; the ricasso stamped with an oval shield incised with the maker's name:

FRANCESCHO / GASTIONE

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 51 and 234, pI. 54. There was a rapier in the Bernal sale, Christie's, 1855, lot 2146, signed CASTIONE (sic), probably the same swordsmith. This form of signature on an oval band was used by Sandri Scacchi and other Italian swordsmiths, cf. nos. A613, A629 and A788. A603|1|1|Rapier, the swept-hilt comprising a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard (also slightly recurved horizontally); knuckle-guard joined by a loop- to double ring-guards and hilt-arms, and the usual plain transverse bars on the inner side. The entire hilt, with the exception of the inner-guard, is spirally chased with alternate bands of twisted guilloche riband and berries in low relief. The blade, which is probably 19th-century, is of flattened diamond section with strong ricasso heavily stamped on each side with the letter N or H.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 370-1 (with a list of similarly decorated pieces).

The 19th-century hilt of A622 is similarly decorated, however it has been cast, rather than chiselled and chased in the authentic manner. Another example, which came from the Baden Ducal Armoury, is in the Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe (no. G87). A604|1|1|Rapier, the swept-hilt composed of a pommel decorated in high relief with pilasters chiselled in the form of dolphins, spherical button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard, knuckle-guard with loop-guard connecting with the hilt arms, and projecting counter-guard; plain triple bar covering the ricasso on the left side; all the main guards are spirally moulded and end in large dolphins' heads, the whole being of chiselled steel, blued and gilt. Blade of diamond section (broken off about eleven inches from the point, and since repaired) and engraved on the forte with scrolls and figures in classical and Turkish costume. Inscribed on each side:

Soli Deo Gloria, sai [sic]

Me fecit Pasafis [sic]

The ricasso is engraved with figures in the costume of the early seventeenth century and heavily gilt. On the tang there is a mark similar to that on A483 and 576.

Skelton, I Pl. LXV, Fig. 6

Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 99 and 257. A605|1|1|Rapier, the plain swept-hilt, composed of a pommel of tapering cylindrical form with fourteen faint facets; grip bound with copper wire; diagonally curved crossguard; hilt-arms, triple ring, loop- and knuckle-guard, the small ring in front filled with a shell pierced with quatrefoils, the usual transverse triple bars on the inner side; the hilt of bright steel, the guards of flattened oval section; blade of flattened diamond section, the groove incised:

*XXX*·

and stamped at the end on either side with the letter s; the ricasso also bears a maker's mark which resembles that upon the rapier, A576. Compare also for form to A612

Compare the hilts of nos. A599, 640, 807, 841 and 843.

Thrusts were discovered to be lethally effective in civilian combats during the mid- sixteenth century. By the 1550s some fight masters, most prominently Camillo Agrippa, were arguing in favour of the almost exclusive use of the thrust in duels. Such a trend immediately exerted a strong influence on the design of the swords employed in civilian fights. The blade narrowed and became longer and longer. Unlike the older estoc, however, the rapiers of the mid- to late sixteenth century never lost their cutting edges entirely. However with its great length, thick spine and little in the way of a distal taper, the rapier of the later sixteenth and early seventeenth century began to closely resemble its distant military relative- a long spear of steel fixed to an elegant swept-hilt.

This quality is very apparent on this fine Spanish rapier of the early seventeenth century. It carries one of the longest, most acutely tapered blades in the Wallace Collection. The distal thickness of the blade is maintained all the way to the point which, because of the extreme taper in the blade’s profile, assumes a square cross-section reminiscent of the armour-piercing weapons of the late Middle Ages. However in an urban duelling environment, this powerful, puncturing blade would not encounter plate armour, but rather only the clothing, flesh and bone of its owner’s enemies, through which it could pass with ease.

The one drawback to these very long rapier blades was that they were somewhat heavy and their balance point could be quite far forward of the guard, making the weapon feel blade-heavy in the hand. Although it was possible to fight with such a weapon alone, using ‘single-rapier’ technique, many found that it was preferable to employ it in conjunction with a companion weapon, a shield or, as was more practical in a civilian context, a dagger. A606|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt of blued steel made up of an oviform pommel, chiselled and notched like a fir-cone; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved crossguard; three ring-guards, of diamond section, symmetrical on both sides, the forward rings enclose small pierced shell; hilt arms joined to the knuckle-guard by a loop; the centres of the guards and the ends of the crossguard and knuckle-guard are decorated like the pommel with spiral notching; blade of hexagonal section, grooved and inscribed at both sides:

· ME FECIT· EN TOLEDO

The long ricasso is stamped on each side with a king's head in profile, and other marks which have in the past been interpreted as supportive of an attribution to Toledo. In fact this piece is a Solingen imitation, as the addition of the king's head mark, used by the Wundes family, suggests. A very similar hilt is depicted in the portrait by Van Dyck formerly thought to be of Livio Odescalchi, about 1622-7 (Musée du Louvre, inv. no. RF 1942-34). A607|1|1|Short-sword, the swept hilt made up of a flattened cylindrical pommel with button; diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; single, curving quillon of oval section; semi- hilt arm (from which projects at right angles a counter-guard), ring-, loop- and knuckle-guards; the whole of blued steel, the pommel, escutcheon and the ends and centres of the guards decorated with cockle-shells chiselled in low relief; short broad blade of flattened oval section with a double shallow groove, notched at the hilt for the finger stamped on either side with crowned A.

For a note on hilts ornamented with cockle-shells, see A570. No other example of this type of guard has been recorded at this late date. A608|1|1|Rapier, the very fine swept-hilt made up of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, with button; oval, wire-bound grip; single curving rear quillon; knuckle-guard, joined by a loop to the hilt-arms, double ring-guards, and plain, gilt transverse guards on the inner side. The pommel is richly chiselled with figures in combat in high relief on a matt gilt ground, the sides with chains and flowers; the edges of the guards are chased and pierced to a chain design; the ends of the quillon and knuckle-guard are finished with oval disks chiselled with scrolled heads; the centres of the guards have panels of combats in relief, and the remaining surfaces are chased with strings of flowers. Blade of flattened hexagonal section, converging to diamond section towards the point, the single groove at the forte incised on one side with the letters:

∙A∙S∙H∙S A∙S∙H∙S A∙S∙H∙S A

and the other:

∙A∙S∙H∙S A∙S∙H∙S A∙S∙H∙S A∙S

The ricasso is incised with the place-name Caino and a crown. Caino blades generally bear, in addition to the name of the North Italian bladesmithing town itself, a crowned S or M/S. See rapiers A516, 559-60, 573, 649, but the inscription is not so boldly stamped. For series of unconnected letters on blades, see A597.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, No. 1846 (Nieuwerkerke). Basilewski sale, Fillet and Delange, Paris, 26 April 1869, lot 30, repr. in cat., ? 1510 fr. (marked catalogue in the Library of the Tower Armouries). Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 261.

Illustrated by Vollon in his Curiosités of 1868 (Savill, 1980). A very similar hilt, but not apparently by the same hand, is in the Royal Armouries (no. IX.878; Dufty and Borg, 1974, pI. 26a). Boccia, Rossi and Morin describe the workmanship of the hilt of A608 as Milanese. For the suggestion that the subsidiary incised decoration is German see under A808.

Chains were a popular motif for the decoration of rapier hilts in the second half of the sixteenth century. The conceit, that an inherently flexible construct could be made inexplicably solid, attracts and captivates the eye. It implies a maker of exceptional skill and an owner of unusual, perhaps even avant-garde tastes. Rapiers of this type are so distinctive that modern scholars have in the past been tempted to attribute them to a particular school or master. Laking asserted that they were of French origin, connecting them with Claude Savigny, a maker and supplier of swords in Tours (documented 1578-95). However he offered no evidence for this proposal, nor did he note (though he illustrated examples of two of the three methods) that there were three very distinct techniques variously employed to create chain effects. The first, fashionable during the 1570s, involved the painstaking piercing and filing of the bars of the swept-hilt so that they appeared to be entirely made up of stout chain-links frozen into the desired shapes. It is likely that most, if not all hilts of this type are Italian . In the second (entirely different) method, actual chains fashioned out of very fine silver links were laid into channels cut into the hilt bars, or onto their edges. Of the three chain techniques, only this one has been seriously argued to be French. The third class of chain hilt, of which this is an excellent example, blends the metalworking technique of the first type with something of the visual effect of the second. Here only the edges of the hilt parts have been filed, pierced and chiselled to resemble chains framing the main parts of the guard. Between the chains are panels containing warriors in combat carved in relief, interspersed with fruit, scrolls, and masks, all of which have been placed against a fire-gilt background. The attribution of this hilt to North Italy is supported by the close similarity between it and other examples of Italian chiselled hilts. Both hilts feature horsemen treated in a very similar way, while such features as the small masks enclosed by pairs of scrolls above and below form secondary points of comparison. The few known hilts of this third type are all now considered to be North Italian. A609|1|1|Rapier, the very fine swept-hilt comprising a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, with button; spirally fluted grip bound with silver wire; single, curved rear quillon; side-ring, knuckle-guard joined to the arms of the hilt by a loop-guard, and on the inner side the usual three plain (fire-gilt) transverse bars, all except the last of oval section. The hilt is minutely decorated with heart-shaped panels of foliage, including small cupids' heads chased and gilt, relieved by and alternating with black arabesques against a gold-overlaid ground. Broad blade of flattened hexagonal section, with two grooves at the forte, the ricasso stamped on each side with the Toledo mark.

Writers and swordsmen in the sixteenth century seem not to have agreed on what exactly was originally meant by the term ‘rapier’. Nor is it clear how this weapon, initially, was different from other swords. Whatever form a ‘rapier’ originally took, it clearly was a sword not to be used for war but rather to be worn with civilian dress. The term was probably derived from the Spanish espada ropera, a ‘sword of the robe’, that is, a ‘dress’ sword, worn with everyday clothes. The idea that the rapier somehow had an Iberian, or at least south European, origin is supported by what may be the first German use of the term, in the fight book of Paulus Hector Mair (1542), in which the ‘rapir’ is also referred to as the ensis hispanicus. More importantly, this ‘Spanish sword’ is illustrated by Mair as being a narrow-bladed thrusting weapon, quite distinct from most other swords, which were usually fitted with some form of wider cutting blade. Furthermore, a few years earlier, the English-French glossary of Giles Duwes, An introductorie for to learne to rede to pronounce, and to speke Frenche trewely (possibly written in 1533), defines la rapière as ‘the spannyssche sworde’. The theory that a rapier was an exclusively civilian sword is given additional support by the author of the True Arte of Defence (1594), in fact a translation of the Italian master Giacomo di Grassi’s Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l’arme si da offesa come da difensa (1570), in which the rapier is defined as ‘a weapon more usuall for Gentlemens wearing, and fittest for causes of offence and defence.’

Whatever its origins, it is clear that by the middle of the sixteenth century, the rapier was an absolutely essential component of the Renaissance gentleman’s fashionable dress. Not surprisingly, in this role the rapier quickly took on a number of very ornate forms. The flowing, sculptural qualities of the rapier hilt were not only graceful and elegant in themselves, but often served as a foundation for very rich applied decoration. All the ornamental techniques and materials available to the sixteenth-century metalworker were employed in the production of fine-quality rapiers. Some hilts are exquisite demonstrations of one particular procedure performed to a very high standard, for example, steel chiselling on Italian hilts of the late sixteenth century. Yet most of the best rapiers showed off two, three or even four different decorative techniques, ingeniously combined to create complex and individualistic visual effects.

This piece stands out as an exceptional demonstration of the art of the rapier in the late sixteenth century. Composed of a Spanish blade mounted with an Italian swept-hilt decorated with an ingenious combination of fire-gilding and gold-overlay, this rapier gives the impression at a distance of being gilt overall. However on closer inspection a much more interesting composition is revealed; the surfaces of the hilt bars have been divided into small heart-shaped, interlocking panels. These panels are decorated alternately like a checker board, one half with chiselled and fire-gilt designs in relief, the others, forming the negative space between, being filled with very fine foliate scrolls, false-damascened in gold against a black ground. This is a fascinating illustration of how Renaissance metalworkers considered the visual impacts that their works would have at different distances from the viewer. A610|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt, of symmetrical form, composed of a flattened cylindrical pommel, with button; vertically ribbed, wire-bound grip; single curved rear quillon widening at the end; double side-rings, hilt-arms and knuckle-guard; all the guards are of flattened oval section. The entire hilt is chased in low relief with conventional scroll-work, gilt on a blackened ground; on the pommel the pattern is reticulated. Blade of flattened diamond section, with a single deep fuller at the forte and a strong ricasso. No maker’s mark.

Hilt probably about 1590-1620; blade probably 19th century.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 128. A611|1|1|Rapier, the extremely fine swept hilt comprised of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, with button; grip, with diamond-shaped grooves, bound with iron and gilt wire; single curved rear quillon, terminating in a small disk; knuckle-guard, joined to the arms of the hilt by a loop-guard; side-ring and the usual transverse bars on the inner side are all of oval section; the entire hilt decorated in relief, with conjoined cartouches overlaid in gold with scroll-work of great delicacy and minuteness. In the larger cartouches are combats, nude figures, masks and conventional flowers chiselled in low relief and gilt. Although the design is somewhat stiff, the overlay upon it, and upon the inner bars, as well as the chiselled work within the panels, is of the highest quality. Blade of hexagonal section, the single groove at the hilt inscribed with the name of the maker:–

∙SEBASTIAN / HERNANDES∙

The ricasso stamped on one side with the figure 3 crowned and surmounted by a cross. Sebastián Hernández, the elder, was working in Toledo about 1570.

Compare to A549, also by Sebastián Hernández.

The blade of the rapier A532 also bears the name of Sebástian Hernández. But the mark is a crowned S/T. In the Real Armería of Madrid is a series of rapiers by Sebastián Hernández the elder, nos. G 53, G 55, G 56, G 65, G 82, and G 192. At Dresden is a rapier which bears the same mark (together with another), inscribed: Johannes Moum (E 445).

The mark is similar to no. 90 in the list of Toledo swordsmiths published by Francisco Palomares in 1762, which he gives to Sebastián Hernández the Younger (see under A532).

Chiselled with scenes of warriors in combat, the hilt of this extremely fine weapon is further distinguished by the fact that the tiny figures have been painstakingly fire-gilt, while the ground being blackened. The tiny scenes have then been placed within a framework of connecting cartouches standing in higher relief than the scenes themselves, so as to surround and contain them. The regular, geometric pattern of the cartouches contrasts strikingly with the fluidity of the fighting figures, a contrast further emphasised by minute designs in gold inlaid into the cartouches themselves. These twisting vines are in fact so tiny that it almost requires a magnifying glass to see them properly.

Such work was incredibly expensive. Enormous sums were frequently poured into the acquisition of fine rapiers, so much so that it became one of the most significant status symbols in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The French writer François Dancie stated in 1623 that the rapier was the ‘finest plume of a great man, without which he cannot be distinguished from a financier, merchant, or burgess, whom the abuse of our times permits to be as well-dressed as he’. Yet fashionable clothing and art sometimes met with opposition from traditionalists. One out-spoken opponent of the art of the finely-decorated rapier was the social commentator Phillip Stubbs, who wrote in his Anatomie of Abuses (1583) that swords ‘clogged with gold and silver’ were ‘an infallible token of vain glorie, and a greevous offence to God’. A612|1|1|Sword, the military swept hilt made up of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, with button; wire-bound grip; single curving rear quillon, the end with straight horizontal recurve and widening at the end; hilt-arms, double ring, loop connecting with knuckle-guard, and two transverse bars on the inner side, the whole of blued steel. Broad but short double-edged cut-and-thrust blade, of flattened diamond section, the narrow ricasso deeply stamped on either side with the maker's mark, the letters S/T crowned, used by Wolfgang Stantler, the Munich bladesmith.

This sword belongs to one of the three classes of early 17th-century cavalry swords, of which large numbers are in the Bavarian National Museum, Munich. They were formerly in the Bayerisches Armeemuseum in Ingolstadt, when the late Dr. Stöcklein disposed of many surplus specimens by exchange. These are now scattered among many collections. Examples which left Munich, like this one, at an earlier date, are in the Royal Armouries. This group of swords from Munich, and the similar group at Brussels, are discussed by Stöcklein, in 'Munchner Klingenschmiede'', Z.H.W.K., VIII, 1918-20, pp. 202-3; Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 128 and 232.
A532 and 652 bear a crowned S/T, but of a different type. A613|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of a cylindrical pommel, with button; wooden grip of oval section vertically fluted; single curving rear quillon of hexagonal section; knuckle-guard, with loop joining the hilt-arms and ring-guard (from which project two prongs), joined at the inner side by a small loop, thus forming a trefoil; the surfaces of the hilt are hatched with small punched patterns, possibly once gilt; the blade is strongly ridged and doubly grooved, the ricasso bearing on each side the Toledo mark flanked with the letter S and the maker's mark: a cartouche charged with lozenges (scacchi = chequers), encircled with his name:

SANDRI / SCACCHI

The rapier A596 is inscribed ‘Sandrinus Scacchus’, but bears a mark attributed to Jasper Bongen, the Younger.

For a note on Sandro or Sandrinus Scacchi see A596. Similar decoration occurs on the hilt of A616. A very similar hilt is at Veste Coburg (no. II. A.51). A614|1|1|Rapier, the blackened swept hilt made up of a spirally fluted, oviform pommel with button; wire-bound grip of oval section; single curved rear quillon; knuckle-guard, which stops a short way from the pommel. The guards are formed like those of A613, with two prongs rising from the hilt-arms to the loop-guard; double ring-guard (the larger ring joined to the knuckle-guard) and with a small loop on the inner side. The bars of the guard are of flattened diamond section. The single-edged blade of triangular section is back-edged to within twelve and three-quarter inches of the point, grooved the whole length, with two additional grooves towards the hilt; on one side is incised a mark of the type used by the Milanese bladesmiths; strong ricasso.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 90, 219 and 256.

This type of bladesmith's mark resembling the Greek letter pi under a crown is very common on sword blades. K. Kamniker suggested that it might be a Styrian mark of some sort because it occurs frequently on blades in the Zeughaus at Graz in Styria (Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1979, pp. 71-81). H. Nickel, however, more recently suggested that, since it was very widespread, it was probably a mark used spuriously at a number of centres to indicate supposed quality, in the same way that the Toledo mark and the signature of Andrea Ferrara were widely faked (Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1981, pp. 101-9). A615|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of a flattened cylindrical pommel, faceted to a decagonal section, with small button; short; wire-bound grip; single, upward-curving rear quillon; knuckle-guard of hexagonal section, branching into loops connecting to the side-rings and hilt-arms, the whole of darkened steel bearing traces of fine overlay in gold, which once covered the hilt overall. Blade of hexagonal section, the single groove incised on either side with the sacred monogram:

∙ I H S ∙

and the letter S. The ricasso stamped on either side with the same letter.

De Beaumont Catalogue No. 33

Compare the marks on rapiers A541 and A566. A616|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt made up of a pommel of ten-sided, cylindrical form; diagonally fluted grip bound with copper wire; single curved rear quillon, widening towards the end; hilt-arms, double ring joined to the knuckle-guard by a loop, all of hexagonal section with two transverse bars on the inner side, the whole of blued steel lightly decorated with punched patterns of flowing lines and dots. The blade of hexagonal section, the single groove incised with the words:

LAMBER / TENGO

(no doubt a reference to the Lambertengo or Lambertenghi family of Milan). The ricasso is stamped on each side with the place-name Caino, and a mark S/T.

Another rapier, inscribed: L A M B E R T E N G O, was in the Raoul Richards Collection (sold Rome, 3 March, 1890, lot 965).

For the inscription CAINO see note under A516. Presumably the bladesmith's mark represents a master with the initials ST working in Caino near Brescia in northern Italy. A617|1|1|Sword and scabbard, associated with the Saxon Electoral or 'Trabanten' guard. The military sword has a swept hilt composed of a hemispherical pommel and button, faceted to a decagonal section, the top overlaid with a silver plate engraved with foliage; modern wire-bound grip of oblong section; knuckle-guard and single curving rear quillon of octagonal section, swelling at the end and decorated like the pommel with an engraved silver cap; hilt-arms, side-ring and triple loop-guards springing from the knuckle-guard, the gaps between the bars filled with plates of silver pierced to form strapwork and fleurs-de-lys, and engraved with scrolled foliage. The steel parts of the hilt are blued. The blade is of diamond section with a sharp central ridge, carrying a narrow groove, the facets on either side hollowed. It is boldly etched and gilt with a sun , the arms of Spain, a crescent, and a crown, and on the other side the same, but in place of the Royal arms is a bundle of four arrows (las flechas), the device of Ferdinand the Catholic; strong ricasso ornamented with arabesques strapwork etched and gilt. It is stamped with an armourer's mark, possibly that of Toledo, which has been obliterated by the decoration superimposed upon it.

Scabbard of wood covered with black leather, furnished with a lip on one side to engage the hanger, and two projecting tongues to cover to cover the ricasso; chape of copper, pierced and gilt, but this does not belong.

Companion to the left-hand dagger A806.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 30 and pl. 3.

De Beaumont supplies the following note:
'Des écussons semblables, gravés par la même main et accompagnés de ces mots: Pedro Gareta me fecit, décorent la lame d' une épée presque pareille à celle-ci et que possédait la collection Debruges.' This sword is now in the Musée de Cluny, Paris. Others with this signature are at Dresden (p. 81, no. 267) and in the Musée de l’Armée (Pauilhac Collection, ex-Estruch). Pedro de la Garatea (sic) worked at Bilbao and is mentioned by Palomares and Rodríguez del Canto.

The mark which occurs on each side of the ricasso consists of the letters O and T in a crowned shield. It is either that of Toledo or an imitation. A619|1|1|Rapier, the blackened swept hilt decorated with hunting scenes and floral scrolls on a small scale, chiselled in high relief. The hilt is made up of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, with button; oblong wire-bound grip; single curved rear quillon and knuckle-guard, both of oval section and terminating in small disks; joined by a loop to the ring-guard and hilt-arms, and triple transverse bars on the inner side; the thumb-guard and the upper ring are joined to the knuckle-guard. The entire hilt, except for the bars on the inside, is elaborately chiselled in relief, with hunting scenes on the outside, and floral motifs on the inner side. On the pommel horsemen and hounds are shown pursuing a lion and a hare. The blade is of hexagonal section, deeply grooved, with a strong ricasso, inscribed on the one side:

∙I∙O∙V∙O∙H∙O∙N∙O∙

and on the other:

∙I∙O∙N∙O∙H∙O∙V∙O∙

The ricasso is deeply stamped on both sides with a maker's mark.

L' Art Ancien, V, no. 581; De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 4 (?)

Compare the very similar hilt of A620; for other rapiers with steel hilts minutely chiselled, cf. nos A589, 603, 618-20. For other examples of a series of unrelated capital letters on blades, see A559, 560, 573, 574, 608, 629. For a note on the subsidiary incised decoration see under A808. A620|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt comprised of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, the button much reduced, chiselled with panels of the Annunciation and the Nativity, and adoring angels in low relief; fluted, wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard, joined by a loop to the hilt-arms; single curved rear quillon and side-ring. The whole chiselled in low relief with scenes from the Life of Christ, including the Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi and the Flight into Egypt, together with oval panels of conventional flowers and fleur-de-lys. At the end of the quillon and knuckle-guard are medallion heads of Christ and the Virgin. The blade is of hexagonal section, the single fuller incised on one side with the running wolf mark, the ricasso is stamped on each side with a ship (?) and another mark (struck three times). The original guards inside the hand have been cut off and replaced by a U-shaped guard linking the ends of the arms of the hilt.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 370.

A rapier with the same marks was in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac, now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris. Compare the hilts of A618 and 619. A good example of the type is the sword of Ambrogio Spinola, formerly in the Whawell Collection, and now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. Two were in the Kennedy sale, 1918, lots 12 and 128, of which the former reappeared in the Bevan sale, 1923, lot 170 (Cripps-Day, Armour Sales, p. 166)

The largest mark does appear to have at its centre a small single-masted sailing ship. A very similar mark occurs on A710 and apparently on A502. A similar combination of marks occurs on two blades, ascribed to Venice or Brescia, in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (Boccia, 1975, Nos. 295 and 312). On both the Stibbert blades the mark is accompanied by an incised running wolf very similar to that on A620. The same mark occurs, again with an incised wolf of Solingen type, on a sword in the Hofjagd –und Rüstkammer, Vienna, inv. no. A590. Either these are Solingen blades using spurious Italian marks or they are Italian forgeries of Solingen blades. For a note on the subsidiary incised decoration of the hilt see A808. A622|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt, a modern and inauthentic restoration, made up of a pommel of flattened cylindrical form, hollow and faceted button, decorated on one side with an oval panel containing the figure of St. George in low relief; short, narrow grip, oval in section, wire-bound over leather; single curved rear quillon widening at the end; ring hilt-arms, joined by a loop to the knuckle-guard (cf. A603), with triple transverse bars on the inner side, all oval in section. The entire hilt has been cast in a mould, to simulate the authentic historical processes of piercing and chiselling in low relief. The ornament is comprised of diagonal bands of double fleur-de-lys alternating with lines of berries or conventional fruit, the escutcheon incised with ornament previously described as two P's confronted and taken for a personal mark of ownership or a hilt-maker's signature. The authentic blade is of hexagonal section, the single groove stamped on each side with a cross (possibly a maker's mark), and the letters:

·IHS·

Strong ricasso; the point has lost about a quarter of an inch of its length.

Skelton, II, Pl. CVII

As Meyrick points out, the shortness of the grips of rapiers of this type compelled the passing of the first finger and thumb beyond the guard to grip the ricasso.

Compare the sacred monogram on the blades of A566 and A600. The minutely chiselled figures on the hilt can be compared with A589, etc.

An early photograph in the archives of the Collection shows this sword with a very much longer grip than it has today. The hilt of A603 is a similarly decorated but authentic 16th-century example. For a note on the subsidiary incised decoration see A808. A623|1|1|Sword, the early Mannerist hilt comprising an urn-shaped pommel; oval, wire-bound grip; curved rear quillon terminating in an urn-shaped knob; knuckle-guard with single cartouche containing a standing figure, and terminating in a mask with rams' horns at the centre chased with a nude figure; hilt-arms, from which projects a short bar terminating in an urn-shaped knob. In the centre of the transverse loop-guard joining the hilt-arms to the quillons is a cartouche containing a recumbent nude female; on the inner side of the hilt-arms is connected by a small loop. The entire hilt is chased in low relief with figures, masks and trophies of arms, encrusted in silver upon a blackened ground. The blade is of flat convex section, with a narrow groove at the forte, is stamped with a maker's mark three times on the blade and once on the ricasso.
L' Art Ancien, I, no. 26; VIII, no. 982. De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 6 and pl. 4

The lowest mark is not a crowned m, but a variant of the other marks, which are of a type often found in conjunction with the other so-called 'sickle' mark (cf. A535), e.g. Turin (G 27) and in the Germanisches Museum at Nuremberg (Z.H.W.K., II, 27-8). It also occurs with the wolf mark of Passau (e.g. A659 here), when it is probably a contemporary German forgery. Cf. also Hermitage, Leningrad, no. B537 (p. 246). Boccia and Coelho (1975, Fig. 424) illustrate a comparable hilt in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.98), which they call North Italian, about 1560. This seems to have been one of the comte de Nieuwerkerke's favourite pieces. It appears in one of his photographic portraits (see History Today, January 1969, p. 9) and in Vollon's Curiosités of 1868 (Savill, 1980).

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 93, 219 and 360, pI. 27.

With its compact structure chiselled with grotesque masks and military trophies and encrusted in silver, this rapier demonstrates that such ornate designs were not confined to the pages of contemporary design books but really were made. The hilt of this elegant weapon is as lavish as anything in the design album of Filipo Orsoni (dated 1554; Victoria and Albert Museum) for example, but it is also practical, the decoration having none of the unworkable spikes, spines and thorns in high relief that would make many of the Orsoni swords inconvenient or injurious to wear. Here the complex grotesque scheme has been executed with confidence and panache, while at the same time maintaining an awareness of the need for functionality.

Although it does not have a forward quillon, as do all of the Orsoni designs, this sword otherwise follows the Orsoni model quite closely, its pommel having a large and very ornate vase- or urn-like form, the terminals of the hilt formed into grotesque heads or more diminutive urns, the centre of the cross set with a monstrous laughing mask. Perhaps the most characteristic feature of the sword is the transverse loop guard, which originates at the top of the rear hilt arm and which travels across diagonally to rejoin the hilt at the root of what would be the forward side of the cross. Since it does not therefore support an upper side-ring, the forward hilt arm instead carries a horizontal piton. Such transverse guards are found on several of the Orsoni hilt designs, and are used as an opportunity to display a prominent ornamental element; here the transverse guard swells in the middle to accommodate a silver medallion bearing the relief image of a reclining nude. This feature is combined the masks, architectural forms, and trophies of arms in the Mannerist style. A624|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a spherical pommel, with button; oval, wire-bound grip; single curving rear quillon, also bent forward; hilt-arms; knuckle-guard, joined to the hilt-arms by a prominent diagonal loop. From one end of the hilt-arms projects a short bar, ending like the quillon in a monster's head; the entire hilt is of blackened steel chiselled in relief with foliage.

The flat blade has a series of grooves to the point, which has been slightly cut down at the forte; on each side are two lines of inscription in Italic Roman capitals, parallel with the edges:

SI · DUX · ABSIT · MEVS · NON

HOSTIS · VINCETUR · MEVS

('If my leader is absent my enemy will not be conquered') and on the other side:

VERITATEM · DILIGITE · / ET PVGNATE

PROPATRIA

('Seek the Truth and fight for your country')

Other inscriptions engraved across the blade, above and below, are mottoes frequently found on Solingen swords of this date:

PRO·FIDE·/ ET·PATRI[A]
FIDE·ET· / CUI·VIDE
PRO·ARIS· / ET·FOCIS
ME·FECIT· / SOLINGEN

Between these inscriptions is an engraved half-moon, used as a mark, among others by Peter Munsten of Solingen. Above these inscriptions is a plain section with a medallion of the Elector Wolfgang Wilhelm on one side, encircled with a band inscribed:

[W] · OLFGANGIVS · WILHELMVS · DG
CO · PAL · AD · RHEN · DVX · I · CH ·

and on the side a similar portrait now obliterated, of which only the word ISPANIA, is now legible, and which represented Phillip III of Spain. These were the two leaders of the Imperial and Roman Catholic side in the Thirty Years' War. In Meyrick's time the inscription could be deciphered as:

REX PHILIPPVS · III DEI · GRATIA
HISPANIARVM · ET · INDIARVM

For a partizan bearing the arms of Wolfgang Wilhelm, and dated 1615, see A999.

Skelton, II, pl. CVI, where it is claimed that 'This beautiful specimen was presented by Phillip III, King of Spain, to Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of the Rhine, on his succession to the electorate (sic) of Neuburg, and the adoption of the Roman Catholic religion in the year 1614.' He reversed the policy of his predecessor, Otto Heinrich, the founder of Neuburg, who had early adopted the Protestant faith (cf. A29).

The decoration includes monstrous heads, and, on the pommel, dolphins. The guard inside the hand, originally consisting only of a U-shaped bar linking the ends of the arms, has been cut off. The first inscription reads:

SI DVX. ABSIT. DEVS. NON
HOSTES. VINCETVR. MEVS

'If God is not present as leader my sword will not conquer my enemies'.

The blade has been shortened at the point.

This object is sword no. 11 in the list of arms and armour acquired by Meyrick from Domenic Colnaghi about 1818, now in the library of the Royal Armouries.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 93. A625|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt made up of a hexagonal, vase-shaped pommel; spirally-fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved quillons ending in flat terminals formed of addorsed scrolls; ring-guard, with transverse loop-guard from quillons to the hilt-arms, and the bars on the inner side form two loops crossing in saltire; the hilt is chased with diamond-shaped and angular panels enclosing small silver masks; the guards are of oval section encrusted with silver and minutely overlaid with gold arabesques with the plain surfaces gilt. The blade is of flattened hexagonal section, the single groove incised at the forte with a series of small crosses or saltires; strong ricasso, which has been lengthened (or supplied with a new tang). It bears a maker's mark (possibly a crowned M) twice repeated on each side.

L' Art Ancien, I, no. 26; De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 15 and pl. 4

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 143 and 237.

The hilt is of a type drawn by Filippo Orsoni in his book of sword designs in the Victoria and Albert Museum ( J. F. Hayward in Livrustkammaren, V (1959), Fig. 3; and in Mannerist Sword-hilt Designs). A similar series of small crosses in the central groove occurred on a hand-and-a-half sword in the Hefner-Alteneck sale, 1904, lot 75, together with two other marks, and is on a rapier in the Royal Armouries, no. IX, 56, signed Caino. A625 is illustrated by de Beaumont in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1867, p. 163. Cf. His description of A635.

The decoration includes silver flowers amid the gold arabesques, all in overlay. The ends of the quillons, the faces of the pommel, and the centres of the guards are chased with addorsed scrolls enclosing diamond-shaped panels containing silver plates, each embossed with the winged head of a child. Several of these plates are later replacements. The pommel is a very weak reconstruction based on the guards, and probably made out of a pommel of about 1550. A pommel of the correct form and with the same decoration, formerly in the collection of C. von Schwerzenbach, is now in Vienna, inv. no. A2086 (Forrer, Die Schwerter und Schwertknäufe, 1905, pI. XXI, 2). A627|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt made up of an oviform pommel, with button, ten-sided; short steel grip of octagonal section; diagonally curved quillons, widening towards the ends; side-ring, joined by a prominent loop to the hilt-arms, and on the inner side a looped bar crossing in saltire; the ends of the hilt-arms are connected by a loop joined on one side to the ring by a diagonal bar; the other has a short projecting prong; all are of flat, oval section. The entire hilt is of blued steel richly overlaid in gold with minute arabesques and ovals containing human figures; the quillon-block bears on one side a conventional star, and on the other a shield tierced in pale (the charges obliterated), as borne in the full arms of the Duke of Ferrara and Modena (Este), of Urbino (della Rovere), of Parma (Farnese), more probably the first. The nombril point of the coat of arms on the quillon-block appears to be divided per saltire. The blade (much worn) of flattened hexagonal section, with ricasso and a short, single groove stamped:

· ANDREA · / · ME FECIT ·

It bears a maker's mark which is possibly that of a Milanese bladesmith.
Several rapiers or swords bearing the same mark are known: Royal Armouries, inv. no. IX, 43; Leningrad, Hermitage, no. B 454; Max Kupelmayr Collection, sold Munich, 26-28 March, 1895, lot no. 227; and at Kremsmünster. See also Z.H.W.K., IV, Heft 3, p. 81; VI, Heft 6, p. 183.

Compare also the cross upon the dagger, no. A794.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 95 and 227, pI. 49. A628|1|1|Estoc, with a semi-swept hilt composed of a flattened, fig-shaped pommel; the button (which is pierced with a hole) is not secured by peaning over the end of the tang, but is mounted on a piece of tubing having a length of 1 5/8 inches; this has been tapped on the inner side for screwing onto the tang; the grip of pilaster form, oblong in section; curved rear quillon of oval section one end turned towards the pommel acts as a knuckle guard; the quillon is joined by a loop to the hilt-arms, from which spring two prongs, and on the inner side two transverse bars, all of oval section. The entire hilt decorated with conventional foliage and large arabesques heavily overlaid with a coat of arms: Quarterly: 1, a lion rampant; 2, 3, a stag salient; 4 (defaced). In chief a double-headed eagle displayed, surmounted by a barrel helmet to the dexter with a crest; the lion of St. Mark or, and the initials P/C with D/L below. The escutcheon bears a device resembling a comet, surrounded by the motto:

VIRTVS OMNIPOTES (sic)

Long, stiff blade of triangular bayonet section, the facets hollowed.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 38 and pl. 3

The estoc is a military sword having a heavier thrusting blade than a rapier.
The overlaid decoration includes both silver and gold. The tang-button unscrews allowing the hilt to be dismantled easily, perhaps for travelling or possibly for fitting an alternative blade. The coat of arms on the hilt is that of Count Pio Capo da Lista (died 1619). The device of the lion of St. Mark is the emblem of Venice, in whose service the Count was. The style of the overlay on the hilt differs from that of the blade.

Blair, European and American Arms, 1962, fig. 102 and p. 85; Blair, Scottish Art Review, XII, pp. 22-7 and 30-2, fig. 11; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 41, 87-8, 143, 227, 256 and 359, pI. 43.

According to La Chronique des Arts, 10 February 1867, p. 41, no. A628 was bought by Nieuwerkerke at the Lochis de Bergamo sale, Pillet and Dhios, Delange, Paris, 4-5 February 1867, for 3,400 fr. According to Fillet's papers at the Archives de Paris (D 48E³ 58) it was lot 2 and was bought by Pillet for Nieuwerkerke at this price (S. Gaynor, personal communication, 1984). A629|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt made up of an oviform pommel decorated with flat gadroons or palmettes in low relief, the long tang button similarly decorated; wire-bound grip; single curving rear quillon balancing the recurved knuckle guard, joined by a loop to the ring guard and hilt-arms, the bars of hexagonal section and gilt; blade of diamond section, with single groove in the forte incised in the Spanish manner:

. H . E . N . O . V . A . O . N . L . O .

. M . N . V . E . A . L . O . H . N .

Ricasso of rectangular section, gilt and stamped on each side with the oval signature of one of the Piccinino– cf. that upon the rapier A646. The pommel is probably associated. The fourth transverse-guard inside the hand has been broken off and the hilt re-gilded, covering the scar.

The tower or castle at the centre of the mark is crudely incised, unlike that in the similar mark on A646, which is stamped. The marks of the Marliani family of swordsmiths (called Piccinino) were often faked, a problem the Milanese guild of swordsmiths tried to outlaw; see Leydi, Silvio, ‘The Swordsmiths of Milan, c. 1525-1630’, in Capwell, Tobias, The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe 1520-1630, ex. cat. (London: Wallace Collection, 2012), pp. 177- 201. A630|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt composed of an oviform pommel, of hexagonal section, with button; flattened octagonal grip of steel; diagonally curved, flat quillons, widening towards the ends; hilt-arms, double ring-guard, and the bars on the inner side crossing in saltire. The entire hilt is blued and richly decorated with birds and delicate arabesques overlaid in silver. The blade of flattened hexagonal section changing to octagonal at the forte, the strong ricasso stamped on each side with a half-moon and a shield charged with bars ensigned by a crown over the letter M, cf. the marks on the rapiers A637 and A643.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 227 and 359. The hilt is delicately overlaid like A525, A622, and A628. See also A637. The group of marks, which also occurs on A637 and A643, occurs on a blade in the Museo Stibbert. Florence (1975 cat., no. 298). It is there attributed to Milan.

Of the numerous techniques available to the Renaissance metalworker for the application of precious metals to steel, overlay, also called 'false-' or 'counterfeit-' damascening, or ‘hatching’, was one of the most popular. The difference between ‘true’ and ‘false’ damascening was described in the mid- eighteenth century by Denis de Coetlogon:

For the first Manner of Damaskeening, it is necessary, the Gravings and Incisions, be made in the Dove-Tail Form, that the Gold and Silver-Wire, which is thrust forcibly into them, may adhere the more strongly.

The second Method is the most usual, and practis’d by heating the Steel till it changes to a Violet, or blue Colour, hatching it over and across with a Knife; then drawing the Design, or Ornament intended, on this Hatching with a fine Brass Point, or Bodkin. This done, a fine Gold or Silver-Wire is taken, and conducting, or chasing it according to the Figures already design’d, it must be sunk carefully into the Hatches of the Metal, with a Copper Tool.

While de Coetlogon refers to both techniques simply as ‘damascening’, it is clear that the latter technique had been termed ‘false’ or ‘counterfeit’ as early as the middle of the sixteenth century. The post-mortem inventory of the belongings of King Henry VIII, drawn up immediately after his death in 1547, clearly differentiates objects ‘of Damaskine worke’ from those ‘of counterphet Damaskine worke’. The technique, which seems to have been introduced into Europe at the end of the fifteenth century, probably through Spain and Venice , was being employed in the decoration of all manner of metalwork throughout Europe by the early sixteenth century. It may have originated in India, where it is still known in Hindi as koftgarī (Persian, Kōftgarī).

Overlay or false-damascening was far more common on European weapons than true inlay or damascening, which remained virtually non-existent in this area until smallswords and spadroons made in India for the European market began to be imported in the eighteenth century. The popularity of false-damascening could in part be explained by the fact that only comparatively small amounts of precious metal were required to produce a very rich impression. The technique could be used to plate a piece entirely in silver or gold foil, or conversely a very full silver or gold colouring could be created using only inlaid wire, formed into tiny twisting vines, branches, leaves and flowers, a method exemplified by this rich looking, but in fact quite modest rapier. Applied to a uncomplicated hilt having only two side-rings and a simple inner guard comprised of two crossed bars, the beautifully conceived and executed composition of spreading, twisting foliage, flowers, and birds nevertheless lends the weapon a dramatic and expensive appearance, although in fact it carries only a very small amount of inlaid silver. A631|1|1|Sword, the semi-swept hilt made up of a flat, rhomboidal pommel, with prominent button, the flat sides roughly chiselled with pairs of nude figures in low relief; wire-bound grip of rectangular section (modern); quillons curved alternately upwards and downwards, the former forming the knuckle-guard; they are of flat section expanding at the ends where they are chiselled with masks wearing conventional, plumed head-dresses (one quillon has been broken and repaired by brazing); a curved branch, forming half of a hilt-arm, projects over the blade which is notched for the finger; large side-ring with an oval cartouche in the centre crudely chiselled, like the pommel, on the front side only, the back plain. Blade of diamond section with a single fuller running to the point and a triple groove at the forte; the escutcheon is stamped on the reverse with a side mark. A632|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt made up of a pommel in the form of a stylised African head bound about the temples with a band encrusted with silver spots; spirally-fluted, wire-bound grip; slightly recurved quillons of flattened octagonal section terminating in heads similar to the pommel and applied separately; double ring-guard, and hilt-arms, joined by a loop to the knuckle-guard, also finished with another head, the whole blackened. The escutcheon and ring guards have medallions containing heads in low relief and spotted with silver. Broad blade of hexagonal section etched with scrolls and inscribe on one side in Roman capitals:

VIVE LE ROY

Fluted ricasso. The original tang of the blade has been built up to form a ricasso by brazing blocks of steel onto each side of it.

Hilt probably 19th century; blade Savoyard or French, early 18th century.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 23

Head pommels are not uncommon. For a genuine ‘blackamoor’-head pommel see A821.Compare Forrer, Schwerte und Schwertknaufe, 1905, pl. XXXVIII and p. 49; Vienna, Böheim Album, I, pl. XXVIII; a dagger with similar negro pommel is A821 below, and a rapier in the possession of Mr. H. L. Blackmore. Compare also the rapier at Copenhagen (A. Bruhn, Godfried Leygebe, 1945, p. 49). There is probably here no allusion to the arms of Pucci of Florence, as has been suggested. The inscription, VIVE LE ROY, is found on swords with the arms of Savoy as well as with the royal arms of France, sometimes in the form: VIVE LE ROY DE SARDAIGNE. Examples are in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, and at Turin. Cf. also the same inscription on A553. A634|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt composed of a fish-tail pommel of hexagonal section, the button placed within the fork; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip (probably modern); diagonally curved quillons, one forming the knuckle-guard; single ring-guard and loop joining quillons to hilt-arms, the latter carrying a loop counter-guard of two vertically projecting prongs enclosing two small shells each pierced with a quatrefoil; the guards of blackened steel of diamond section, and all the ends of fish-tail form with a circular hole. Blade of diamond section at the point changing to hexagonal section at the forte, the double flute inscribed on each side:

. PETTHERR . WIRSBERGH

The ricasso stamped on each side with his mark of a bugle.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 88, 230 and 258. Peter Wirsberg was of the well-known family of Solingen sword-smiths (see A594). Peter was Burgermeister in 1617, and again in 1622 and 1627. Other blades by him are at Dresden (E 176 a-c); Paris, Musée de l' Armée (J.190); Munich; Stockholm, etc.

A group of nine very similar hilts is in the Bayerisches Armeemuseum, Ingolstadt (for instance inv. no. A987).

A Peter Wirsberg, recorded in the Solingen archives between 1609 and 1628, was Burgomaster in 1617-18, 1622-3, and 1627-8. A. Weyersberg surmised that some of the blades signed with this name probably antedate the working life of this man, and that, therefore, two generations must be involved. Another man of this name was Burgomaster in 1670 and again in 1680. (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 50-2). A635|1|1|Rapier, the semi-swept hilt composed of a flattened oviform pommel with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight quillons widening towards the ends; knuckle-bow, doubly curved and ending in an animal's head with open jaws; it joins the hilt-arms by a loop-guard incorporating a curl; side-ring filled with a perforated shell balanced on the inner side by a solid shell joined to knuckle-guard. The guards blued and stippled or grained on the outer side to produce a matt surface. The blade of flattened hexagonal section triply grooved at the forte, the ricasso stamped on each side with the word S O L I crowned (Solingen).

Compare the rapier A618, which bears a similar mark. A636|1|1|Rapier, the fully gilt swept hilt made up of a fluted, egg-shaped pommel with button; fluted, wire-bound grip of copper; straight quillons horizontally recurved; knuckle-guard joined by a loop to the hilt-arms, two ring-guards (the upper surrounding a shell pierced with stars, squares and ovals), on the inner side a smaller shell similarly pierced. The hilt is roughly symmetrical in design, the swept guards on the inner side passing from the knuckle-guard to two ring-guards. Decorated throughout with a knotched design and hexagonal facets, chiselled and gilt. Blade of flattened hexagonal section doubly grooved the whole length, the grooves four time inscribed:

ANDREA FERARA

the ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark (now defaced).

For a note on swords bearing the name, Andrea Ferara, see A544. A637|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt having an egg-shaped pommel (with button) carrying four chequered, oval reliefs on a herring-bone ground, chiselled and gilt; copper wire-bound grip with a herring-bone pattern; straight quillons with chequered escutcheon and ending in chequered knobs; roughly symmetrical guards broken in the centres by chequered knobs; knuckle-guard joined by a loop to the hilt-arms with a ring-guard on both sides. The forward rings on each side filled with a pierced shell decorated with a vase from which springs scrolled foliage. All the guards are of diamond section chased with a herring-bone pattern and gilt, relieved and terminating in mouldings. The blade of flattened hexagonal section, the single fuller inscribed on both sides:

· RESPICE · FINEM ·

The gilt ricasso is stamped on each side with a half-moon between shields charged with two arched bars, and ensigned by a crown, over the letter M; cf. The marks upon the rapiers A630 and A643.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 42, 137 and 372, pI. 61. The same marks and motto also occur on a rapier in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, no. 3477, and a motto on a rapier that was in the Spengel sale, Paris, 1869, lot 407. They are all probably Milanese. Juste the Elder, who was buying for Nieuwerkerke at the time, purchased a sword with the same inscription on the blade at the Philippe Vaillant de Meixmoron sale, Contet, Dijon, 27 April-7 May 1868, lot 65, for 540 fr. (marked catalogue in the Metropolitan Museum, New York). However, its length is given as 122 cm. A638|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt of which is made up of an oviform pommel built up of ten rings of petals, with button; hollow steel grip formed of spiral bars; knuckle-guard and diagonally curved quillons notched to simulate a branch of a tree, and ending in petalled knobs like the pommel (the knob missing from one end); side-ring and hilt-arms protected by double shell-guards pierced with countersunk, circular holes; in the centre of the side-ring is a petalled rosette, the whole of blackened steel. Blade of diamond section, the single fuller at the forte incised on both sides with the name:

PETRVS

and the mark of a cross with a forked base; the ricasso is covered by an oblong escutcheon decorated with a conventional tree pattern chiselled in low relief.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 376. The chiselled petals and naturalistic decoration of the hilt are similar in style to A681. Blades inscribed Petrus in Toledo, are A584, and at Bern (Wegeli, no. 438). There is a rapier in the Metropolitan Museum, New York inscribed: Iuan Petrus. A639|1|1|Rapier and scabbard, the hilt made up of a pommel in the form of an inverted and truncated cone deeply fluted and with large button; grip of oval section bound with fish-skin; straight quillons of octagonal section with buttoned ends; multiple branched guards consisting of a hilt-arm, large double shell (fluted like a scallop), double ring, and a triple bar on either side joined by loops to the short knuckle-guard, which is of oval section faceted on the outside and ridged at intervals. The whole of darkened steel, the interior surfaces retain their gilding. Long blade of hexagonal section, the triple flute at the forte inscribed on both sides with the name:

· CLEMENS · KOLLER ·

Long ricasso bound with leather and bearing on each side the mark of an angel and a crowned cherub's head.

The scabbard is made of wood covered with black leather tooled with lines, sprays of conventional flowers, trefoils and rosettes; pierced chape of steel, ending in a turned button. The mouth of the scabbard has been adapted to fit this hilt. This may indicate that the blade is also associated.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 44, 150 and 257.

Other blades by Clemens Koller (or Keuller) are at Dresden, no. 691, which was given to Duke Johann Georg of Saxony by his wife, Magdalene Sibylle; and at Stockholm, no. 567, which bears the inscriptions Clemens Keuller von dem Engell on one side and Clemen Keuller me fecit Solingen on the other. For an account of this sword-cutler, see Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, p. 26. There appear to have been several members of the family of this name during the 17th century, for in 1700 one of them was stated to be 25 years old. Others bore as Christian names Conrad, Johann, Paul, Peter, Stetzius and Thiel. Some blades by Clemens Keuller bear the mark of a ship. A640|1|1|Rapier, the swept hilt of blued steel comprised of a fluted, cylindrical pommel of oval section, with button; wire-bound grip of rounded, rectangular section (modern), the knuckle-guard of slender make with knots at intervals, branching symmetrically into three loops (one of which is snapped); slender quillons curved alternately upwards and downwards, hilt-arms and guards incorporating a pair of fluted shells, double side-rings on the forward side of shells. Narrow blade of diamond section, broadening towards the point to deliver the stramazzone, a slashing cut across the face delivered with the point rather than the edge, and etched with designs in the Solingen manner, including the signature of:

IOHANNES WIRSBERGER

and the motto:

SOLI . DEO . GLORIA

(written on one side SOLIDE GLORIA and IOHANNES on one, and IOHANES on the other); the pincers mark used by the Wirsberg family is also stamped on the long, square ricasso.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 136.

The same mark occurs on a rapier in the K. Livrustkammer at Stockholm (no. 592) and on one in the collection of Prince Schwarzenberg at Frauenberg.
Johann Wirsberger was a member of a long line of Solingen bladesmiths of that name. Other examples of the work of the family in this collection are nos. A594, 653, 1050. A rapier in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac (now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris) bears a similar cartouche and pincers, but with the name of Wilhelm Wirsberg and the date 1630. See also Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede.

Compare the hilts of nos. A599, 605, 807, 841 and 843.

In 1640 a Johann Wirsberg, with others, took the oath to keep the laws and regulations of the Swordsmiths' Guild in Solingen. In 1649 a Johannis Wirssberg was sworn in as a member of this Guild. In 1664 a Johannes Weyersberg was sworn in similarly. In 1671, 1681 and 1683, men of this name became burghers of Solingen. In 1687 and 1699, men of this name are recorded as dying in the city, aged 60 and 58 respectively (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, pp. 47-55). A641|1|1|Swept-hilt sword, the hilt composed of a flattened globular pommel, wire-bound grip with herring-bone flutes, fluted double shell-guard enlarged by two linked loop-guards of flat section forming an incipient basket, and joining the knuckle-guard; quillons alternately curved upwards and downwards. The surface has been blackened and inlaid throughout with floral and feathered ornament and cherubs' heads in silver. The grip is probably longer than that originally intended for this hilt. The pommel is associated. The original pommel would have been a tall ovoid.

The blade, with a short ricasso, is straight, double-edged, with shallow central groove in the forte, etched in capital letters on either side with the words:–

NO ME SAQVES SIN RASON

('Draw me not without cause')

NO ME EMBAINES SIN HONOR

('Sheathe me not without honor')

The hilt is English, about 1625-30; the blade German, about 1700.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 52. This type of hilt is also discussed in Norman and Barne, pp. 160-62. This type of hilt often appears in English portraits of the first half of the 17th century, e.g., Laking vol. IV, fig. 1385. The blade of A520 bears the same Spanish inscription, which is not uncommon, and the signature of P. Knecht of Solingen. It is also found rendered in French. A complete example, probably by the same hiltmaker and encruster, was sold at Christie's, 16 May 1973, lot 110, and another on 17 July 1975, lot 26 (both repr. in cat.). A642|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt composed of a flattened pear-shaped pommel made in two parts, the upper roughly pierced and chiselled, and separate button; oval, wire-bound grip; straight quillons of circular section swelling towards the ends; knuckle-guard joined by a loop to the arms of the hilt, of circular section like the quillons, covered by two large shells, pierced and boldly chased with two reclining female figure amid shells, masks and trophies of arms in panels; blade of flattened diamond section, the single groove down the centre inscribed:

· PERDE · LA · VITTORIA ·
· CHI · NON · STUDIA ·

('Lost is the Victory to him who ponders not')

The blade has a strong ricasso bearing on each side a bladesmith's mark.

Italian, possibly about 1650.

Provenance: E. de Rozière sale, Pillet & Juste, Paris, 19th-21st March 1860, repr. in cat. without number; illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 300 fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A comparable hilt for a left-hand dagger made up into a sword is at Apsley House (No. WM. 1245-1948). A. Gaibi, in a letter in the archives of the Collection, suggested that the mark on the blade might be that of a bladesmith called Omi of San Giacomo sul Nelle, a suburb of Brescia. However, it seems in fact to read OHI rather than OMI. A643|1|1|Rapier, of 'Walloon' or 'Pappenheimer' type., the hilt made up of an associated oviform pommel chased with floral scrolls in low relief, with button; wire-bound grip strengthened with four narrow, vertical bands; diagonally carved quillons with bifurcated riband ends; hilt-arms and knuckle-guard joined to the arms with symmetrical loops on both sides and the forward rings each filled with a large shell pierced with quatrefoils, and with a solid central disc chased with five small bosses in the middle; the entire hilt of bright steel, the bars incised with trefoils and scrolls; long blade of hexagonal section, with a single groove at the forte inscribed on each side:

· DE · TOMAS · DE · AIALA ·

The ricasso bears the half-moon mark, together with the letter M surmounted by a shield; these are not the marks usually associated with Tomas de Ayala, and there is no significance here in the name of the famous Toledo bladesmith (cf. the rapiers, A567 and A652, and the marks upon A630 and 637). The pommel is associated, the chiselled relief decoration resembling that on some Brescian gun mounts. The pierced plate inside the hand is a replacement.

Probably second quarter of the 17th century; the pommel probably Brescian; guards, North European (Dutch ?); blade Italian (Milanese ?).

Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 137. The so-called 'Walloon' or 'Pappenheim' rapier, with large shells within the guards, of which this is a characteristic specimen, was typical of the swords used by officers during the Thirty Years War in Germany. A644|1|1|Rapier, of 'Walloon' or 'Pappenheimer' type, the hilt made up of a large, spirally fluted, fig-shaped pommel, with button; fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved quillons of diamond section, with riband ends; hilt-arms; knuckle-guard, from which divide two almost symmetrical loop-guards, the forward ones each filled with a shell pierced geometrically with interlacing circles; the entire hilt of blackened steel.

The blade is of hexagonal section, singly grooved at the forte, with the running-wolf mark inlaid in copper alloy on one side; the ricasso bears the half-moon mark, originally used by an Espadero del Rey, but here a German imitation.

About 1630; hilt probably North European; blade German (Passau or Solingen).

For a note on this type of short-coupled wolf mark see under A469. A645|1|1|Rapier, of 'Walloon' or 'Pappenheimer' type, the large hilt entirely gilt and composed of a moulded, fig-shaped pommel (with button), very faintly etched with conventional leaves; steel grip of baluster form; diagonally curved quillons of slim, diamond section with fish-tail ends; knuckle-guard, from which branch two loops to the quillons and symmetrical ring-guards, the foremost enclosing shells pierced with quatrefoils and stars, with a small heart-shaped ring outside the shells; the base of the ricasso is covered with a gilt, steel band socket, to fit over the scabbard. Blade of flattened diamond section, with two flutes on the forte etched with the following inscriptions:

(along the axis of the blade)
PRO · FIDE · ET · PATRIA
FIDE · SED · CUI · VIDE

(across the blade)
VINCERE AUT MORI
SOLI DEO GLORIA

(In front of these the maker's name)
IOHANNES / HAPPE (sic)
ME FECIT / SOLINGEN

and his mark, that of a wild man with a club, are etched below his name.

About 1630; hilt North European; blade German (Solingen).

Provenance: comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 44, 140 and 268, pI. 3 incorrectly captioned as 2.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 50; Laking, European Armour, IV, fig. 1390

Johannes Hoppe was a member of a family of Solingen swordsmiths, others of whom were Casper and Peter. In the Livrustkammaren at Stockholm is an executioner's sword similarly marked and bearing the same maker's name as spelt here, Happe (Stockholm, no. 614); it also appeared upon a rapier in the Spitzer Collection (sold Paris, 1865, lot 223); another inscribed Johannes Hoppe, is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (Robert, J 354). Mr. Wareing Faulder possessed a sword inscribed: Johannes Hoppie fecit Grenewich ano 1634, now in the Museum of London. A Johann Hoppe came to England from Solingen with Johann Keindt or Kind when the Hounslow factory was started, probably between 1620 and 1634. Another Solingen bladesmith who came to London about the same time was Peter Munsten; he used a mark of a wildman like Hoppe's, but encircled it with his name; two swords by him inscribed respectively; Peter Munsten me fecit Solingen, and Peter Munsten me fecit London, are also in the Livrustkammaren, Stockholm, (nos. 561-2).

The Peter Munsten who came to London was almost certainly not the one who was mayor of Solingen in 1597-8, but a cadet of that family. In 1640 Johannes Hoppe senior registered his mark of the wildman and the halberdier. Other headsman's swords by him are at Solothurn, no. 308, and in the museum at Rostock. Another Johann Hoppe, grandson of Arnt Hoppe, was born in 1681, and is mentioned by Cronau as flourishing, c. 1748-72. A Henry Hoppie, probably a son of the John Hoppe who came to England, worked for the King at Oxford during the Civil War (C. Trenchard, Antique Collector, V (1934), pp. 245-8).

For further information on the Hoppe family, see Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926.

A Johann Hoppe, a Solingen swordsmith, registered the marks of a wildman and a halberdier on 30 October 1640 (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1927, pp. 20-1). He was probably the ancestor of another Johann Hoppe of Unnersbergh in Solingen, who in 1685 registered the same two marks and several others (letter of Dr. H.-U. Haedeke, 7 April 1983). A swordsmith called Johannes Hoppie signed a blade made IN HOUNSLOE in 1636 (London Museum, no. 53.50; Holmes, Arms & Armour in Tudor & Stuart London, p. 35, and pI. XVI D). Two undated blades signed by him in Hounslow are in the Royal Armouries (nos. IX.910 and IX.1389). J. Toft White, the historian of the Hounslow factory, has pointed out that there is no evidence that he is the same as the Johannes Hoppie who signed the sword blades in GRENEWICH in 1634, one of which is mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, which are now also in the Royal Armouries, nos. IX. 1378 and IX.1420 (Hounslow blades and their makers, p. 50, n.25). An undated blade also signed by him in Greenwich is in the Deutsches Klingenmuseum, Solingen (no. 80.W.14). The Greenwich bladesmith was probably established there not later than 1632 (Trenchard, Antique Collector, V, p. 246). Either of these men may be the Johannes Hoppie working in London who signed an undated blade once in the collection of A. R. Dufty (Trenchard, op. cit., p. 245, Fig. 1). The Henry Hoppie mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue is the man who signed the petition of the Hounslow Germans to Charles II about 1672. The wording of the petition suggests that Hoppie was a survivor of the original group of German swordsmiths recruited by Sir William Heydon in 1629 to set up the Hounslow factory. Although the petition actually names William, he is believed to have been killed two years before on the Ile de Rhé expedition. Presumably the man intended was his brother Sir John Haydon (as the name is usually spelt), Lieutenant of the Ordnance, the lapse of time having confused the memories of the two old petitioners (J. Toft White, The Honeslaw chronicle. vol. 6, no. 1, p. 12). A646|1|1|Rapier, of 'Walloon' or 'Pappenheimer' type, the hilt composed of a hollow, pear-shaped pommel pierced and decorated with cockle-shells and daisies, with a faceted button; copper wire-bound grip, wound spirally; knuckle-guard branching into loop-guards connected with the arms of the hilt, and straight quillons moulded and pierced. Symmetrical guards on either side, the inner ring pear-shaped in form and framing a shell pierced with a network of quatrefoils, rosettes and circles; the guards are of a diamond section relieved at intervals by pierced knobs. Long, stiff blade of diamond section with sharp central ridge and a hollow flute on either side, the ricasso incised with the mark of Federico Picinino and the castle of Milan (compare that upon the rapier A1111). The tang has been broken at the end and repaired. The blade is that of a tuck or estoc rather than of a rapier.

About 1625-35; pommel associated but contemporary; blade North Italian (Milanese).

Boccia, Rossi & Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 270; Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 138, 265 and 373, pI. 57. Federico Marliani (Piccinino was a sobriquet) still living in 1595, son of the swordsmith, Giovanni Antonio, and brother of Lucio, the goldsmith-armourer (see A51), was working at Milan until the end of the 16th century, but his mark and name are found upon weapons mounted at a later date. Blades attributed to him are in the Royal Armouries (IX.116 and .119), Turin (632), Museo Stibbert, Florence (940, 2005 and 4760) and Dresden (E 225). For other blades bearing the names of the Marliani/Piccinino family, see A540.

Federico, son of Giovanni Antonio Marliani, the famous Milanese swordsmith, called Piccinino (see under A540), is described by Paolo Morigia in chapter XVII of the fifth book of his La nobilta di Milano of 1595, as being heir to his father's skills and secrets, and as being his imitator 'in that he is equally very highly regarded in the profession and having himself held the lead in the fashioning of blades'. Morigia says that he was alive at the time of writing but does not actually say that he was still working. The splendid jewelled sword recorded in the 1606 Inventory of the Saxon Electoral Armoury as having been given by Carlo Emanuele, Duke of Savoy, to Christian II of Saxony in 1605, has a blade signed by Federico Piccinino (Haenel, 1923, pI. 50; Schöbel, 1975, pI. 80; Capwell 2012, cat. no. 3.01, pp. 84-6). The form of signature found on no. A646 is the one usually employed by Federico Piccinino, but the name also occurs occasionally extended along the blade. Boccia and Coelho illustrate a number of examples but regard them as spurious (1976, fig. 553, on p. 391, for instance). According to Antonio Petrini in his MS. L'arte focile of 1642, blades marked with a castle come from Milan (Boeheim, Meister der Waffenschmiedekunst, 1897, pp. 162-3). On no. A646 the castle appears to be stamped and the signatures incised, while on A629 the whole of the marks are incised. A647|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a round, flattened pommel, hollow, pierced and chiselled with foliage, and topped with a cruciform acanthus; hollow grip, pierced and chiselled with scrolls; straight quillons, spirally fluted and chased, ending in rosette knobs; the edge of the cup is turned over and notched, the cup itself pierced and sharply chiselled with scrolls of conventional leaves and berries, including exotic birds; inner shell or guardapolvo, of like decoration; hilt-arms and knuckle-guard spirally fluted and chased like the quillons; slender blade of flattened hexagonal section, grooved at the forte and inscribed:

DE PEDRO DE / TORO / TOLEDO

Short ricasso. This rapier is remarkable for balance and the quality of its chiselled decoration. Compare the design and workmanship of the grip of the parrying dagger A832, and that of the rapier A648, which is also inscribed with the name of Pedro de Toro. The guardapolvo is decorated similarly to the cup but apparently by a less skilled hand.

Probably third quarter of the 17th century; blade Spanish (Toledo).

Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 174-5. L' Art Ancien VIII, no. 958; De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 53 and pl. 4. This rapier and the dagger A828 are reproduced together on pl. 4, and are presumably described by Beaumont under the same number in his catalogue, viz. 53.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The statement in the 1962 Catalogue that A647 was in the Mahon sale (Mannheim and Pillet, 15-16 April 1872) as lot 63 is almost certainly incorrect since it is illustrated in L' art ancien at about this date in the Nieuwerkerke collection. This lot was bought in (marked catalogue in the Bibliotheque d' Art et d' Archeologie de l' Universite, Paris).

Jehan Lhermite, writing of his visit to Toledo in 1600 and apparently copying a Spanish document, refers to Pedro de Toro and gives his mark as a letter P under a crown (Le passetemps, II, 1896, p. 296, no. 18). A man of this name is given under no. 81 in the list of Toledo swordsmiths published by Francisco Palomares in 1762. He gives two versions of his mark, the first is the letters PO in a shield-shaped compartment with a crowned upper edge; the second is a letter P under a very elaborate crown all in a shield-shaped compartment (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). A swordsmith of this name, living in Toledo in 1614, is also recorded by Rafael Ramírez de Arellano (1920, p. 307). His daughter Maria married a member of the de la Paz family. According to de Leguina, who gives his marks as a letter P, with or without a crown, and a half moon in profile, he was active as early as 1580 (1897, p. 161). A blade in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, inscribed with the name of this man, also bears a mark of a small letter o over a large P all under an elaborate crown (1908 cat., no. B397). Another signed blade with a very similar mark is in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden (1899 cat., no. E688; Haenel, 1923, pI. 60); however, a second signed blade also at Dresden (1899 cat., no. E689a), bears marks very similar to those ascribed by Francisco Palomares to Ignacio Fernandez (no. 69; Seitz, loc. cit.). A mark similar to the first of those given by Palomares to Pedro de Toro occurs on a signed blade in the Museo Civico Marzoli, Brescia (inv. no. 591; Rossi & Carpegna, 1969, no. 165). A blade formerly in the Estruch collection is inscribed PEDRO DE TORO EN TOLEDO AÑO DE 1580 (no. 308). The form of the letters is, however, not consistent with such an early date. A650|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a round, flattened pommel, with button, solid and chiselled in low relief with scrolls and berries; hollow grip rather coarsely pierced with scrolls; straight quillons, spirally fluted and finished with rosette-headed knobs; cup with edge turned over, and pierced with foliage, four circular compositions of conventional flowers, leaves and berries; inner shell (guardapolvo), similarly decorated; plain hilt-arms, knuckle-guard spirally fluted like the quillons and broken in the centre by a moulding; blade of diamond section, deeply grooved at the forte and incised on both sides:

xx IHN x SOLINGEN xx

The ricasso inside the cup is stamped on each side with a mark of the Virgin and Child which resembles that of Peter Munsten the Younger (compare the mark on the rapier at Dresden, E 419). The workmanship of grip and pommel differ from each other and also from that of the cup.

Probably third quarter 17th century; blade German (Solingen ?).

Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 175. A651|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt composed of a round, flattened pommel with button, chased with flowers in low relief; grip of circular section, pierced with foliage; straight quillons, spirally fluted and ending in flattened knobs; cup, turned over at the edge, pierced and finely chiselled with cornucopias, exotic birds and scrolls of conventional flowers; inner shell (guardapolvo) pierced with scrolled foliage and flowers, plain hilt-arms, knuckle-guard en suite with the quillons. The blade, of flattened diamond section, singly grooved at the point, and triply grooved at the fore, the latter inscribed:

PAVLLVS · WILLEMS ME FECIT
and
PAVLLVS · WILLEMS · SOLINGEN

The ricasso is stamped with the maker's mark. The workmanship of grip and pommel are less good than that of the cup.

Probably third quarter 17th century; blade German (Solingen).

Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 175, pI. 88; Laking, European Armour V, fig. 1488.

A rapier with this mark of the Three Magi is at Dresden (Ehrenthal, p. 164, no. 152). The stiff blade with its narrow grooves, though by a Solingen Maker, is in the Spanish fashion. According to Weyersberg, Paulus Willems was sworn in as a swordsmith at Solingen in 1640. He may have been a relative of Clemens Willems (Lenz, Hermitage, p. 257, B 240, and Cleveland Museum, Severance Collection, no. E 84).

This mark of the Three Magi appears later to have been bought or inherited by Paulus Meigen, since it is found with his signature on a late 17th century executioner's sword in the Scott Collection at Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum (illustrated in Joubert's catalogue of the collection, 1924, vol. II section IV).

The junction of the quillons and knuckle-guard with the escutcheon has been required, the latter is lightly engraved. A652|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a round, flattened pommel, chased with spiral flutes, with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight quillons chiselled with acanthus leaves, pierced and finished with knobs; cup, with solid flanged edge, chiselled with a pattern, the cup itself elaborately pierced and chiselled with scrolls of foliage; the inner shell (guardapolvo) is especially rich in its decoration of five layers, alternately pierced and frilled; plain, incomplete hilt-arms and knuckle-guard. Strong blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso, inside the cup, stamped on each side with a maker's mark and the half-moon of an Espadero del Rey.

The chiselled decoration on the cup of this rapier has been carried to an advanced state, the inner surface, as well as the outer, having been worked.

Probably about 1675; blade possibly German.

L' Art Ancien III, No. 368 (?)

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Boccia, Rossi & Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 280, 'Milan about 1660-80'; Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 175(2), 178 and 377. Palomares gives ST as the mark of Tomas de Ayala, the well-known swordsmith of Madrid (see A643, A567), and there is a rapier in the Real Armeria (G 99) inscribed: Tomas de Aiala, and stamped with a crowned ST; in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, is another similarly inscribed and stamped (Robert, J 126). It must, however, be mentioned that as well as using the Spanish half-moon mark, the Stantlers of Munich also employed the letters ST (see A612 and A532, which has a crowned ST and the name of Sebastian Hernandez). The four-sided blade is not of the kind usually found with cup-hilt rapiers and probably did not originally belong.

The guards of this sword appear to match those of the left-hand dagger A827. Francisco Palomares lists Thomas de Ayala, alive in 1625, as working in Toledo, rather than in Madrid (see A567). The mark on A652 differs in detail from that given by Palomares. A653|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a round, flattened pommel, solid and spirally fluted, with button; wire-bound grip; straight quillons, round in section; plain, except at the ends, which are chased and terminate in rosette-headed knobs; cup, with edge turned over, pierced and chased with scrolled foliage, berries and birds, plain hilt-arms and knuckle-guard en suite with quillons, chased in the centre; long, narrow blade of diamond section, becoming flatter and wider at the point, and so capable of giving a slashing cut (delivered from the wrist with the extreme edge of the blade and as known as the tramazone or stramazzione); it is etched on each face with the scrolls and oval panels inscribed:

CLEMENS WIRSBERG

ME FECIT SOLINGE[N]

It also bears the usual mottos:–

FIDE SED CUI VIDE

VITA SPE AUT MORI

SOLI DEO GLO/RIA

PRO ARIS ET FOCIS

The cup probably did not originally belong to the rest of this hilt, nor to this blade.

About 1660; cup Italian (Neapolitan); blade probably Spanish (Toledo).
Boccia & Coelho, Armi bianche, 1975, fig. 697, 'about 1670-80'; Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 176 and 337. For other examples of the work of the Wirsberg family, see A594. There was more than one Solingen swordsmith of this name. A sword of Johann Georg I, Duke of Saxony, dated 1638 and signed by Clemens Wirsberg, is in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum at Munich.

There is also a rapier at Madrid (G 61) by Wilhelm Wirsberg bearing, in part, the same inscription. See also the rapier A594, by Clementes Wisperch. A654|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a flattened spherical pommel, chiseled in low relief with masks and scroll-work, button threaded to screw on; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; long, straight quillons of circular section spirally fluted, and ending in rosette-shaped buttons, the escutcheon chiselled with a mask on each side; knuckle-guard spirally fluted like the quillons, hilt-arms, and solid cup, gilt as a background to an applied covering of pierced ornament, which is secured by a row of iron-headed rivets, the edge pierced and bent over. The covering of the cup is decorated with masks, dolphins and conventional scrolled foliage, pierced and chiselled. On a riband round the base it is inscribed:

LAVRENTIVS PALVMBO DE NEAPOLI FECIT

An inner shell (guardapolvo) of like decoration; long slender blade of diamond section wider at the forte; where the central groove is incised on both sides:

IN TOLEDO

The ricasso of rectangular section is stamped on each side with a bladesmith's mark, which does not resemble that of any Toledo craftsman. It is probably an Italian imitation of a Spanish blade.

Italian (Neopolitan), about 1660

Other cup-hilt rapiers signed by Palumbo are in the E. W. Stead Collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and in the Papal Armoury in the Vatican (Fleetwood, Z.H.W.K., XXI, 1931, p. 281). Another was in the Berchtold sale, 1898, and the late Percy MacQuoid possessed one which may be identical with the Stead example. Another was in the S.E. Lucas sale, Christie's, 14 May, 1956, lot 115. It is rare to find hilts signed on the cup in this way. See A655, which is signed by Estrada of Madrid, 1701; other examples occur with the name of Antonio Cilenta, and one formerly in the Pauilhac collection (now Musée de l’Armée, Paris) is signed: ESTA ESPADA ES DE MIGVEL ANGLADA SE HIZO EN ZARRAGOZA ANO 1658, round the rim of the cup. Naples was at this date under Spanish rule. A655|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier and scabbard, the rapier hilt made up of a small, flat spherical pommel, hollow, pierced, chased above and below a dotted band with leaves, and with a large button; oval grip bound with silver wire and divided into eight vertical panels by narrow bars of steel alternately pearled and notched; straight quillons of circular section, chiselled with leaves and ending in rosettes; the knuckle-guards and the suggestion of a hilt-arms within the cup are wrought in one piece; cup, with narrow, turned-over edge, chased, the cup itself pierced and elaborately chiselled with scrolled foliage, masks and flowers surrounding two solid panels each chased in low relief with a figure in a chariot (? Apollo and Phaethon). On a circular band round the aperture for the blade are the words:

HAONRA (sic) · DE · DIOS · ME · FECIT

ESTRADA · EN · MRD · AN · 1701

('To the honour of God, Estrada made me at Madrid in the year 1701')
Inside the cup is a small inner shell (guardapolvo) chiselled on one panel with the emblems of the Passion. On the interior of the cup at the back of the solid panels in engraved in monogrammatic form:

VIVA FELIPE · S · QUINTO

REY · DESPANIA

(Phillip V, Duke of Anjou, was called to the throne of Spain in 1700, and reached Madrid on 18 February, 1701). The blade of flattened hexagonal section, singly grooved, pierced and inscribed:

FRAN · CISC · O GO/MEZ EN TO · LEDO

Francisco Gomez was a Toledo bladesmith who was working about the end of the 16th century; traces of his mark remain on the ricasso.
Scabbard of black leather with trumpet-shaped mouth; it is decorated with a circular panel of conventional flowers and a band of roping boldly tooled in relief; the lower part and ferrule are restorations. It is without a locket or rings for suspension.

Blade, Spanish (Toledo), about 1600; hilt, Spanish (Madrid), dated 1701.

Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 174, 177, 269, 307 and 377, pI. 110. Laking, European Armour V, pp. 78-80, fig. 1496.

The date on the cup of this weapon shows to what a late period the cup-hilt rapier was retained in Spain.

S. Pyhrr pointed out in 1978 that a similar but plainer hilt, also signed by Estrada in the year 1701, is in Museum w Wilanowie, Warsaw (no. 3670 Wil.; W. Baldowski, 'Europejska bron biaka w kolekeji Wilanowskiej', Biuletyn Historii Sztuki, XXXIX, 1977, pp. 336-43, specifically pp. 342-3).
Possibly this is the man who signed a sword hilt sold at Christie's, 24 January 1839, lot 160, Francisco Romero Padial Estrada en Madrid, 1702. Its present whereabouts is unknown.

Francisco Gomez appears as no. 28 in the list of Toledo swordsmiths published by Francisco Palomares in 1762. His mark consisted of the letter F crowned in a shield-shaped compartment (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). According to de Leguina, he had a son called José, who was also a swordsmith (1897, p. 101). Neither man has been traced in the Toledo archives so far, but a swordsmith called Juan Gomez is recorded there in 1585 (R. Ramíréz de Arellano, 1920, p. 115). A657|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a round, flattened pommel, with button, solid and chiselled with foliage in low relief; fluted, wire-bound grip with vertical flute; straight quillons round in section, plain and ending in turned knobs; segmented guard formed of two shells pierced and chiselled with a double-headed eagle, crowned, on the one side, and an exotic bird on the other, among scroll-work and conventional leaves and berries; between the two shells are six concentric bars; plain hilt-arms and knuckle-guard, the latter with turned moulding in the centre: the inner shell is missing. Blade rigid and doubly grooved the whole length and pierced at the forte.

(1962) Spanish, about 1650; (1986) Probably third quarter 17th century; blade associated.

Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 157. A658|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a small, rounded pommel roughly chiselled in low relief with leaves, gilt; grip diagonally bound with hands of copper wire alternately plain and twisted; straight quillons and knuckle-guard spirally fluted and terminating in animals' heads, gilt; hilt-arms (the two ends joined to a pierced rosette); cup, of gilt steel chiselled and pierced with large with large leaves supported by crude, grotesque animals, six times, also gilt; a band of grotesque animals at the top and a circular panel of masks at the bottom; blade of flattened diamond section, the flute at the forte inscribed on each side:

· IOHANNES · TESCHE

the Solingen bladesmith; strong ricasso.

Possibly third quarter 17th century; blade German, Solingen.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 51; Laking European Armour V, fig. 1477.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Other rapiers by Johannes Tesche (or by Johannes Tesche Wirsberg) are at Madrid (G 89), and at the Livrustkammaren, Stockholm, nos. 591 and 591:1. This is a German adaptation of the Spanish type of cup-hilt.
This hilt only resembles the 'Spanish' cup-hilts, such as A647, rather superficially. Was it possibly made abroad for a foreigner visiting Spain? Illustrated as 'Else' no. 6 among Dassi's drawings of the Ambrogio Uboldo collection in the Castello Sforzesca, Milan. A659|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt comprising a flattened spherical pommel, with button, chiselled with conventional flowers and leaves in low relief; octagonal, wire-bound grip; straight quillons, spirally roped, swelling towards the ends; deep cup, pierced and chiselled with scrolls, birds and conventional leaves and flowers, incorporating on either side a shield ensigned by a helmet in profile, the helmet and the charges to sinister: charged with a chevron between the three Moors' heads erased impaling checky and a bird upon a chief, possibly for Moreau, impaling Kerchove. The edge of the cup decorate with a border of interlaced loops, the base, round the blade, engraved with a conventional double rose: broad blade of hexagonal section, singly grooved at the forte, inlaid with the running-wolf mark in brass; the ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark, see A623.

The left-hand dagger A840, which belongs to it, is of like design and workmanship, and bears the same arms.

Possibly third quarter 17th century; blade almost certainly associated, German (Passau or Solingen).

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 52 and pl. 4; Laking European Armour V, fig. 1486.

Provenance: Joyeau (Une épée cuillier à pot ciselée à jour fin XVIème siècle et une dague main gauche Espanole 1,200 fr.; receipted bill, 27 April, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

This appears to be a German imitation of the Spanish type of cup-hilt.

Both the description of the two impaled coats and their tentative identifications are reversed in the 1962 Catalogue. In any case the arms of Kerchove are a flying dove holding an olive branch in its bill. The birds on the hilt of A659 resemble wrens and are not flying. The hilt of the left-hand dagger A840 seems to be of slightly different workmanship.

Possibly third quarter 17th century; blade almost certainly associated, German (Passau or Solingen).

Exhibited: ? Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, nos. 1841-2, with A840 (Nieuwerkerke), but with coat of arms described as La Mirandola. If this information is correct, the Joyeau provenance in the 1962 Catalogue does not refer to A659 and A840.

A hilt of a different form but chiselled with identical impaled arms was in the Dupasquier collection (C. Thoumas, Exposition rétrospective militaire du Ministère de la Guerre en 1889, 1890, illus. on p. 65).

L' art ancien, I, pI. 26; Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 175 and 179. A660|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a spherical pommel chiselled with foliage and two medallions in low relief; wire-bound grip carved with a lozenge pattern, straight, slender quillons of circular section ending in buttons; slender knuckle-guard, chased like the quillons and with turned ornament at the centre; a short spur projects from the end of the knuckle-guard and fits into a hole in the pommel; the large hilt-arms are flush with the cup, which is pierced and chased with four oval wreathes containing busts in Roman and Eastern dress, surrounded with trophies of arms and foliage. Blade of flattened diamond section, with a short deep central groove in the forte; square ricasso bearing a cross deeply cut on both sides. The tang has been repaired at the end. On the blade is a second mark consisting of an inverted V with a bifurcated apex all under a small fleur-de-lys.

Probably late-17th century. A661|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt comprised of a flattened spherical pommel, with button; wire-bound grip with four vertical roped bands; long straight quillons of circular section terminating in flattened buttons; hilt arms; knuckle-guard. The pommel, quillons and knuckle-guard are spirally fluted with alternate bands of chiselling; the cup is of plain steel with a strongly flanged edge, spirally decorated like the rest, the base and inner shell (guardapolvo) pierced and chiselled with conventional scrolled foliage. The slender blade is of hexagonal section, with a hollow flute in the centre of the forte inscribed:

+ A∙N∙T∙O∙N∙I∙O/P∙I∙C∙I∙N∙I∙N∙O +

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 174. Nos. A540 and 626 also bear the name of this well-known swordsmith (see also Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. 2757-1931), and see note on the Piccinino family under A540. A662|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a flattened spherical pommel, with large button; oval grip; straight quillons of oval section ending in knobs; knuckle guard, hilt-arms and solid cup, with turned-over outer edge and pierced inner shell. The grip is skillfully chased in low relief on either side with a trophy of arms and a bound captive, divided by two vertical strips of laurel leaves, and the cup with an elaborate military composition of two equestrian figures, including banners, perhaps Alexander and Darius (one crowned), among trophies of arms, round the edge of the cup in relief, laurel leaves turned diagonally, as on the grip, and similar decoration on the knuckle-bow and quillons. The inner-shell (guardapolvo) is composed of curved petals pierced with foliage. The blade is of flattened hexagonal section, the surface, but not the edges, waved, singly grooved at the forte, and incised:

IGNACIO · FRZ (Fernandez)
IN · TOLEDO

The ricasso is stamped on each side with the maker's mark and on the edge with that of Toledo.

L' Art Ancien IX, no. 1012; Laking, European Armour, V, fig. 1494 Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer

In the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle is a cup-hilted rapier, with its companion parrying dagger, which in style and workmanship resembles A662; these weapons came from the armoury of Manuel de Godoy , Duke of El Alcudia, Prince of the Peace, and there is a tradition that they once belonged to Phillip IV, (Windsor Castle, nos. 67-8; Laking, European Armour, V, fig. 1493)

According to Palomares and Rodriguez del Canto, there were two Toledo swordsmiths of this name, the elder and the younger. One of them is stated to have been working in the year 1708.

The decoration on grip and pommel differs slightly from that on the cup, while the matting of the background, which is made with a circular punch, differs from that on the cup, which is made with a matting tool with five teeth. The grip and pommel are presumably therefore later reconstructions.
Illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 1,500 fr.
(S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980).

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 178.

J.-A. Godoy has pointed out that the two horsemen on the cup of A662 are based on the figures of Ninus and Julius Caesar in a series of four engravings by Adrien Collaert after Martin de Vos, representing The Four Empires of the World (letter of 30 January 1985).

A similar hilt in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 11.89.2) is signed CARLO PICININO, presumably a member of the Milanese family of bladesmiths and armourers (see under A51).

The two Toledo swordsmiths called Ignacio Fernandez, mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, are presumably those recorded by Francisco Palomares in his list published in 1762 as Nos. 68 and 69 (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7). Unfortunately he gives neither man a date. The mark of the older man was a bell, that of the younger man a figure 3 crowned in a shield-shaped compartment, which is probably what appears on A662. R. Ramírez de Arellano refers to a swordsmith of this name who in 1708 was tenant of a house in the Calle de Armas belonging to the Foundation of Gregorio López, in the parish of St. Nicholas, in Toledo (1920, p. 88). De Leguina says he died in 1708, and that Palomares suggested that he was the grandson or great-grandson of the first of this name (1897, p. 94). The only copy of the pamphlet of Palomares known to the author does not in fact give this information (Seitz., loc. cit). A663|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of an oviform pommel, with button, chased in low relief with a band of laurel wreaths, two of which enclose two horsemen, and two rosettes; fluted, wire-bound grip; straight quillons, round in section, spirally fluted and finishing in rosette-shaped knobs; knuckle-guard similarly fluted spirally in the middle; solid cup of one piece (with hilt-arms), the upper edge pierced with three holes on each side, the surface chiselled in low relief with four oval panels surrounded by laurel wreaths enclosing equestrian figures in combat (twice), hawking and hunting, the intervening surfaces decorated with birds, fruit and double roses; stiff blade of triangular section, the ricasso stamped on each side with two maker's marks (of which only the lower is reproduced): a crowned D (?) which resembles that used by Domingo Corrientes, a Toledo bladesmith.

The pommel of the parrying dagger A839 is of like design and workmanship.

Probably late 17th century; blade Spanish (Toledo).

L' Art Ancien III, no. 368; IV, no. 569.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 182. It is unusual to find an estoc blade in a cup-hilt rapier (see also A652) but this one appears to belong. The holes round the edge of the cup were probably intended for fixing a lining. A664|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of an oviform pommel, with button, chiselled in low relief of each side, with a circular design of a bird; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip, the wire being very fine; straight; slender quillons, round in section, the ends finished with acorn-shaped knobs, and knuckle-guard en suite; cup, solid and chiselled in low relief, with four large laurel wreaths containing trophies of arms, and of four smaller ones containing male and female busts; near the blade a conventional rose; the upper edge is pierced with three holes on either side (see also A663); plain hilt arms inside the cup; blade of flattened diamond section, the facets hollowed; strong ricasso.

Probably late 17th century; blade possibly 19th century.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 182. See also A663. A665|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt composed of a flattened spherical pommel, with button; wire-bound grip with four vertical steel strips; long, straight quillons, hilt-arms; semi-circular knuckle-guard. The pommel and guards are chiselled with a pattern of overlapping acanthus leaves in sharp relief (see also A648); cup with turned-over edge and inner shell (guardapolvo), both chiselled with closely set vertical ribs pierced ladder-wise between, forming an open basket-work. Long, slender blade of diamond section.

Probably third quarter 17th century. A666|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt made up of a flattened spherical pommel, hollow, pierced and chased with foliage and animals; grip bound with wire of unusual fineness and divided into four panels by narrow vertical bars; straight quillons, round in section plain, except at the ends which are incised with leaves, and terminate in spherical knobs; deep cup engraved and pierced with great delicacy, with grotesque figures, birds, animals, scrolls, conventional leaves and flowers, the upper edge (not turned over) is bordered with a frieze of like decoration; plain, large hilt arms and knuckle-guard decorated to match the quillons, with a turned moulding in the centre. Single-edged blade of triangular section with cutting edge, converting to diamond section at the point, the back-edge faceted; it is engraved on both sides with the scene of a naval engagement, posy of flowers and birds; the ricasso is stamped on each side with a maker's mark now illegible. There are traces of gilding on the blade.

German (?), about 1680.

L' Art Ancien III, no. 368; IV, no. 569.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 179. A667|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt comprised of a spherical pommel flattened on four sides to receive circular medallions containing busts in profile chiselled in low relief, unusually tall olive-shaped button spirally fluted, and threaded to screw on; velvet-bound grip spirally fluted and bound with wire; straight quillons of circular section with spirally fluted, olive-shaped ends like the button, the escutcheon with a medallion head chiselled in low relief on either side; knuckle-guard, hilt arms (one branch of which is missing) and cup chiselled with oval and circular panels containing classical figures and profile heads, respectively, amid pierced, conventional foliage, the upper edge divided into four arcs and the border bent over, inside it is an inner shell (guardapolvo) with similar medallions. Very long blade of flat hexagonal section with central groove on the forte, the point broken off, uneven in thickness and has been much corroded. There are traces of a wolf mark inlaid in copper.

Possibly third quarter 17th century; blade German (Passau or Solingen). A668|1|1|Rapier, the hilt made up of a heavy pommel and button, of pear-shaped form chiselled in relief with heavy roping en torsade, and upright scrolls; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight quillons of diamond section, ending in knobs en suite with the pommel; knuckle guard and double ring of diamond section with similar knobs at the centres, the surface decorated with incised lines and wavy lines chiselled in relief; shallow saucer-like cup, embossed with nude figures, grotesque and scrolls; the whole of blackened steel. Long blade of hexagonal section, the single groove at the forte inscribed:

CHRISTVS · IMPERAT

and incised with the orb and cross; strong ricasso covered by a prolonged escutcheon bearing a grotesque mask in low relief.

About 1650; hilt North European; blade possibly German.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 170, 270 and 375, pI. 87. De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 57, with the following note:

'Cette légende, Christus imperat, semble avoir été particulièrement employée comme devise de lame d' épée par un fourbisseur du XVIIe siècle, nommé Marson. Ce nom signé assez fréquemment des lames toutes semblables à celle dont il s' agit, et qui portent comme elle la même devise et les mêmes filets.'

Blades bearing the name of Marson are at Turin (G64), Musée de l' Armée, Paris (J249), Museo Stibbert, Florence (2084), in Pauilhac Collection, Paris, at Eastnor Castle, and elsewhere. Some carry a version of the Toledo mark. The name MARSOV is on the blade of the sword used by Gustavus Adolphus at the battle of Lützen and CENEDA MARSOV is on a blade in the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. Ceneda is a part of the town of Vitttorio Veneto in northern Italy; there is a village called Marsov in Bohemia, and one called Marson in France. In the case of A668 the mark of the orb and the cross suggests a German origin of the blade.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A closely comparable hilt is depicted in St. Louis as a crusader by Philip Fruytiers, about 1652 (Antwerp, Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, cat. no.166). A669|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a spirally fluted pommel, skillfully chased in low relief with vines, and topped with acanthus, with a small projecting scroll on one side, into which the upper end of the knuckle-guard is inserted; large button; spirally fluted, steel grip of circular section chased with vines like the pommel; short quillons bifurcated into four, issuing from the mouths of marine monsters at the escutcheon, and finishing at the heads of sea monsters; the knuckle-guard has a similar head in the centre; shallow, saucer-like cup with scalloped edge, with eight shield-shaped panels, chiselled with vines in low relief; the cup is worked on both sides and the escutcheon is extended to form a short ricasso (the portion of blade so covered retains its original burnish); the blade of flattened hexagonal section, the single groove incised:

S · A · H · A · G · V · N / EL · VIE · IO

The tang, beneath the escutcheon, is stamped on each side with his mark, a crowned S. Alonso de Sahagun, the Elder, the famous Toledo bladesmith, was working during the latter part of the 16th century.

Hilt about 1635-45; blade Spanish (Toledo) or a German imitation.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 169 and 274, pI. 71. Laking, European Armour, V, fig. 1467.

A town sword with a similar hilt was in the collection of Sir Archibald Lamb, Bt. (sold Christie's, 15 May, 1922, lot 129). This type of hilt is discussed by C. Blair (1974 cat., no. 34).

For the bladesmith's mark see A491 and A551. A670|1|1|Cup-hilt rapier, the hilt composed of a spherical pommel, the lower half spirally fluted, large button; oval, wire-bound grip (modern); long, plain straight quillons of circular section with buttons at the ends; knuckle guard en suite swelling at the centre; the hilt-arms are shaped to support internally the cup, which is elaborately pierced and chased with scrolls of conventional foliage; the upper edge has been turned over. The base of the cup in front has been reinforced with a circular plaque roughly pierced and chiseled, probably later in date, but not recent. Long, slender blade of flattened hexagonal section, the short groove in the centre of the forte inscribed:

IOHANNES HERNANDES

Square ricasso stamped on each side with the bladesmith's mark and that of Toledo.

Second half of 17th century; blade probably Spanish (Toledo).

A similar bladesmith's mark is to be found on a rapier in the Hermitage, St. Petersberg (Lenz, 1908, p. 162, no. B 467).

For other blades by members of the Hernandes family, see nos. A532-3, 571, 586.

Juan Hernandes is the least frequently met with. There was a cup-hilt rapier with blade by him sold by Fisher, Lucerne, September, 1932, lot 177.

This hilt of this piece has been considerably altered and repaired, probably in the 19th century, principally by the patching of the centre of the cup. On the side towards the blade, the patch, which is slightly embossed and pierced with foliage, was probably reused from some other object. Towards the hand, the patch is plain and probably of 19th-century date.

Second half of 17th century; blade probably Spanish (Toledo).

Juan Hernandes is not recorded by Francisco Palomares in his list of Toledo sword-cutlers published in 1762 (Seitz, Blankwaffen, II, pp. 266-7) but a rapier blade signed JUAN HERNANDEZ EN TOLEDO was sold at Fischer's, Lucerne, 6-7 September 1932, lot 177. A671|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a fig-shaped pommel, with button; wire-bound grip of oval section; knuckle-guard and single side-ring of oval section, the former returning to the pommel, which is set with a hole to receive it; short slightly curved quillon with lobated end; the whole overlaid in gold with figures, grotesques and scrolls of conventional foliage on a blued ground; at the junction of the hilt to the blade is an oval moulding inscribed on the face in gold lettering:

AV . DVC . D'ORLEANS .

Blade with a deep groove, double at the forte and becoming single for the rest of its length. The blade is etched throughout with running foliage on a gilt ground, the grooves being prominently decorated with rows of silver studs in the forms of shells, rosettes and other ornaments chiselled and applied (a number are missing).

Hilt possibly French, about 1650-60; blade German (possibly Bavarian) mid-18th century.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 60.

Provenance: Librairie Tross (Épée de Gaston d' Orléans, 600 fr.: receipted bill, 15 August, 1866); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Although de Beaumont accepted the tradition that this sword had belonged to Jean Baptiste Gaston d' Orléans, duc d' Anjou, who was born at Fontainebleau in 1608, it is more likely that the inscription refers to a shop-sign and indicates the address of the maker.

In the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle is a blade with like decoration. This was joined to a hilt of chiselled steel by the order of Prince Albert (Laking, The Armoury of Windsor Castle, 1904, no. 58). Others are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay (loan exhibition, New York, 1931, no. 208), and in Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum (inv. no. A2036). A small sword with a somewhat similar blade was in the Dreger Collection, sold Fischer, Lucerne, 1927, lot 117, and there is one in the Royal Armouries (S. E. Lucas sale, Christie's, 15 May, 1956, lot 217).

The decoration was apparently etched and the areas left in relief overlaid in gold.

Hilt possibly French, about 1650-60; blade German (possibly Bavarian) mid-18th century.

Norman, 1967, illus. 8; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 191, 274 and 359, pI. 96.
Fourteen of the heads of the silver studs in the blade are missing. This hilt has been connected with a group typified by a smallsword, traditionally of Major-General Charles Worseley (died 1659), in the Royal Armouries (no. IX.1428), with which in fact it has little in common (Blair, 1974, no. 36; and Borg, 1975). The blade resembles a number in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, one of which bears an inscription to the Elector Palatine Carl Theodor and his consort Elizabeth and must therefore date not earlier than their marriage in 1742 (no. W2705; K. Maurice, letter of 10 November 1982). A672|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a flattened, vase-shaped pommel, chiselled in low relief with a classical warrior on one side and a trophy of arms on the other, and with a monster's head and scales at either side, on a gilt ground; large button; steel grip of baluster form chiselled with vertical bands of scale-work piqué with gold dots; knuckle-guard and side-ring decorated to match, with an oval in the centre chased with Minerva on one side and a trophy of arms on the other. A curled hook projects from the bottom of the knuckle-guard; short, curved quillon with scroll-shaped end and chiselled with a monster's head like the pommel; the whole elaborately decorated with bands of scale-work piqué with gold spots; large oblong escutcheon, extending over the ricasso, of like decoration, with monsters heads on one side and trophies of arms on the other. The blade is plain, of hexagonal section tapering to diamond section towards the point, and with a shallow groove at the forte. The plate originally filling the area encompassed by the loop-guard is missing. The blade has been broken at its centre and carefully mended.

Hilt by Caspar Spät of Munich, probably about 1640; blade associated.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 59; Laking, European Armour, V, fig. 1503; J. F. Hayward, Apollo, XLIV, 1946, pp. 121-2, fig. XII; Norman, 1967, cover illus.; Norman, Varia, 1976, no. 4, pp. 81-6, pI. 4; Norman and Barne, 1980, pI. 75. Illustrated as no. 140 of' 'Armi lunghe a taglio' among Dassi's drawings of the collection of Ambrogio Uboldo in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, but with a blade like that now on no. A693.A672|1|1|Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Of the finest quality. Caspar Spät succeeded Daniel Sadeler (d. 1632) as steel-chiseller to the Bavarian court and worked in the same style. He died in 1691. The scale-work and chiselled decoration, characteristic of Sadeler's work, closely resembles that on a pair of pistols, nos. A1155-6 q.v. The sharp tapering of the blade anticipates the type known as the Colichemarde, which came into fashion about 1680. A673|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a gadrooned, vase-shaped pommel, with button; steel grip of oval section fluted, with leaves at the top and bottom chiselled in low relief; short, single, curved quillon; single side-ring and knuckle-guard, the former joins the latter with a curl, and small solid shell, fluted and forwards; the hilt is made entirely of gilt steel, the centres of the guards and the end of the quillon decorated with fluted knobs. The blade, of flattened hexagonal section, is decorated at the forte, where the section is oval, with scrollwork etched and gilt, with a six-pointed star, and bears on both sides the mark of the orb and cross. The blade, which does not belong to the hilt, is possibly French, and of later date.

Hilt probably Dutch, about 1635-50; blade probably Dutch about 1700.

The inner side of the hilt is flat, for convenience in civilian wear.

Norman, Varia, 1976, no. 4, pp. 81-6, pI. 3, but with the caption interchanged with pI. 2;

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 190 and 273. A674|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a pear-shaped pommel, of vaguely hexagonal section, ending at the top in scrolls, with large button; steel grip of octagonal section; small curling quillons, the right one being smaller than the left; small pierced shell, single curved bar and knuckle-guard; the entire hilt plated with silver and chased with conventional foliage. The blade, of flat, bi-convex section, with shallow groove at the forte, faintly engraved on each side with a running-wolf mark and the figures 16. The hilt is incised with conventional foliage, hatched with silver and parcel gilt. The figures 16 on the blade are probably the last two of a date; presumably 1616.

Hilt North European, probably Dutch, about 1640-50; blade German (Solingen ?), possibly dated 1616.

Norman, Varia, 1976, no. 4, pp. 81-6, pI. 2, but with caption interchanged with pI. 3; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 190, 358 and 375, pI. 82.

For the decoration of the hilt compare nos. A543 and 643. A675|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a fluted, elongated olive-shaped pommel, with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; slender quillons curled upwards and inwards and finished with knobs of hexagonal section; fluted escutcheon; hilt-arms under two large, oval shell-guards pierced with quatrefoils to form a trellis. Long, straight blade of diamond section, the ricasso stamped on either side with the half-moon mark.

About 1620-45; hilt probably North European; blade probably German.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 153. The half-moon, like other Toledo marks, was used by several Solingen bladesmiths (see no. A545, and Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, 1926, p. 35). This type of elongated, fluted pommel is sometimes found on English rapiers of this date. A676|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of an egg-shaped pommel, fluted, with button; iron, wire-bound grip; straight quillons, the ends curled forwards; shallow shell-guard in the form of a lobated sexfoil, each panel of which is pierced to form a trellis, it is joined to the quillons by a double branch on either side; long, tongue-shaped escutcheon, fluted; the whole of blackened steel. Blade of hexagonal section with a single groove at the forte, the point wrought to a diamond section which is flattened and widened for delivering the stramazzone (a slashing cut delivered with the sword’s point, rather than the edge); long ricasso partly covered by the escutcheon. There is no mark, but there is a series of oblique hatching in the groove where the signature is usually inscribed.

About 1620-45; hilt probably North European.

De Beaumont Catalogue, No. 58.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 172, pI. 68. Of the type sometimes known as a 'flamberge'. See note under A508. A677|1|1|Rapier, the hilt made up of a spherical pommel with large button chiselled with scrolled ornament in relief; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard with a knop in the centre and a curl towards the shell; short, single quillon, the end bifurcated and terminating in spherical knobs; no hilt-arms, but space for forefinger and thumb can be found behind the guard, which is formed by a circular, saucer-shaped shell. This is chased and pierced with scale ornament and strapwork, incorporating four fleurs-de-lys; the whole of blackened steel.

Blade of diamond section, the ricasso is covered by the long rectangular escutcheon, which is incised with a conventional tree-pattern.

Possibly French, about 1635-40.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 169 and 375, pl. 74. A678|1|1|Rapier, the hilt composed of a flattened spherical pommel, narrowly gadrooned, the collar and button chiselled with C-shaped scrolls; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; slender knuckle-guard of hexagonal section bent to a square profile, with a moulding at the centre, the end screwed to the pommel; single short quillon ending in a button; small circular cup or shell-guard formed of eight panels of conventional palmettes delicately pierced and chased, joined to the quillon by a forked bar; the whole of blackened steel. Blade of diamond section with hollowed sides, the ricasso square and covered by along, box-like, fluted escutcheon; about half an inch of the blade has been broken off.

Probably French, about 1640-5.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 173(2), 273 and 375, pI. 81. This light rapier is a prototype of the French smallsword which came into fashion towards the end of the 17th century.

This type of sword is not a prototype of the French smallsword, but rather a contemporary development which proved abortive. A679|1|1|Sword, the hilt made up of a fig-shaped pommel with shallow vertical flutings and flat button; copper wire-bound grip of quadrilateral section; short quillons of hexagonal section, recurved horizontally and springing from a long, vertically fluted escutcheon and ending in hexagonal knobs; hilt-arms, double rings and shell guards, the latter joined to the rings by heart-shaped bars forming an open cage. The shells are pierced and chiselled with the arms of France, crowned, and enclosed within a laurel wreath and with dolphins on either side; the whole of bright steel. Stiff, broad blade of diamond section, with a single wide groove running to the point, it is inscribed:

GLVCK : VND : VNGLVCK : IST : ALLE : MORRGEN

MEIN : FRVSDVCK : ANNO : DOMINI : 1646

('Good fortune and bad is my breakfast every morning')

The square ricasso is stamped on either side with a bladesmith's mark.

Hilt probably French, about 1620-40; blade associated, German dated 1646.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 42 and 156. A680|1|1|'Pillow' sword, the hilt made up of a pommel chiselled in the round as a laureate male head; silver wire-bound grip with heavy cording; short quillons slightly arched and then turned back in the form of busts of Mars and Venus, chiselled in the round, the escutcheon bearing a figure of Mercury in relief on the left side; small, projecting guard on the right side fashioned as a female bust wearing at the neck a heart-shaped pendant inlaid in gold; the rest of blackened steel. Blade of hexagonal section, the deep groove at the forte incised in lettering of the Spanish style:

· IN · VIENNA · MEI · / · FECIT · NE

The ricasso stamped on each side with a crowned P. The blade is of the rapier type and has been shortened by some four or five inches.

Possibly French (Vienne), about 1650-70.

Skelton, II, Pl. CIX, figs. 5 and 6.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 186, 276 and 327. The 'pillow' sword derives its name from the custom of hanging swords of simple form at the head of the bed for ready for self defence. There is a similar sword in Vienna (Böeheim, Album, I, 1894, pl. 38) ascribed by Laking (V, fig. 1507) to Gottfried Leygebe, see A. Bruhn, Der Schwertfeger Godfried Leygebe, Copenhagen, 1945.

Vienne, near Lyon (Rhone), had a great reputation in France at this period for swords, and the blade of A680 may be from that source. The form of both the lettering on the blade and the mark on the ricasso is Spanish in style, probably an intentional imitation. The crowned P mark is of little help, as it was used by a large number of swordcutlers, including most of the Toledo bladesmiths, whose Christian name was Pedro. A681|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a flattened spherical pommel and button in one piece, strongly chiselled in relief in a naturalistic manner with overlapping petals and trefoils mounted on slender stems, the surface chased with vertical lines; wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard and single upward curving quillon ending in a petalled knop; side-ring swelling like the knuckle-guard at the centre into bunches of petals, separated by a disk, finely chiselled and chased like the pommel, a plain thumb-ring being secured by means of a tongue under the grip; the escutcheon decorated on both sides with a grotesque mask in low relief; the whole of blackened steel. Straight, narrow, single-edged blade of hollowed double groove at the forte where it is etched twice on both sides with the inscription:

IHN · SOLLINGEN

Traces of etched decoration, including a hand holding a scimitar. The tang is stamped on one side with a bladesmith's mark.

About 1635-45; hilt possibly Dutch; blade German (Solingen).

Norman, Varia, 1976, No. 4, pp. 81-7, pI. 1; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 53, 187 and 375, pI. 72. The contemporary name for this kind of sword with a light back-edged blade was probably a 'shearing-sword' (see Sir William Hope of Balcombie, The Scots Fencing Master, Edinburgh 1687, p. 158). There is a very similar sword in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; one was sold in the von Kaunitz sale, Fischer, Lucerne, 1935, lot 6; and another of this type passed through the hands of S. J. Whawell and Cyril Andrade (Laking, IV, fig. 1516). See also the petalled hilt of A638.

Swords with hilts of this kind are often described as Viennese. Compare the mark of a pot of flowers on a Solingen sword in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (Weyersberg, Solinger Schwertschmiede, p. 75) and a rapier in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 1056). Another was at one time in the de Cosson Collection.

A hilt of very similar design and workmanship in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.Po. 1568), is mounted on a blade dated 1660, but this, of course, may not be its original blade. This type of light hilt decorated with overlapping petals attracted many 19th-century copyists. A682|1|1|Rapier, the hilt made up of a pear-shaped pommel of four lobes chased with vertical lines, with large button chiselled with acanthus leaves; silver wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard with single, horizontal loop forming a large side-ring and single, curving quillon of diamond section with lobated knop at the end like the pommel; at the centre of both knuckle-guard and side-ring is a similar knop. Escutcheon chiselled with a grotesque mask. The whole of blackened steel with narrow lines, the lobes ornamented with acanthus leaves and pearling. Long blade of hexagonal section, the groove at the forte inscribed:

. SAHAGVM .

About 1640-50; blade, possibly associated, Spanish, or a German imitation.

Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 268 and 374. Hilts decorated with incised lines are not uncommon, see for example Brooklyn Museum Exhibition, 1933, No. 102 (Offerman).

The form of the lettering on the blade is Spanish, but it bears neither the Toledo mark nor those associated with the family of Sahagun. It is possibly a Solingen imitation. A683|1|1|Sword, the blackened hilt made up of a pommel supported on petals and chiselled in relief with conventional plumes, and with large button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; knuckle-guard spirally chased with a central ornament like the pommel, and small curly quillons of oval section, with pierced, scrolled ends; side-ring formed by a loop from the knuckle-bow, double shell-guards in the form of scallops, bent upwards and downwards on either side of the blade; square, vertically fluted escutcheon; the whole of blackened steel chiselled with riband ornament on a punched, granular ground. Stiff blade of diamond section, the sides hollowed, a washer of velvet or felt remains at the hilt to ease contact with the sheath.

Mid-17th century.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 190, pI. 86. A684|1|1|Smallsword, the hilt composed of a hollow, spherical pommel with button, pierced with scenes of a couple carousing with a monkey behind, and the drunkenness of Noah (?); spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; short straight quillons terminating in large, hollow, pear-shaped knobs; diminutive hilt-arms and two oval shell-guards bounded by a pair of knobs, like those on the quillons, meeting in the centre on each side; quillons and guards elaborately pierced and delicately chiselled with masks and conventional foliage. Short blade of diamond section, the single groove at the forte is inscribed on either side:

.PRO . CHRISTO . ET . PATRIA.

The short ricasso is covered by a pierced extension of the hilt. The pommel is pierced for a knuckle-guard and therefore does not belong. One of the figures decorating it is in the costume of the last quarter of the 17th century.

Pommel about 1680; guards North Italian (Brescian ?) about 1645-55; blade of uncertain date.

Boccia and Coelho, Armi bianche, 1975, fig. 643, 'Brescian about 1640-50'; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 58, 200 and 201. This type of hilt is discussed by C. Blair (1974, no. 37). Narrow blades of diamond section with a narrow fuller near the hilt are found from the late 16th century until the second half of the 18th century in Southern Europe. A685|1|1|Sabre, the hilt composed of a flattened pear-shaped pommel of steel chiselled in high relief with nude, seated figures supporting a coronet, enclosing small figures of horsemen on either face, and at the sides strapwork forming the letter H; oval grip bound with gold and steel wire, the latter arranged as roping and other interlaced bands; diagonally curved guard terminating in nude seated figures, pierced, and in high relief, bearing a crown or coronet; escutcheon also enriched with gold inlay; curved blade, single-edged and hollowed, the surface russeted and overlaid with arabesques and a shield of arms in gold; the back-edge slightly cusped in two places and overlaid in gold with undulating scrolls; the ricasso bears the letters D S, and maker's marks belonging to Daniele da Serravalle, a Milanese swordsmith active in the middle of the 16th century. The arms, which are overlaid in gold on a plane near the point, are those of Anjou-Sicily and Jerusalem impaled. Charles II, Count of Maine (d. 1481), was the last legitimate male of the second Angevin house of Sicily, and instituted Louis XI his heir. The arms were revived by Louis XII (1498-1515), King of France, Sicily and Jerusalem, who conquered Naples in 1501, but there is no evidence of their being impaled after the death of Louis XII in 1515. If the H is significant, this fine weapon may have belonged to Henri II of France.

Italian (Milanese), about 1560

Provenance: E. Juste? (Épée ciselée à figures en rond bosse et dorée, 2,500 fr.; Receipted bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke?

The description in Juste's bill might also refer to no. A685.

Other swords signed in this way by Daniele da Serravalle of Milan are at Vienna (Böeheim, Führer, nos. 461, 462); at Dresden, E92a and b; G 154; Madrid G 34, sword of Charles V; Musée de l' Armée, Paris, J 192; Musée de l' Armée, Brussels, XVI, 3; Museo Stibbert, nos. 5, 4764; and at Turin G 61. A sword inscribed DANIEL DE SERAVALE... IN MILANO...1560, was in the collection of Mr. S. J. Whawell (Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1374).

The maker’s marks on the curved blade of this royal sword, the initials ‘DS’ and the crowned M of the forge of the castle of Milan, indicate that it was made in Milan by Daniele da Serravalle, one of that city’s great masters, probably between 1550 and 1560. Serravalle took over from Vincenzo Figino as head of the Maglio del Castello in 1546; this fine sword cannot, therefore, have been made before that date.

Such exotic arms seem to have been one of Serravalle’s specialities; ‘9 scimitarre’ are listed along with a great many other swords and rapiers in the post-mortem inventory of his workshop (14 January 1567), now in the state archives in Milan. The hilt has been pierced, chiselled, and inlaid with gold, forming a decorative scheme involving a very complicated arrangement of horsemen, crowns, and pseudo-Classical figures, while the strapwork on the pommel has been carefully arranged to form King Henri’s personal ‘H’ monogram.

The curved blade is decorated over its whole length (apart from the cutting edge) on each side with overlay in gold forming delicate scrolling vines framed within a dashed and dotted border. Such blade decoration was unusual in the extreme, emphasising the exotic nature of the piece, although it is found in fact on a number of other fine Milanese swords of the time. It may have been a signature feature of the Milanese master bladesmiths; closely similar blade damascening is also found on the rapier made in Milan for Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, to accompany his ‘Milanese’ armour , and on the three Milanese rapiers mounted with baluster-turned hilts in Dresden. However on these the gold decoration is restricted to the ricasso, as seems to have been most usual, while on Ferdinand II’s rapier it continues only as a narrow band down the middle of the blade. Only the Serravalle scimitar blade is covered in gold vines overall.

Despite its rich ornament this sword remains a perfectly practical fighting tool. Nevertheless, King Henri would probably only have used the sword as a costume accessory; perhaps it was worn at some important parade or diplomatic occasion, assuming it was finished before the King’s unexpected death in 1559 as a result of a jousting accident.

‘Maestro Daniel Serravalo’ is recorded as having had charge of the management of the hammer-mill in the Castle of Milan from 1549 for fifteen years, at an annual wage of 168 scudi for himself and for his two assistants. A second document of 18 June 1565 describes him as being dead. (Gelli and Moretti, 1903, pp. 16-17). These documents do not, however, make clear whether Serrevalle was an armourer or swordsmith, but according to Boccia and Coelho, the Medicean inventories include reference to a number of swords marked 'D S' which are therein described as 'del Serrevalle vecchio' or 'di Serrevalle' (1975, p. 366, n. 328). His relationship to Giovanni Battista Serabaglio or Serrevalle, the supplier of the ‘Milanese Garniture’ to Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, is uncertain (Vienna, Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. nos. A746, 747, 782, 785, 785a, b and c, and 805). The sword at Madrid (no. G38), mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, is decorated to match an armour, also in the Real Armeria (no. A 159-63), which is thought to have been paid for in 1546 (Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 328 and 330 respectively). A falchion blade bearing these marks, fitted with guards of about 1550-60, is in the Farnese armoury at Capodimonte (no. 3724; Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 543, wrongly dated 1600-10). The sword in the Musée de l' Armée (no. J.192) came from the Condé armoury at Chantilly. Its present hilt is of the early 17th century. A sword of about 1560 from an old Zurich family, with both sets of marks on the blade, is now in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich (inv. no. LM11681; 1980 cat., no. 216). A second blade at Dresden, mounted in a much later hilt, bears both marks and the initials (1899 cat., no. E100; Schöbel, 1975, pI. 68). Yet another blade is in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (no. CL11812). The initials and the second mark occur on a dagger said to have been found in the Vendée, formerly in the collection of comte Raoul de Rochebrune (1900 cat., pl.XXI, no. 5), and now in the Musée Dobrée, Nantes. In some cases the two marks occur without the initials, as on a sword in the Real Armería at Madrid, no. G33, which, it has been suggested, belongs to the armour 'de los mascarones relevados' of 1539 (no. A139 in the same armoury). It is possible that this indicates that the blade was made in the workshop of Serravale, but not by his own hand (Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 367, n. on p. 369). The sword in Vienna with a hilt signed by Damianus de Nerve (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. A586; Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 375 and 376, n. on p. 370) bears only the second mark without any initials, as does a falchion with a blade etched with hunting scenes after Virgil Solis, Hans Brossamer, Heinrich Aldegrever, and others, in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (C. Mezentseva, 'Graphic sources for the ornamentation of a 16th-century German sabre', Reports of the Hermitage Museum, XXXV, 1972, pp. 20-25). The sword and dagger at Vienna, mentioned in the comparative material in the 1962 Catalogue, do bear the mark of the crowned M, but without a maker's mark on the sword blade, and with two initials, perhaps TB, on the dagger blade (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. nos. A794-5). Boccia and Coelho (1975, figs. 405-6, n. on p. 374) describe the sword as having a maker's mark consisting of the initials VF flanking a column with a crown above it, all in a shield-shaped compartment. They identify this as possibly that of Vincenzo Figino, the predecessor of Serravale in the mill at the Castle of Milan. This is an error. The VF mark occurs on Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer inv. no. A515, but not on no. A794. The fully signed and dated sword, formerly in the Whawell collection, cited in the 1962 Catalogue, is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 1973.27.2). Its construction does not inspire confidence in its authenticity. A686|1|1|Smallsword, the hilt composed of an oviform, vase-shaped pommel chiselled in relief with busts of the youthful Louis XIV, lions' masks, and with quatrefoil button; wire-bound grip of rectangular section swelling in the middle; chased knuckle-guard with medallion head in the centre and short, straight quillons ending in knobs chiselled to the form of lion's heads; hilt-arms, small and formed of two scrolls; two oval shell-guards pierced and chased with foliage and medallions of Louis XIV; the whole hilt is of steel chiselled in low relief upon a blackened ground, incorporating the bust of the young king, which occurs in all eight times. The flexible blade of diamond section, the single groove on the forte incised on either side with the same inscription:

XXX FERNANDO . IN . TOLEDO XXX

but the form of the letters is not Spanish. The short ricasso is overlaid by the prolongation of the hilt.

About 1660; hilt North Italian (possibly Brescian); blade probably Spanish (Toledo).

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 61.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The laureate bust of the youthful Louis XIV is reproduced from that struck on his coinage.

The knuckle-guard is an addition made during the working life of the sword (compare A685).

Seitz, Liv Rust Kammaren, III, pp. 169-200, fig. 37; Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 383.

The bust on the guards is not apparently that of Louis XIV. A very similar hilt which has never had a knuckle-guard is in the Royal Armouries, no. IX. 1012. A688|1|1|Smallsword and scabbard, probably for a page. The hilt of the sword is composed of a flattened, spherical pommel with button; steel grip of oval section swelling at the centre; slender knuckle-guard, also swelling in the centre, and returning to the pommel which is holed to receive it; single, short quillon with lobated end; diminutive hilt-arms, small shell-guard formed of two oval panels; the whole, including the grip, decorated with figures emblematical of the Arts and Sciences, with shells and rococo foliage, finely chiselled in low relief in bright steel on a ground matt of gold. Blade of flattened hexagonal section merging into a flat oval section at the forte, and etched throughout its length with interlaced scrollwork on a gilt ground.

Scabbard covered with blackened fish-skin, and mounted with a locket (furnished with a slender tongue, or belt-hook, to slip into the hanger), and ferrule, both decorated en suite with the hilt.

Hilt French (Paris), about 1730; blade probably German (Solingen).

Hayward, Apollo, XLVIII, pp. 33-5, fig. VI; Norman, 1967, illus. 18; Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 384. A sword of similar style is in the Reubell Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Dean, cat. of Court Swords, no. 40, pl. XXXI). A689|1|1|Smallsword and scabbard, the hilt of the sword made up of an oviform pommel with turned button; wire-bound grip of rectangular section swelling at the centre; slender knuckle-guard of oval section also swelling at the centre and returning to the pommel which is holed to receive it; hilt-arms and diminutive quillon terminating in a lion's head, the escutcheon with square stepped base; small oval shell shell-guards. The whole decorated with oval panels containing classical figures, busts, palms and laurel leaves delicately chiselled in low relief in bright steel upon a ground of matted gold. The blade is of triangular with hollow-ground faces; a velvet washer remains at the hilt to ease contact with the locket on the sheath. The blade is blued and gilt at the forte, with engraved ornament on one side and inscribed on the other:

COULLIER Successeur De Monsieur Pichon Fourbisseur De Msg. Le Comte D'artois Rue St. Honoré à la Victoire à Paris.

The hilt of like workmanship to A690-1.

Scabbard of black leather with a locket furnished with a ring and ferrule of steel, decorated en suite with the hilt. An oval panel on the locket is inscribed in punched dots:

À La Victoire Collier rue St. Honor

About 1780-85; hilt French (Paris); blade probably German (Solingen).
Laking, Art Journal, 1903, p. 262, fig. 628.

A sword with the same signature and bearing the date letter for 1784 on its silver hilt is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Dean, Cat. of Court Swords, no. 72, pl. LV).

Diderot (Encyclopèdie...des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, Paris, 1757, Tome VII, p. 222 s.v Fourbisseur) states that the Fourbisseurs of Paris never wrought the blades which they mounted. The finest they obtained from Germany (Solingen) and other from Franche Comté and St. Etienne en Forez.
P. Jarlier records Victor Coullier at 574 rue Saint-Honoré in the period 1770-90; he became fourbisseur du comte d' Artois et fourbisseur de la Maison du roi in 1772 (Repertoire, 1976, cols. 68-9).

Jarlier also records Pichon, fourbisseur, Paris, from 1767 to 1790, and gives addresses at rue Saint-Honoré, vis-à-vis Saint-Honoré, and à la Victoire à Paris (op. cit., cols. 220-1). However in his 2e Supplement, 1981, col. 220, he indicates that there were two or perhaps three men of this name active in Paris in the 18th century; Claude, received as maître fourbisseur on 22 April 1740; Nicholas-Joseph, received as fils de maître on 20 September 1789 (? son of Claude); and a third, Christian name unknown, who was fourbisseur de Monsieur Ie comte d' Artois, à la Victoire à Paris. It is presumably this last man that Goullier succeeded. A690|1|1|Smallsword, the hilt composed of an oviform pommel with turned button; wire-bound grip of rectangular section; slender knuckle-guard of oval section swelling at the centre and returning to the pommel which is bored to receive it; single short quillon with lobated end, the escutcheon square and stepped at the base; diminutive hilt arms, small shell-guard formed of two oval panels; the whole decorated with horsemen, military figures, trophies, rococo scrollwork and spots in blackened steel chiselled in low relief on a ground of matt gold; on the shell-guard in oval frames are horsemen in eighteenth-century dress, Turks and Hussars. The blade of rectangular bayonet-section with hollowed sides, a velvet washer remains at the hilt to ease contact with the locket of the sheath, which is missing. The hilt is of workmanship similar to A689 and A691.

About 1780-90; hilt French (Paris); blade probably German (Solingen).

A very similar silver hilt in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, bears the partially defaced Paris date-letter for either 1784-5 or 1785-6, and the discharge mark for 1786-9 (no. 26.145.323; Dean, Court swords, no.87, pl. LXV). A691|1|1|Smallsword, the hilt made up of a slight oviform pommel with turned button brightly gilt; wire-bound grip of rectangular section; slender knuckle-guard of oval section swelling at the centre and returning to the pommel which is bored to receive it; single, short quillon with lobated end, the escutcheon squared and stepped at the base; diminutive hilt arms, small shell-guard formed of two oval panels; the whole decorated with equestrian military figures and others in clothing of the eighteenth century, rococo foliage and cartouches delicately chiselled in bright steel in low relief on a ground of matt gold. The blade is of triangular bayonet-section, blued and gilt at the forte; a washer of red velvet remains at the hilt to ease contact with the locket of sheath. Of like workmanship to A689-90.

The scabbard is covered with cream-coloured fishskin and mounted with a locket and brand furnished with two rings, and at the point a chape of steel decorated like the hilt.

About 1780-90; hilt French (Paris); blade probably German (Solingen).
Laking, Art Journal, 1903, p. 262, fig. 627; Hayward, Apollo, XLIX, pp. 76-8 and 80, fig. V; Norman, 1967, illus. 19.

Provenance: previously catalogued as coming from the collections of A. Beurdeley and the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, but the evidence upon which this statement was made cannot be traced.

The style and workmanship of the hilt is to be compared with that of a court sword in the Reuball Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York (Dean, Cat. Of Court Swords, no. 89, pl. LXVII). A692|1|1|Smallsword, the hilt composed of a hollow, pierced, oviform pommel with turned button; wire-bound grip of oval section; knuckle-guard and two quillons chiselled to represent foliage and fruit, the quillons with lobated ends curving to join the shell-guard; escutcheon pierced like the pommel; two short branches simulating a hilt-arm, lozenge-shaped shell-guard in one piece, pierced with foliage and filigree, the whole of silver gilt, pierced and chiselled with foliage and filigree scrolls; sword-knot of stripped crimson silk and silver galoon, ending in a tassel; blade of triangular bayonet-section, etched with conventional, foliated flourishes at the hilt. The stand of the pommel and the inside of the forward arm of the hilt bear the leopard passant, the standard mark for silver, while on the inside of the forward arm are the remains of a maker's mark consisting of a capital W and a second partially illegible letter.

The scabbard is covered with black fishskin, and mounted with a locket and chape decorated en suite with the hilt, the locket furnished with a ring, and engraved with the name:

DEALTRY
ROYAL EXCHANGE

About 1765-70; hilt British (London); blade probably German (Solingen).
Norman and Barne, 1980, pI. 134.

Two of Dealtry's trade-cards are in the Banks Collection in the British Museum. The first is dated 1780 and reads: 'Thomas Dealtry. Swords and other Cutlery ware. At the Flaming Sword, Sweeting's Alley, Royal Exchange. N.B. Canes neatly fitted up.' The second, dated 1786, reads: 'Dealtry, No. 85 Cornhill. Makes and Sells… Swords, Arms, and Accoutrements.' There was a smallsword bearing Dealtry's name and 'Cornhill' on the chape in the Sir. J. D. Linton sale, Christie's, 17 January, 1917, lot 95.

In the course of the 18th century the quality of English sword cutlery declined and the London cutlers petitioned the Government for the permission to import German blades free of duty. This movement was strenuously opposed by Thomas Gill of Birmingham, who made great efforts to improve the industry, and in 1783 memorialized the Lords of the Treasury that he could make blades superior to those imported from Germany. In 1786 a trial took place in which the quality of his work was triumphantly vindicated. Among 10,000 blades ordered by the East India Company, there were 1,400 German blades of which 28 were rejected, of 2,700 English blades other than Gill's 1,084 failed, but of Gill's 1,650 blades, only four failed to pass.

The hilt-maker's mark is probably that of William Kinman, one of the leading London makers of his day. A. Grimwade records his mark under no. 3210, entered as a small worker on 31 January 1759 (London Goldsmiths, 1976, p. 572). Another mark was entered for him, or for a son of the same name, on 17 May 1782. The retailer, Thomas Dealtry, was a cutler (Grimwade, op. cit., p. 486, mark no. 2735). He had been apprenticed to John Bennet, also a cutler, on 12 March 1742, and was free of the Cutlers' Company on 29 June 1749. His first recorded mark as a small worker was entered on 28 October 1765; however, earlier marks may have been entered in the Smallworkers' Book begun in 1739, now lost. According to A. Heal (The London Goldsmith, 1935, p. 138) he is last recorded in 1799. A693|1|1|Military Smallsword, the expanding hilt comprised of a flattened spherical pommel with large button; wire-bound grip of rectangular section swelling at the centre and fitted with a steel loop for the first finger; kidney-shaped shell-guards resembling those upon A694; knuckle-guard, consisting of a fixed central bar with another laid on either side secured to it by springs. Upon pushing the shell-guards the springs are released and the two additional knuckle-guards come into place. The knuckle-bow divides and forms two rings enclosing a solid, heart-shaped shell-guard in front of the hand. These rings have laid upon them hinged bars secured by springs; when released they engage in holes on the bars of the knuckle-guard, the whole forming a kind of a basket hilt. The surfaces throughout are decorated with trophies and conventional foliage chiselled in low relief upon a matt gilt ground.

Blade of hexagonal section, at the base is a small inlaid panel of brass inscribed:

BERLIN

and on the ricasso is an oval stamp of brass engraved with a single-headed eagle crowned and holding the orb and sceptre: a velvet washer remains at the junction of the hilt to ease contact with the locket of the sheath.

About 1750-60; hilt probably French; blade German.

Norman, 1967, illus. 5; Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 193.

A sword with the same inscription and mark was in the San Donato (Demidoff) sale, Paris, 6 April, 1870, lot 646; and a court sword signed 'Berlin' was sold at Sotheby's, July, 1932, lot 14. Another blade with similar brass stamps, but stamped 'Potsdam', is in the Historical Museum at Bern (no. 517). Smallswords with expanding hilts are in the Musée de l' Armée (J 312, 323); the Metropolitan Museum (Dean, Court Swords, no. 20); and the Porte de Hal. Others were in the possession of Mr. C. Andrade, 1922 (pl. I, 47), now in an English private collection, in the Morosini sale, N.Y., 1932, lot 567, the Offerman sale, 1937, lot 265, and the Royal Armouries, Leeds.

This type of hilt is discussed in C. Aries, fasc. 12, 1969, where it is described as being non-regulation. A comparable hilt in the Bayerisches Armeemuseum, Ingoldstadt, no. A8943, is inscribed Le Bech / fourbisseur / A Nancy. P.Jarlier records this person 1765-80 (Répertoire, 1976, col. 163).
A694|1|1|Sword with expanding hilt, of the usual military pattern of the 18th century, but with an expanding hilt, working on the same system as A693, composed of a flattened oviform pommel with turned button; steel grip of rectangular section swelling at the centre; knuckle-guard formed of a fixed central bar with a hinged bar on either side, from which issue branches which return to the quillon; these also carry hinged bars (secured by turning-pins), which have pointed ends to engage slots on the bars of the knuckle-guard, the whole being locked in position by another bar, working on a pivot behind the central bar of the knuckle-guard; the whole forms, when open, a guard of basket type. Below the escutcheon an oval collar is designed to fit over the mouth of the scabbard. There is no decoration other than traces of gilding.

The strong blade, of diamond section with slightly hollowed facets, has conventional etched and gilt decoration at the forte, now worn. It appears to have been shortened.

About 1760; hilt French; blade possibly German. A695|1|1|Sword, the hilt composed of a flattened spherical pommel with button and cap of one piece; wire-bound grip reinforced with four vertical bars; short diagonally-curved quillons of circular section; semi- hilt-arms, knuckle-guard and solid cup-guard, the later, of cutlass type, is produced to join the knuckle-guard and has a diagonal slit on the forward side; the whole of plain russeted steel.

The cup is inscribed in cursive lettering:

San Josef Feby. 14 1797

The straight blade of flat hexagonal section boldly incised along the forte:

C. : O/T. 1787 :

and on the other side:

Crowned R :CS (in monogram) III

The ricasso incised with the letter V.

Spanish (Toledo), dated 1787.

The inscription commemorates the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, when the Spanish fleet of 27 sail of the line was signally defeated by Admiral Sir John Jervis with 15 sail of the line on 14 February, 1797. The San Joseph (112 guns) was boarded by H.M.S. Captain, under command of Captain Horatio Nelson, R.N., who had previously captured the Spanish flagship and who received the swords of the Spanish officers on the deck of the San Josef.
The crowned monogram and Roman numerals refer to King Charles III of Spain (1759-88).

There was a sword of similar type in the Keasbey Collection bearing the same mark and dated 1786 (sold, New York, 1924, lot 236). This type of sword is frequently met with and appears to have been a standard service pattern.

This is in fact a Spanish regulation cavalry sword of 1796 (B. Barceló Rubí, El armamento portatil Español (1764-1939), una labor artillera, 1976, No. 4). A696|1|1|Scottish basket-hilted sword or claymore, the steel basket of the usual form, ornamented with heart-shaped piercings and crudely engraved thistles, and over one of them, in front, is a crown. Spirally-fluted grip covered with fish-skin and bound with copper wire. Between pommel and basket is a fringe or tassel of red silk.

Broad, two-edged blade, with three grooves running nearly to the point. In the grooves is the inscription on both sides:

SOLIDIO

ANDRIA FARARA

GLORIO

Short ricasso with two wide grooves at the sides.

Scabbard of black leather with steel locket and chape, the former with a hook to engage the hanger. Broad leather sword belt with silver buckle chased with flowers and foliage.

The hilt of this sword is in fact of the third quarter of the 18th century. The scabbard and belt are early 19th-century.

Purchased by Mannheim as lot 713 in the San Donato sale, Paris, 5- 8 April 1870, with a shoulder-belt, lot 714. His receipted bill in the archives of the Collection gives his price for these as 201 fr. He also purchased the dirk lot 715 (now no. A735), as well as a sgian dubh (lot 716), and a sporran (lot 733), neither of which is now in the Collection. Mannheim's prices for these were respectively 118 fr., 46 fr., and 69 fr. C. Blair has shown that the correct term for the Highland basket-hilted broadsword or backsword is claymore (Scottish weapons and fortifications, 1100-1800, ed. D. H. Caldwell, 1981, pp. 378-87). A697|1|1|Hunting sword, the hilt composed of a pommel of fish-tail form; grip of steel, aligned and set flush with the pommel, fluted down the centre and widening towards the pommel and decorated with eight oblong panels of silver, engraved with a patter of small lozenges; straight guard; single side-ring, within which is a small V-shaped guard; semi- hilt-arms joined by a slanting bar. The ends of the guards and the centre of the ring are chiselled as dolphins' heads. The blade is single-edged, triangular in section, and trebly grooved for the whole length. The running-wolf and orb and cross marks are inlaid in copper.
German, about 1520.
Provenance: A. Beurdeley (Une belle épée en fer damasquiné d' argent avec pommeau cannelé, 4,000 fr.; receipted Bill 21 June, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
This belongs to a well-defined class of hunting swords of the late 15th and early 16th century, of which that of the Emperor Maximilian I at Vienna can be regarded as a prototype. A similar sword with its scabbard complete with knives, pricker, etc., is in the Germanisches Museum at Nuremburg, and another, with very similar hilt, is at Vienna (Böeheim Album, I, pl. XLI, fig.7). A698|1|1|Boar-sword, the hilt composed of an octagonal fig-shaped pommel, the top heavily incised with semi-circles, deep oblong aperture in one facet showing faint traces of a figure in low relief leaning upon a shield; long, oval, corded grip, swelling in the centre, and bound with leather; plain, straight guard of oblong section. The blade, of oblong section becoming two-edged and turning to a diamond section halfway to the point, is pierced for a cross-bar as in A699.
German, about 1510.
Viollet-le-Duc, V, pp. 393-4, fig. 22.
Provenance: E. Juste (épée de chasse du XVe Siècle à deux mains, 200 fr.
Reciepted Bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The contemporary name in English for this type of sword was apparently a 'boar spear sword', according to the post-mortem inventory of Henry VIII (Dillon, Archaeologia, LI, p. 268). The 'decoration' in the depression of the pommel, mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, is probably imaginary. This kind of depression was probably originally filled with copper or silver bearing a device of some kind, as for instance on the sword believed to be that of Estore Visconti (Blair, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1962, pp. 112-20). A699|1|1|Boar-Sword, the hilt composed of a spirally-fluted (writhen), fig-shaped pommel; oval, wooden grip bound with fish-skin with applied, vertical, steel bands shaped as pilasters, and steel mounts at either end with leaf-shaped edges; straight guard, round in section, thickening at the ends and heavily roped. The blade is of oblong section except towards the point where it is enlarged and flattened to a diamond section and the edges waved. It is pierced for a cross-bar stop. Stamped with a maker's mark on both sides; it resembles that upon the serving knife A889.
German, about 1530.
The cross-bar in the blade (here missing) was usually secured by a spring-fastening; its purpose was to prevent the boar being impaled too deeply, and so enable the weapon to be readily withdrawn. A700|1|1|Sword, with scabbard and accessory implements. The sword is composed of a cap-shaped pommel of gilt steel, fluted at the top, with button; grip of oval section widening towards the pommel, bound with black leather and secured by three stout rivets; straight crossguard of circular section swelling at the ends, also gilt; broad, short blade of flattened oval section with rebated ends; traces of marks remain.

The scabbard is bound with black leather furnished with five pockets to contain the en suite implements and fitted with a plain chape of gilt steel and slender hook below the locket to engage the belt.

The handles of the small additional implements, a small knife and a set of gunner's probes, are of gilt copper roughly chiselled into the form of lion's heads. They include the following: (1) a byknife with the back-edge partly bevelled and roughened to act as a file, and bearing a bladesmith's mark; (2) a long probe; (3) a probe with a deep flute and hook at the end, and (4) a probe with a threaded tip. The fifth implement is missing.

German, about 1630; possibly composite, i.e., made up of parts which originally belonged to different sets.

Provenance: ? Henry Courant (1 Épée de Chasse et un Couteau du 16 ième 650 fr.; receipted bill, 4 June, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

This type of garniture of small implements is discussed in Blair, 1974, no.221. A701|1|1|Hunting sword and scabbard, the flat hilt made entirely of steel. The pommel and grip are constructed in one hollow piece, of rectangular section, pierced and chiselled with scenes of boar hunting on one side, and stag hunting on the other. The knuckle-guard and single ring-guard have been chiselled with foliage and oval panels pierced and chased with a bear and a stag; re-curved quillon. The terminals, borders, bands and the surface of the sides of the grip and the inside of the ring are fully gilt. On the sides of the grip and the pommel there is a delicate pointillé pattern of running foliage.

The blade is of triangular section, hollow ground on each side, the back edge beveled. The sides are etched in the Solingen manner with flowers and heroic figures inscribed ABONIUS and HIPPOMIUS, and the mottos frequently found on Solingen blades:

SOLI DEO GLORIA

SI DEUS PRO NUBIS QUIS CONTER NUS (twice)
(Si Deus pro nobis quis contra nos)

VINCERE AUT MORI

Scabbard covered with black leather and mounted with a locket and chape of steel chiselled in low relief like the hilt; on one side of the locket is a huntsman and hound. It is furnished with three rings for suspension.

About 1660; hilt possibly German; blade German (probably Solingen).

L' Art Ancien 26, I; Lièvre, Collections celebres. Pl. 97, Musée Graphique, pl. XX

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A702|1|1|Light hunting sword, the hilt entirely of blued steel and made up of a pommel chiselled as the head of a grotesque animal; the grip hollow and of octagonal section, each side pierced and chiselled with a strip of conventional foliage, the angles fluted; short guard with a slight horizontal recurve, elaborately chiselled with acanthus foliage, and ending, like the pommel, in grotesque heads. Oval escutcheon pierced and chiselled with a grotesque mask on each side. Small shell-guard on the one side only, also chiselled and pierced with a mask in relief; straight blade, fluted back edge and hollow ground on each side, changing to diamond section towards the point which is talon-shaped.

On either side at the forte there is a rectangular panel etched and gilt, containing an oval inscribed:

DAMASCO

Italian (? Brescian), about 1680-1700.

The workmanship of the hilt resembles the work of Carlo Botarelli of Brescia, a steel-chiseller who decorated the mounts of both edged weapons and firearms. See Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 666-8; Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 183 and 335; C. Bertolotto in Manzini, 1982, p. 94, pls. 1-6. A carbine in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, is signed on the lock by Botarelli. Presumably its chiselled mounts, which are of exceptional quality, are also by him (no. 49.163.5; exhibited in The Art of Chivalry, New York, 1982, no. 103). The dates of Botarelli's working life are given in Neue Støckel, I, p. 129, as about 1660-90. A703|1|1|Set of eviscerating instruments (Ger. waldpraxe or Fr. trousse de chasse), consisting of a large knife, sheath and six small knives and other implements.
Large knife: the handle of gilt bronze is cast in the form of a stag attacked by a hound; broad heavy back-edged blade that could be used as a cleaver, increasing in width from 5.6 cm at the hilt to 9.1 cm at the point, a deep flute running the whole length near the back. The surface is etched and fully gilt with the crowned arms of Brandenburg mantled, and surrounded by a ribbon inscribed:

GEORG . FRIDERICH . CARL . MARCH . BRANDENBVR

Immediately above the shield are the initials:

G . F . C . M . Z . B

with below, the date:

1732

Scabbard of wood covered with red velvet and heavily mounted in gilt bronze, chased and engraved with sporting subjects, cast, pierced, and gilt; at the back two loops for suspension.

Implements: these, six in number, have handles of gilt bronze cast and chased in the form of the heads and fore-quarters of hounds, and consist of three knives, two with the base of the blades etched and gilt with scrollwork and a stag, and the third with a bird. A fourth knife has a plain blade with the remains of a cutler's mark. There are also a bodkin and a file, from the end of which some implement is missing.

German, blade probably Solingen, dated 1732

Blackmore, Hunting Weapons, 1971, pI. 57. Provenance: Georg Friedrich Carl, Markgraf of Brandenburg-Culmbach (b. 1688, succeeded 1726, d. 1735). His son, Friedrich, Markgraf of Bayreuth, married in 1731 Sophia Frederika Wilhelmina, eldest sister of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, and Elector of Brandenburg.

Upon the blade was pasted an extract from a sale catalogue (since removed and preserved)

'167 A SPLENDID COUTEAU DE CHASSE, enriched with chased ormolu emblems of the Chase, and scabbard with 6 implements, the arms of Brandenburg are engraved and gilt on the blade; stated to have been given by Frederic the Great of Prussia to Prince Charles Edward Stuart as a gage d' Amitié.

On this is written in ink: 'From Charles Edward Stuart Count d' Albaine's sale. Bought May 188-(or 185-?).'

The sale referred to above has yet to be identified, but it is very possible that this trousse belonged to one Charles Edward Stuart (1799?– 1880), brother of John Sobieski Stolberg Stuart, who had adopted the title of Count Albany in 1770. The brothers' real name was Allan, which they changed in 1829 to Stuart Allan, and in 1841 to Allan Stuart. Their pretension was based on the supposed birth of a son to the Countess of Albany in 1773. The brothers wrote Costume of the Clans, Lays of the Deer Forest, and formed a collection of Scottish relics.

A very similar trousse belonging to Augustus the Strong is at Dresden.
(Schöbel and Karpinski, Jagdwaffen, 1976, pI. 49). The sale referred to is that of Charles Edward Sobieski Stuart, self-styled Count d' Albanie, held at Foster's, London, 12 May 1881. No. A703 was lot 167 and was bought by Frederick Davis for £75-12-0 (marked catalogue in the Library of the Victoria and Albert Museum).

According to tradition, when Prince Charles Edward applied to Frederick the Great for military aid to regain his father's rights, the Prussian King sent him a hunting knife as a hint that he should confine his activities to the chase. Another trousse thought to have belonged to Prince Charles Edward is in the collection at Abbotsford formed by Sir Walter Scott (M. M. Maxwell Scott and W. Gibb, Abbotsford, the personal relics and antiquarian treasures of Sir Walter Scott, 1893, pI. XXIII). A704|1|1|Set of eviscerating instruments,(Ger. Waldpraxe, Fr. trousse de chasse), consisting of a large knife, scabbard and five small knives and implements.

Large knife: the hilt is of gilt bronze, of rounded oblong section, short thick guard, with reversed scroll-shaped ends, hollowed on the under side to fit over the locket of the scabbard; flattened side-ring; the whole decorated with hunting scene, scrolls, shells and flowers chased in low relief, the broad blade is back-edged, slightly hollow-ground and its surface is broadly etched with a male figure in pseudo-oriental costume on one side, and an animal and a crescent moon in the oriental style, the groundwork of the etched surface simulating the watering of an eastern blade.

Scabbard of wood covered with green velvet and heavily mounted in gilt bronze decorated with hunting scenes and rococo ornament, pierced and chased, and with certain details silvered; at the back, two flattened bands for suspension, to which is attached a chain of gilt copper.

Implements: these consist of three knives, a fork, and a file pierced at the end for use as a bodkin; the handles of gilt bronze similar to the hilt of the large knife, the blades of the knives stamped with a cutler's mark of a crowned H.
German, early-19th century.

Provenance: Paul Demidoff, Prince of San Donato, sold Paris, April, 1870, lot 650, purchased by Lord Hertford for 300 fr. A705|1|1|Hunting sword and scabbard, the sword’s hilt made entirely of steel. Handle or grip of one piece, rectangular in section and pistol-shaped, surmounted by a turned button, and pierced on the under side with two holes to hold a tassel; very short guard with scroll-shaped ends; the whole chased with trophies of dead game and hunting accoutrements, branches of palm and laurel, bands of conventional flowers and vines, with festoons of ribbon, chiselled in low relief on a ground of matt gold; broad, slightly curved, single-edged blade, the back of square section, the surface entirely etched with festoons of dead game, flowers and fruit.

Scabbard of ivory mounted with a locket, chape and ferrule of steel chased and gilt like the hilt, the locket bearing the eagle of Jove holding a laurel wreath in its beak and furnished with two rings for suspension, a spring-catch, and a button to engage the hanger. The surface of the ivory is finely carved in relief with an intricate composition of hounds bringing down wild boar, a lion, bear, wolf, stag, fox and hare. The back is plain except for the Arms of France modern, a bâton peri en bande surmounted by a coronet of a French prince du sang, the arms of the house of Bourbon-Condé.

Provenance: ? Berthon sale, Paris, 16 December, 1867, lot 65.

The style of the weapon is of the period of Louis Henri de Bourbon, prince de Condé (1692-1740), the last of the line.

Examined with C. Blair (2 September 1963), when it was concluded that the blade was 19th-century, the ivory-work possibly Dieppe, 19th century, the sheath mounts also possibly 19th century, and certainly of less good quality than the hilt which is probably about 1780. Not necessarily a fake; probably a good old hilt remounted when it had once again become fashionable.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, No. 4519 (M. Berthon).

For the sources of the decoration of the hilt see de Bellaigue and Norman, Connoisseur, CLVII, pp. 16-20. A706|1|1|Small hunting sword and scabbard, the upper part of the hilt formed one piece of variegated green stone of chalcedony type, circular in section swelling towards the pommel, carved with rococo scrolls in low relief; the lower part of the grip is of silver gilt encircled with bands of turquoises interspersed with diamonds and rubies. The guard is alternately curved upwards and downwards, made of silver gilt and bearing a mark, three times repeated. It is circular in section, the ends chiselled with a helmeted Roman bust and a lion's head, respectively, enriched with bands of turquoise and rubies. Short blade of triangular section, hollowed, roughly etched with trophies and hounds chasing deer.

Scabbard covered with faded crimson velvet and mounted with a locket and ferrule of silver gilt chased with palmette ornament and decorated like the hilt with turquoises and rubies, the locket furnished with a heart-shaped stud to engage the hanger.

Both locket and ferrule are stamped with the same mark as that appearing on the guard (enlarged).

Grip about 1760-70; mounts Italian (Venetian ?) about 1800; blade German about 1770. Probably a genuine association of old parts remounted at Venice in about 1800.

The mark probably represents an anvil, identified by Tardy as Venetian, 19th-century (poinçons d' argent, n.d., 6th Edit., no. 800). A709|1|1|Curved sword and scabbard, the sword’s hilt composed of a heavy pommel of gilt bronze, cast and chased into the form of a saracen's head, bearded and turbaned; octagonal grip of dark, sage-green horn; short, straight guard of steel, square in section, widening at the ends; the hilt block is prolonged to an acute point over the blade, the surface is gilt and decorated with dolphins, scrolls and lions' heads. The slightly curved blade is single-edged and with a single groove and bears the mark of a crescent etched upon both faces; near the hilt are two panels, one on either side, representing Mucius Scaevola and Julius Caesar (?) enthroned as a judge, inscribed respectively:

MV.../ VIV / A · A / S

· IVLIO...ER ·

Scabbard of wood bound with brown velvet and mounted with a locket, chape, and ferrule of gilt steel etched with mermaids, sea-horses, masks and scrolls on a hatched ground, the locket and chape furnished with rings.

The guard North Italian, early-16th century; pommel possibly a little later; blade possibly 19th century; scabbard 19th century.

Provenance: de Mèixmoron of Dijon; bought by Carrand for 550 fr. at the Philippe Vaillant de Meixmoron sale, Contet, Dijon, 27 April-7 May 1868, lot 84 (marked catalogue in the Metropolitan Museum, New York). Louis Carrand (Un cimeterre à longue lame gravée et dorée au talon, le pommeau à tête de Maure est en bronze doré et la fusée en corne; il est accompagné de son fourreau du temps, à bélières en fer gravé et doré sur fond de velours brun ou noir passé, 3000 fr.; Receipted Bill, 1 June, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A710|1|1|Falchion, the hilt composed of a pommel of gilded iron cast as a lion's head, gilt; oval grip of agate (not original to the sword, possibly modern); diagonally curved guard, oval in section, chiselled with acanthus leaves in low relief, gilt on a ground hatched with silver, and terminating in lion's heads; single, solid oval shell guard similarly decorated.

The blade, broad, single-edged and curved, has two shallow hollows on either side a strong ricasso, deeply etched and gilt. It is etched with the crowned arms of Cosimo de' Medici (1519-74) encircled with the collar of the Golden Fleece. Cosimo was Duke of Florence between 1546 (when he was elected to the Order of the Golden Fleece) and 1569 (when he was created Grand Duke of Tuscany by Pope Pius V), receiving then a crown of peculiar design different from the circlet here represented (Litta, Famigli celebri italiane, II, Medici, tav. XIII; and (for the arms), tav. III). Between the crown and the shield on the blade is a bird, its wings displayed, its dexter foot upon a ring.

Two maker's marks are present on both faces of the ricasso of the blade. The mark of the letter M in a ship (which is also found on no. A502) occurs on the sword of Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick, c. 1585, at Dresden (Ehrenthal, p. 73, no. E168), and is there ascribed to Clemens Keuller; and along with two other marks on a sword sold at Sotheby's, 20 March, 1942, lot 10. The second mark is a common North Italian one, and is sometimes found in connection with the 'Genoa' and 'Fringia' marks (see Z.H.W.K., II, p. 75).

Italian, mid-16th century. The grip is probably a 19th-century replacement.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 26 and pl. VIII; Livrustkammaren, VIII, 5, 1959, fig. 8; J. F. Hayward, Mannerist Sword-hilt Designs)
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The decoration of the pommel differs somewhat from that of the guard in workmanship. Boccia and Coelho, in Armi bianche, 1975 (figs. 387-8), this piece is described as North Italian, about 1550, and the blade attributed to a Master M with a ship, working in Venice. However, in Boccia, Rossi and Morin (Armi e armature lombarde, 1980, pI. 248), it is suggested that the maker may have been based at Nave, a small town near Brescia, the ship being a canting device on the name of the town. (See also nos. A502 and 620 here). They describe no. A710 as a hunting weapon for large game such as wolves and bears. The first mark seems to be a capital letter M above the hull of a ship, all in a rectangle with uneven edges. A comparable mark occurs on no. A502 here, but struck with a different punch.

The sword of Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick (born 1564, Duke 1589-1613) also bears a wolf mark of Solingen type. The hilt is attributed to the Dresden sword-cutler Ullrich Jahn (Schöbel, 1975, pp. 44 and 84). The same mark occurs on another falchion blade in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (no. R89; Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 386); on a sword blade at Vienna (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. A683); and on another in Paris (Musée de l' Armée, no. J.I 1359). A variant of this mark with a mast and standing rigging in place of the M appears on no. A620 in the Wallace Collection, where it is accompanied by a wolf mark of Solingen type. S. Pyhrr (letter of 23 April 1976) has pointed out that no. A710 corresponds in every detail, save the material of the grip, with an entry in the Gardaroba Medicea, vol. 539, p. 12v (Archive di Stato, Florence), the Medici inventory of 1639. A707|1|1|Hunting sword and scabbard, the entire hilt cast in silver with a representation in the round of an American Indian fighting a mountain lion, while a second lion lies at his feet pierced by an arrow, its body forming the guard. The group is signed at the back:

JEANISSET

Heavy blade of grey watered steel, oval in section at the ricasso, altering to diamond section, with a single deep groove off-set on either side.

Scabbard of wood covered with black leather, the mounts of oxidized silver en suite with the hilt. The chape is fashioned in front as a broad leaf with fruit hanging on either side, the button for the frog takes the form of a bear's head modelled in the round, and has attached to it a length of thin green silk cord with a tassel. It is engraved on the back with the coat of arms of the French Empire surrounded by the collar of the Légion d' Honneur with crossed sceptres, mantled and surmounted by the Imperial crown. Below, framed in palm branches is the inscription:

Donné
PAR
L' Empereur
NAPOLÉON III
AU
MARQUIS
D'HERTFORD

Ferrule formed of four leaves with the terminal button shaped as a bunch of fruit.

French, about 1860; the blade is Caucasian, one of many brought back by Napoleon I from his Egyptian campaign (information from M. Buttin).

Relatively few of the works of art in Hertford House have a direct connection with the Hertford family, but this splendid hunting knife is one of the few notable exceptions. It bears an inscription on the reverse of the scabbard locket indicating that it was a gift to the 4th Marquess of Hertford from the Emperor Napoleon III, whose own passion for collecting arms and armour is said to have been inspired by the impressive Oriental arms collection of his friend. A708|1|1|Sabre, the hilt composed of a flattened pear-shaped pommel of steel chiselled in high relief with nude, seated figures supporting a coronet, enclosing small figures of horsemen on either face, and at the sides strapwork forming the letter H; oval grip bound with gold and steel wire, the latter arranged as roping and other interlaced bands; diagonally curved guard terminating in nude seated figures, pierced, and in high relief, bearing a crown or coronet; escutcheon also enriched with gold inlay; curved blade, single-edged and hollowed, the surface russeted and overlaid with arabesques and a shield of arms in gold; the back-edge slightly cusped in two places and overlaid in gold with undulating scrolls; the ricasso bears the letters D S, and maker's marks belonging to Daniele da Serravalle, a Milanese swordsmith active in the middle of the 16th century. The arms, which are overlaid in gold on a plane near the point, are those of Anjou-Sicily and Jerusalem impaled. Charles II, Count of Maine (d. 1481), was the last legitimate male of the second Angevin house of Sicily, and instituted Louis XI his heir. The arms were revived by Louis XII (1498-1515), King of France, Sicily and Jerusalem, who conquered Naples in 1501, but there is no evidence of their being impaled after the death of Louis XII in 1515. If the H is significant, this fine weapon may have belonged to Henri II of France.

Italian (Milanese), about 1560
Provenance: E. Juste? (Épée ciselée à figures en rond bosse et dorée, 2,500 fr.; Receipted bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke?
The description in Juste's bill might also refer to no. A685.

Other swords signed in this way by Daniele da Serravalle of Milan are at Vienna (Böeheim, Führer, nos. 461, 462); at Dresden, E92a and b; G 154; Madrid G 34, sword of Charles V; Musée de l' Armée, Paris, J 192; Musée de l' Armée, Brussels, XVI, 3; Museo Stibbert, nos. 5, 4764; and at Turin G 61. A sword inscribed DANIEL DE SERAVALE... IN MILANO...1560, was in the collection of Mr. S. J. Whawell (Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1374).

The maker’s marks on the curved blade of this royal sword, the initials ‘DS’ and the crowned M of the forge of the castle of Milan, indicate that it was made in Milan by Daniele da Serravalle, one of that city’s great masters, probably between 1550 and 1560. Serravalle took over from Vincenzo Figino as head of the Maglio del Castello in 1546; this fine sword cannot, therefore, have been made before that date.

Such exotic arms seem to have been one of Serravalle’s specialities; ‘9 scimitarre’ are listed along with a great many other swords and rapiers in the post-mortem inventory of his workshop (14 January 1567), now in the state archives in Milan. The hilt has been pierced, chiselled, and inlaid with gold, forming a decorative scheme involving a very complicated arrangement of horsemen, crowns, and pseudo-Classical figures, while the strapwork on the pommel has been carefully arranged to form King Henri’s personal ‘H’ monogram.

The curved blade is decorated over its whole length (apart from the cutting edge) on each side with overlay in gold forming delicate scrolling vines framed within a dashed and dotted border. Such blade decoration was unusual in the extreme, emphasising the exotic nature of the piece, although it is found in fact on a number of other fine Milanese swords of the time. It may have been a signature feature of the Milanese master bladesmiths; closely similar blade damascening is also found on the rapier made in Milan for Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, to accompany his ‘Milanese’ armour , and on the three Milanese rapiers mounted with baluster-turned hilts in Dresden. However on these the gold decoration is restricted to the ricasso, as seems to have been most usual, while on Ferdinand II’s rapier it continues only as a narrow band down the middle of the blade. Only the Serravalle scimitar blade is covered in gold vines overall.

Despite its rich ornament this sword remains a perfectly practical fighting tool. Nevertheless, King Henri would probably only have used the sword as a costume accessory; perhaps it was worn at some important parade or diplomatic occasion, assuming it was finished before the King’s unexpected death in 1559 as a result of a jousting accident.

‘Maestro Daniel Serravalo’ is recorded as having had charge of the management of the hammer-mill in the Castle of Milan from 1549 for fifteen years, at an annual wage of 168 scudi for himself and for his two assistants. A second document of 18 June 1565 describes him as being dead. (Gelli and Moretti, 1903, pp. 16-17). These documents do not, however, make clear whether Serrevalle was an armourer or swordsmith, but according to Boccia and Coelho, the Medicean inventories include reference to a number of swords marked 'D S' which are therein described as 'del Serrevalle vecchio' or 'di Serrevalle' (1975, p. 366, n. 328). His relationship to Giovanni Battista Serabaglio or Serrevalle, the supplier of the ‘Milanese Garniture’ to Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, is uncertain (Vienna, Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. nos. A746, 747, 782, 785, 785a, b and c, and 805). The sword at Madrid (no. G38), mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, is decorated to match an armour, also in the Real Armeria (no. A 159-63), which is thought to have been paid for in 1546 (Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 328 and 330 respectively). A falchion blade bearing these marks, fitted with guards of about 1550-60, is in the Farnese armoury at Capodimonte (no. 3724; Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 543, wrongly dated 1600-10). The sword in the Musée de l' Armée (no. J.192) came from the Condé armoury at Chantilly. Its present hilt is of the early 17th century. A sword of about 1560 from an old Zurich family, with both sets of marks on the blade, is now in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich (inv. no. LM11681; 1980 cat., no. 216). A second blade at Dresden, mounted in a much later hilt, bears both marks and the initials (1899 cat., no. E100; Schöbel, 1975, pI. 68). Yet another blade is in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (no. CL11812). The initials and the second mark occur on a dagger said to have been found in the Vendée, formerly in the collection of comte Raoul de Rochebrune (1900 cat., pl.XXI, no. 5), and now in the Musée Dobrée, Nantes. In some cases the two marks occur without the initials, as on a sword in the Real Armería at Madrid, no. G33, which, it has been suggested, belongs to the armour 'de los mascarones relevados' of 1539 (no. A139 in the same armoury). It is possible that this indicates that the blade was made in the workshop of Serravale, but not by his own hand (Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 367, n. on p. 369). The sword in Vienna with a hilt signed by Damianus de Nerve (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. A586; Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 375 and 376, n. on p. 370) bears only the second mark without any initials, as does a falchion with a blade etched with hunting scenes after Virgil Solis, Hans Brossamer, Heinrich Aldegrever, and others, in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (C. Mezentseva, 'Graphic sources for the ornamentation of a 16th-century German sabre', Reports of the Hermitage Museum, XXXV, 1972, pp. 20-25). The sword and dagger at Vienna, mentioned in the comparative material in the 1962 Catalogue, do bear the mark of the crowned M, but without a maker's mark on the sword blade, and with two initials, perhaps TB, on the dagger blade (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. nos. A794-5). Boccia and Coelho (1975, figs. 405-6, n. on p. 374) describe the sword as having a maker's mark consisting of the initials VF flanking a column with a crown above it, all in a shield-shaped compartment. They identify this as possibly that of Vincenzo Figino, the predecessor of Serravale in the mill at the Castle of Milan. This is an error. The VF mark occurs on Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer inv. no. A515, but not on no. A794. The fully signed and dated sword, formerly in the Whawell collection, cited in the 1962 Catalogue, is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 1973.27.2). Its construction does not inspire confidence in its authenticity. A711|1|1|Sword, the hilt made entirely of gilt copper and made up of a pommel in the form of the head of an eagle; spiral grip; guard curved slightly, square in section, the ends chiselled into lion's masks; square escutcheon with a grotesque mask on either side overlapping the base of the blade; the pommel, grip and escutcheon are of one piece, the guard is inserted on either side of the escutcheon. The broad, slightly curved, single-edged blade is of triangular section, with hollowed sides and bevelled edge, etched (and formerly gilt) along its entire length with a frieze depicting the siege of a town on the one side and a stag hunting in a wood on the other, the latter signed near the hilt with the initials of Ambrosius Gemlich of Munich. The guard has a plugged hole at its centre outside the hand, which suggests that there was originally a shell at this point. The original tang of the blade has been broken off and replaced by welding the blade to a new ricasso.

Hilt about 1630-50; blade German (Munich) about 1540.

Provenance: Louis Carrand (Une épée allemande à poignée de bronze doré, 12,000 fr. with no. A23 and other pieces), receipted bill, 16 July, 1867; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Compare the hunting sword of Hans zu Törring in the Bayerisches National Museum at Munich, etched with a frieze of a boar hunt signed and dated A.G., 1536.

Gemlich, who worked at Munich, seems to have specialised in calendar swords (see no. A725). He signed with his name in full that of Charles V at Vienna (dated 1530), and a combined calendar hunting knife and pistol in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, dating to either 1540 or 1546, the last figure not being clear (Cat. of Daggers, no. 324). Other calendar blades bearing his initials are in the German Historical Museum, Berlin (1532), the Landesmuseum at Münster, Westphalia (dated 1533), and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, inv. no. W581. Blades etched by him with ornament are two at Berlin (both dated 1542) and one at Dresden. He signed a combined match- and wheel-lock once in the Pauilhac Collection, now in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (Stöcklein and Seiler, Z.H.W.K., XVI, 1940, pp. 11-19. He also signed the etching on a breastplate previously attributed to Konrad Bemelberg, now understood to be the work of Wolfgang Grosschedel of Landshut, at Vienna (inv. no. A376). Similar initials occurred on a fluted armour in the Ratibor sale, Lucerne, 1934, lot 93, but in this case the etching had been retouched and the initials must be regarded as doubtful (illustrated by B. Thomas, Deutsche Plattnerkunst, 1944, pI. 25). Compare also the etched frieze on the state sword in the Royal Collection at Stockholm (Cederström, Gustav Vasa Minnen, 1938, p. 177).

A hilt with a comparable lion mask on the end of the simple rear quillon, and with a side-shell turned towards the blade, is visible in ‘Cyrus and Araspes’ by Laurent de la Haye, painted about 1638 (Art Institute of Chicago, inv. no. 1976.292). On a second sword, also in this painting, a pommel formed like a cock's head is shown. As C. Blair has pointed out, swords of this type seem to have been looked on as typical of Classical times (1974, no. 50). He mentions, for instance, a portrait of Henry Cavendish, Earl of Ogle (1663-80), in classical armour, by Sir Peter Lely, in the Royal Collection.

In Van Dyck's The Continence of Scipio, painted about 1620 to 1621, Scipio, who wears classical dress, carries a cross-hilted sword with an eagle's head as its pommel (Christchurch, Oxford). A712|1|1|Falchion and scabbard, the hilt composed of a heavy pommel of russeted steel chiselled in the form of a scroll of acanthus leaves and gilt; oval, wire-bound grip of wood swelling in the centre; diagonally curved guard, the dexter in a forked scroll, the other singly; both are fluted and decorated with acanthus leaves chiselled and gilt, the rectangular central hilt block (escutcheon) with winged masks in low relief.

The single-edged blade is curved and hollowed, with a single groove near the back-edge; faint traces of gilding and a maker's mark are found near the hilt. Scabbard of wood covered with green velvet and mounted with a locket and chape, chiselled and gilt, the chape with leaves in low relief; the locket has a broad band at the back with a D-ring for suspension.

Italian, about 1550.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 12 and pl. 2; Lièvre, Musée Graphique. Provenance: Louis Carrand (un cimeterre italien du XVIe siècle en fer ciselée et doré avec forreau, 2,250 fr.; receipted bill, 9 June, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A713|1|1|Scimitar and scabbard, the pistol-shaped hilt of steel is of oval section swelling at the end with a small beak, and chiselled with a network of arabesques in low relief, showing traces of gilding, with a small bird-like beak, and pierced with a circular hole for a thong, with three human heads in relief on the pommel; diagonal curved guard of diamond section, terminating in satyr-masks; oval shell-guard in low relief chased with Horatius Cocles defending the Sublicain Bridge against the army of Porsenna.

The curved blade is of triangular section, single-edged except towards the point, and grooved. The background of the decoration is hatched with silver. Scabbard of wood covered with green (formerly blue) velvet and mounted with lockets; chape of steel with scrolls in low relief and oval panels representing Leda and the Swan, Europa and the Bull, and a nude figure armed with spear and shield, formerly gilt; the lockets on the outer side have rings for suspension, the latter bearing a small label (wired on) with the letters

R.W./F.D.

The hilt North Italian, probably about 1550; the blade is Middle Eastern.
Lièvre, Collections célèbres, pI. 84; Lièvre, Musées et collections, 2 Sér., pI. 30; Skelton II, pl. CV; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 639; Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1345 (who considered it to be of German workmanship); Livrustkammaren, VIII, 5, 1959, fig. 17 (J.F. Hayward, Mannerist Sword-hilt Designs).

Provenance: possibly no. 58 in the list of swords and daggers acquired by Meyrick from Domenic Colnaghi, about 1818, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries. Meyrick suggested that this scimitar might have belonged to a Venetian Estradiot. The date on the blade was inverted by Skelton and described by Meyrick as an Asiatic stamp. He was probably right. This scimitar, like no. A709, is an example of the mingling of European and Asiatic styles.

The scene chiselled on the shell is based on a plaquette attributed to the Master I.O.F.F. (see no. S313 in the Wallace Collection). The mark on the blade is surrounded by an inlaid line of brass, and its ground filled with red enamel.

Titian's portrait of Cardinal Ippolito dei Medici shows him wearing a sword with a hilt in Turkish or Hungarian fashion (Florence, Pitti Palace, no. 201).
The inscription on the blade, which is in Arabic, reads 'Tafata', meaning 'Oh Victory' (D. Alexander, letter of 8 March 1985). A714|1|1|Dussack or dusägge, a short sword or cutlass with a curved blade, the hilt composed of a flattened cylindrical pommel deeply chiselled with a scallop shell on either face; wire-bound grip with vertical grooves at the side; knuckle-guard and single, curved quillon of oval section, both with shell-shaped ends; shell-guards, deeply fluted like a cockle-shell and turned over to protect the knuckles of the hand; hilt arms and counter-guards on the right side; the whole of bright steel, originally blued. Curved single edged blade of diamond section with a shallow double groove, the cutting edge has been boldly serrated, the serrations continuing partly down the back edge near the point, and roughly incised on one side with the so-called 'sickle' mark.

About 1590-1610; hilt German; blade possibly Italian.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer (?) Exhibited: South Kensington, 1869, no. 675.

The original German name for this type of weapon and for no. A715 was Dusägge, from the Czech tesak (Krenn and Kamniker, 'Die Dusäggen des Landeszeughauses in Graz', Waffen-und Kostümkunde, 1973, pp. 139-45). A Dusägge of this general type is illustrated in The Massacre of the Innocents by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, dated 1591, in the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem (cat. no. 474). This and no. A715 are perhaps the sort of weapon described in the inventory of Francois de Vaudemont, in the Hôtel de Salm at Nancy, in 1614; Un autre coutelas la garde et le pommeau doré, fait à coquille. . . le foureau de cuir (F. de Chanteau, 1880, p. 22).

For a note on the 'sickle' mark see nos. A535, and A715. A715|1|1|Dussack or dusägge, a short sword or cutlass with a curved blade, the blackened steel hilt composed of a fluted pommel shaped as a closed cockle shell; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; diagonally curved guard, circular in section, ending in spherical knobs chased with basket-work; knuckle-guard with a spherical knob at the centre connected by a flat bar to the hilt-arms, and the thumb-ring, the hand is protected on the right side by a fluted shell-guard. Broad, curved blade, single-edged, the back edge bevelled and sharpened towards the point; it has three shallow grooves, and is incised near the hilt with the so-called 'sickle' mark.

About 1580-1590; hilt German; blade possibly Italian.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 226. For a note on the 'sickle' mark, see A535.

This, or an identical sword, is illustrated in a photograph in the de Cosson Scrapbook III in the Library of the Royal Armouries, captioned 'Etlinger Collection, Würzburg 1868'. The entries in the Etlinger sale catalogue (Förster, Würzburg, 31 August 1868 and following days) are too brief to make identification possible. For a note on pommels of this type see Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 242-3. A716|1|1|Sabre, the hilt composed of a pommel made as a flat cup-shaped continuation of the grip (which is of dark wood, possibly rose-wood), widening at the end, faintly suggesting a bird's head; recurved knuckle-guard and short rear quillon, each terminating in a disk. Single side-ring. The curved blade is falchion-shaped, single edged at the top and double-edged within a foot of the point, with three shallow hollow or slit grooves. Four inches (9.5cm) from the hilt is a maker's mark inlaid in copper. Upon the pommel is engraved a coat of arms with the initials I.I.P and the date 1658. These arms are those of Pomer (alias Bemer) of Nuremberg, and are (in reality) per bend, in chief bendy of four gules and argent, in base sable (Patricii Respublicae Nurenberg, circa, 1600, sig. (:) iii and pl. 55 'die Pomer', and Feyerabend, Insignia Sacrae Cesareae Majestatis, etc., Francofurti a. M., 1579, 'Bemer').

German, 16th century (?)
Provenance: Elie Meyer (un saber portent la date de 1658 avec écussons, 150 fr.; receipted bill, 13 May, 1870); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The date on the pommel was presumably placed there at the time the arms were engraved, but the shape of the sword and its workmanship suggest that it may have been made earlier in the 16th century.

This sword is probably of the middle of the 17th century made in the 'old Franconian' (i.e. Gothic) style. Compare a sword at Vienna (inv. no. A 1590) with a hilt in similar archaic style, but with the mounts of its scabbard bearing 17th-century Viennese silver marks. A717|1|1|Falchion, the hilt boldly carved out of one piece of box-wood, the pommel taking the form of a large helmeted head surmounted by a crest of a grotesque animal; upward-curving, steel guard of oval section termination in scrolls, one of which bifurcates to form a short knuckle-guard, a small shell-guard projects at right angles from the side. It is incised on the reverse side with the numerals 1470. Broad, curved blade, single-edged, with a single narrow groove running nearly to the point, the back edge sharpened towards the point. It is stamped on one side with a bladesmith's mark, and inlaid in brass with the mark of the running-wolf and the inscription:

EDWARDVS . PRINS ANGLIE

Hilt Dutch or English; grip, Dutch, about 1640; blade English or German.

Provenance: De Beaumont Catalogue, footnote to no. 52, mentions A717 as then being in the Carrand collection. Louis Carrand fils (Restait dû sur le dernier marché du cimeterre d' Edouard d'Angleterre, 500 fr.; receipted bill undated, but on paper similar to other pieces, numbered 1- 4 from 'la vente d' armes de Springer', but it is made clear that no. A717 did not come from that collection); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The late Baron de Cosson, in a paper contributed to the Society of Antiquaries (Proceedings, 2nd series, XVIII, 21 June, 1900, p. 206), mentioned the existence of several 17th-century swords mounted in English hilts and bearing a like inscription, one of which he described. Similar blades exist bearing the names 'Robertus Bruschius Scotorum Rex 1310', 'Marchio Rodericus Bivar' (the Cid), Hugh Lupus, and Recared, King of the Goths. One was in the Philip Henderson Collection. Another with a similar inscription the 'Armathwaite sword', no. IX. 1015. Another blade of the series is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (no. arm. 282-1933), and another, mounted in a hilt of the same general type as no. A718 here, was for sale at the Dorchester Hotel, London, 5-6 November 1982. Early in the 17th century there was a strong antiquarian movement in England which found expression in books on heraldry containing much fictitious lore, see J. P. Earwaker in the Arch. Journal, XXX, 1873, 'On certain swords inscribed Edwardus Prins Anglie' and R. Gough in Sepulchral Monuments, 1786, vol. I, part I. p. cxlvii. The wolf-mark does not preclude the blade having been made by one of the Solingen bladesmiths resident in England. The mark of a bell occurs on a hunting knife formerly in the German Historical Museum in Berlin. It was also used by John Phillipes of the Armourers Company of London in 1578. A718|1|1|Hanger, the hilt composed of a cap-shaped pommel, with quatrefoil head and button, the end of the cap turned over in a scroll or 'snout'; grip of wood, formerly bound with iron and silver wire (now missing); knuckle-guard of flattened section with vase-shaped centre; shell-guard of trefoil shape, placed on either side of the hilt and slightly curved upwards and downwards alternately, that on the right being larger; short upward curving rear quillon with broad, shaped end: the whole decorated with a trellised pattern of silver lines and round dots on a blackened ground. Curved blade with hollowed facets and a shallow groove along the back edge which is serrated, four panels at the hilt are alternately faceted and plain and are etched and gilt with flowers, a bird on a twig, and figures of Faith and Hope inscribed:

Fedes: (but with the first letters e and d reversed)
and
Spes:

About 1640-50; hilt English; blade German (possibly Solingen).

English hangers, or riding swords, of this type are not uncommon. The hilt is of characteristic 'snouted' form, and the silver piqué decoration likewise English. The blade, which is of unusually good quality may have come from Solingen. Sometimes the blades fitted to this type of hilt were made at Hounslow. Cf. Tower Armoury, IX, 157, and Laking, European Armour V, figs. 1523, 1524.

For a note on the dating of side-shells of this type when found on smallswords decorated in this style see Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 201. A719|1|1|Pallash, the grip and pommel made of ivory in one piece in Oriental style, rectangular in section and secured by three hemispherical-headed rivets of silver, the border being decorated with small silver nails; straight guard of gilt copper of rectangular section widening at the ends, the block of lozenge-shape extending over both grip and blade, the surface chased with conventional foliage in low relief divided by a horizontal band of roping. The straight blade is of polygonal section at the forte changing to hexagonal. The forte is etched and gilt on both sides with the following mottoes arranged longitudinally and transversely:

RECTE . FACIENDO / NEMINEM. TIMEAS /

TANDEM . BONAM / CAUSA . TRIUMPHAT/

NEC . TIMERE . NEC . TIMEDE / GOT . MIT . VNS

Within three circular panels are: (1) the monogram AR indicating either Frederick Augustus (Augustus II) 1670-1733, or his son (Augustus III) 1696-1763, Electors of Saxony and Kings of Poland; (2) a single-headed eagle displayed and crowned (Poland); and (3) the insignia of the Arch-Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire and the arms of the Elector of Saxony.

Hilt, Saxo-Polish, about 1730-50; blade German (probably Solingen).

Jarnuszkiewicz, Szablia wschodnia i jej typy narodowe, 1973. Provenance: catalogued in the last edition as from the collections of M. Baur and the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, but the evidence upon which this statement was made cannot be traced.

The hilt is of karabela form (Z. Bochenski, letter of 15 October 1963) and is Polish. The blade is probably of Solingen make. See also the inscriptions on nos. 624, 645.

This is possibly the weapon of an officer of the Janissary Corps of Augustus the Strong as King of Poland, raised in 1729. They wore Turkish dress and the other ranks carried short swords of this general type. A721|1|1|Ceremonial sword of justice, the darkened hilt spirally fluted (‘writhen’) and made up of a fig-shaped pommel; oval-section grip of wood (suffiently long to permit two-handed use) mounted with a steel collar at either end; short, straight guard spirally twisted; broad, flat blade of even width cut nearly square at the point; it is incised with three crosses on either side.

German, about 1540

Swords of justice are often confused with executioner’s swords. The 'heading sword' as it was called in England, was used in Germany in place of the axe. Queen Anne Boleyn was beheaded by a sword at the Tower of London in 1536, by an executioner specially brought from St. Omer in France. Most extant German heading swords however are of much later date than 1540. See also no. A722. Furthermore, many so-called 'heading swords' of this type are in fact ‘swords of justice’, carried before judges in the German Lands as symbols of their authority over life and death. A722|1|1|Ceremonial sword of justice, the hilt composed of a rounded pommel with ten facets; oval grip swelling in the centre, bound with canvas and with 'Turk's head' knots of coloured cord; long, straight guard of octagonal section ending in knobs, faceted like the pommel. Short, broad blade of flattened diamond section with point, with a rhyming inscription:

Komm her Tior meine Faust… at Fülen Granst Z. R. (or K). T. 1561

(Come here to my fist [so that they may] feel fright)

German, dated 1561.

The blade has probably been shortened and given a point. Two nicks taken from the corners of the blade near the hilt suggest that they did not originally belong together.

Many so-called 'heading swords' of this type are more probably swords of justice, carried before judges in the German Lands as symbols of their authority over life and death. A723|1|1|Ceremonial sword of justice, the hilt made up of an oviform pommel with button, encrusted with flowers and leaves of silver, on a blackened ground; spirally wire-bound grip (modern); straight guard of square section terminating in spherical knobs, encrusted like the pommel with silver scrollwork on a dark matt ground. Long, double-edged blade of slightly biconvex or lenticular section.

Pommel probably German, about 1610; the remainder 19th century.

L' Art Ancien III, no. 368; V, no. 591.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Swords ‘of justice’ were carried before judges in the German Lands as symbols of their authority over life and death. A724|1|1|Horseman's sword or pallash of Hungarian type. The hilt is comprised of an inverted cone-shaped pommel with large button, the base faceted and of hexagonal section, the upper part decorated with interlaced basketwork, scrolls chiselled in low relief and russeted; grip of oval-section bound with shagreen; gaurd of diamond section, diagonally recurved upwards and downwards respectively, one being prolonged to form a knuckle-guard; the knob on the end of the other, and those in the centre of the guard and the escutcheon, are decorated with interlacements like the pommel; heart-shaped ring for the thumb, with straps extending over the grip and scabbard. On the other side tongues extend up the grip and along the blade resembling the projections found upon hilts of Eastern origin. Broad, flat blade, double-edged with rebated point. Scabbard covered with black leather, tooled with blind lines and fleurs-de-lys, mounted with three bands (the two upper bearing rings) and a chape, and shod with metal along the sides; the mounts are decorated with scrolls and panels of basketwork chiselled in low relief; the ground is matted with lines and has at one time been painted.

Hungarian, about 1650.

Jarnuszkiewicz, J.A.A.S., VI, pp. 179-80, pls. XXXVA and B; Jarnuszkiewicz, Szablia wschodnia i jej typy narodowe, 1973, pls. 122 and 122A.This sword is illustrated in a photograph in the de Cosson Scrapbook III in the library of the Royal Armouries, captioned 'Etlinger collection, Würzburg 1868'. The Etunger collection was sold by C. F. Forster in Wurzburg, 31 August 1868 and following days, but the descriptions are too brief for identification. A725|1|1|Calendar sword, the hilt made up of a spirally fluted (writhen), pear-shaped pommel (associated); oval-section grip elaborately bound with brass wire; straight crossguard slightly bent horizontally at the ends, of octagonal section ending in balls held in a twist; side-ring of trefoil shape with overlapping points; pommel, guard and side-ring are gilt. Flat blade finely etched with a calendar (in German) and the signs of the Zodiac; it is deeply stamped with the bust of a king, half-length, bearing a sceptre, and a maker's mark.
Pommel, probably early 17th century; guards German or Swiss, about 1520-40; blade German (Solingen), about 1620.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 37.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The hilt appears to be of earlier date than the blade. The mark is not the usual king's head of J. Wundes, but a demi-figure of a king with sceptre. It is found on a calendar sword in the Musée de l' Armée (J 703), stated to have been carried by Pappenheim at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. It also occurs on a calendar sword in the Wartburg (Diener-Schönberg, No. 401), and on one formerly at Erbach. It is stamped on an executioner's sword in the Stead Collection, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; on another at Ambras; also on swords of various kinds at Schwarzburg, no. 369; Metropolitan Museum, New York (dated 1620); two examples of blades with calendars are in the Royal Armouries and one in the H. G. Keasbey sale, New York, 28 November, 1925, lot 230, re-set in an English 'mortuary' hilt. For further references to calendar swords, see under no. A711. A726|1|1|Rondel dagger, with disk-shaped steel guards, similar in size and construction, placed at either end of the wooden grip. The grip itself is secured to the tang on each side by a copper alloy rivet with a cinquefoil head, and is inlaid with vertical strips of copper alloy on either side (one now missing). The blade is single-edged, the sides slightly hollowed; the back-edge has a central ridge, changing to flat near the hilt.

The tang is quite narrow and pierces the centre of the grip. Similar copper alloy studs occur at the centre of the grip of a rondel dagger found at Queenhythe Dock, London, in 1979 (B. Spencer, personal communication, 1984).

The blade is blackened by corrosion, but complete except for two nicks in the edge, the dagger having been found in a peat-bog. A maker's mark inlaid in copper alloy is present 2 inches (5.0) from the shoulder.

French, about 1440-50.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 76 and no. 83 ; Viollet-le-Duc V, 317-18; Demmin, 424, fig. 10; Laking: European Armour II, fig. 780; Peterson, Daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pI. 13

Provenance: Louis Carrand (une dague à rondelles du temps de Charles VI trouvée dans les tourbières, 200 fr.; receipted bill, 25 February, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Daggers of this type are frequently represented in illuminations of the first half of the 15th century, but actual specimens are not very common. Another is in the collection of the Royal Armouries, inv. no. X.1. A727|1|1|Rondel dagger and scabbard, with circular guards of copper alloy at either end of the grip, to the top one of which is applied another of copper, with an intervening one of iron. The copper disk has been decorated with red and black enamel representing a winged monster bearing a scroll which is inscribed:

MARY

Quadrangular grip overlaid on opposite sides with: (1) antler, and (2) strips of copper, gilt and decorated with conventional leaves and flowers in white, black, red and blue enamel; it is pierced with three large holes on the two antler sides. Cylindrical hand guard of copper alloy, engraved with conventional leaves. The blade is triangular in section, the sides hollowed.

Scabbard of wood bound with cuir bouilli, tooled; two small pockets for a knife and awl-spike, these are both now missing as also is the metal ferrule at the end.

Blade about 1450; remainder probably 19th century. Laking, European Armour III , fig. 772. The enamel applied to the grip may have been added, and the cylindrical guard may also be later in date.

The mark of a hunting horn resembles that found on many blades signed by members of the Wirsbergh family of Solingen in the first half of the 17th century, though without the cross. A728|1|1|Rondel dagger, very similar to A729, the differences being found in the decoration. The top of the disk-pommel is in this case deeply hatched with lines criss-crossing each other diagonally, and the grip is engraved with a lozengy pattern. The blade is a little shorter, though originally it may have had the same length; it lacks its scabbard. A maker's mark is found 2 1/2 inches (6.3 cm) from the hilt; the same mark appears upon A729.

German, first half of 16th century.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 101.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
Peterson, daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pI. 16 (A729). Four daggers bearing like marks are in the Musée de l' Armée (Robert, no. J. 764, pl. 10, fig. S 126).

The same mark is found on a dagger of this type in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Dean, Catalogue of Daggers, pl. IX, no. 32, ex-Reubell); on dagger no. J 767 in the Musée de l' Armée; and on an estoc formerly in the Zeughaus at Berlin.

Some twenty of these daggers are known, four of them still in the Electoral Armoury at Dresden (1899 cat., no. A87-90) which may be the source whence many of them came. A729|1|1|Rondel dagger and scabbard, the circular flat pommel-disk having a slight convex surface with a small reticulated pattern, secured to the hilt by a square washer incised with a diamond; slender, tubular grip incised with a fretted ornament; small oval guard-disk for the hand, bent over at one side parallel with the blade.

Blade of triangular section with hollowed sides. A maker's mark 2 3/8 inches (6 cm) from the hilt: the same mark appears on A728, to which this dagger bears a close resemblance.

Wooden scabbard covered with black leather tooled with lines; there are pockets for two small knives (now missing); it is pierced at the back for suspension. The scabbard, being of plain leather tooled only with lines, would appear not to be that catalogued by De Beaumont as ‘garni de cuir empreint defilets croisés en losanges, présente sur sa face deux petites gâmes à coutelets.’

German, first half of 16th century.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 100; Peterson, daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pI. 16 (A729).
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A dagger with a like mark is in the Musée de l' Armée (Robert, no. J 767, pl. 10, fig. S 127); others are at Dresden (A87-90).

Some twenty of these daggers are known, four of them still in the Electoral Armoury at Dresden (1899 Cat., no. A87-90) which may be the source whence many of them came. A732|1|1|Bollock dagger, scabbard, and accessories, the hilt of the dagger composed of a circular flat butt-cap fastened to the tang by a small silver button; grip, seperated from the cap by a copper alloy washer, carved out of maple wood, of round section and tapering towards the guard lobes; from these project two small guards of steel, extending over the blade; the latter is single-edged, and of strong, triangular section. A maker's mark inlaid in copper alloy on one side.

The dagger forms a set with the scabbard, a small byknife, and a pricker or steel. The byknife has a grip of maple wood, with a projecting silver button on the outer side (doubtless to prevent it slipping too far into the sheath), the pommel is of steel in continuation of the grip; the blade carries the maker's mark. The pricker, circular and tapering, is furnished like the knife.

Scabbard of wood bound with cuir bouilli pricked and tooled; at the back a chape for slipping over a belt; square steel ferrule.

Flemish or North German, about 1550.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no 88; Demnim, 426, fig. 13; Laking, European Armour III, fig. 798.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

This type of dagger, known to contemporaries as a ballock or bollock knife, from the two lobes, can be traced in England from the 16th century (e.g. Sir Robert Shurland's effigy, early 14th century, at Minster, Isle of Sheppey, worn by the groom at his feet, and the Wardieue brass, c. 1360, at Bodiam, Sussex), and was very common in England and the Low Countries over a long period; it is seldom found in Central or Southern Europe.

In the Royal Collection at Windsor (Windsor Castle Armoury, no. 32) is an English dagger of this type belonging to the second half of the 16th century.Comparable daggers occur in the work of Pieter Aertzen, including A Peasant Interior, dated 1556, in the Meyer van den Bergh Museum, Antwerp (1933 Cat., no. 43, illus.). A733|1|1|Dagger, the hilt made entirely of ivory and comprising an oval pommel flat at the top, scrolled at the sides and carved with acanthus leaves in low relief; a silver washer with toothed edge, inlaid with niello, fastening the hilt to the tang; grip of baluster form, turned in the middle, and expanding near the blade to form a guard, carved with pairs of male and female heads, wearing head-dress of the style of c. 1510. The blade, of flattened diamond section, is corroded except at the base where it is etched and gilt on the one side with panel of pomegranates, and on the other inscribed:

OMA / TE… E. / EMEN

This is apparently an abridgement of the prayer: O MATER DEI MEMENTO MEI, a common inscription on weapons and armour dating from the end of the 15th century. A maker’s mark is stamped on one side.

German, about 1490-1510
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 813
Compare for style the sword A502.
Fayet sale, Pillet, Paris, 29-30 April 1870, lot 78. A736|1|1|Ear-Dagger, made in one piece of steel. The pommel is formed of a pair of disks angled outwards and engraved with cross-hatching on the inner sides; the grip, of baluster form, is split into four parts and joined at the centre; the double-edged blade is of diamond section deeply etched on the squared ricasso with an arabesque.

Spanish, mid 16th century.
Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1934. L' Art Ancien I, no. 26; De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 80 and pl. 5; Laking, European Armour III, fig. 826.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke

The formation of the pommel in this type of dagger comes from the Middle East and follows the lines of Ottoman yataghans. The type was known in Italy as ‘daga all Levantia’ or ‘alla Stradiotta’; see also A737.

According to R. Lorente, all metal 'ear-daggers' with the ricasso of the same length on each side of the blade, such as A736, are Spanish (Gladius, III, 1964, pp. 67-87). A design for what appears to be one was submitted by Cristofal Joan as his masterpiece on entry to the Guild of Goldsmiths in Barcelona in 1538 (Hayward, Virtuoso Goldsmiths, 1976, pl. 236).

A similar all-steel dagger appears in the portrait of Matthäus Schwarz of Augsburg, dated 1542, probably by Christoph Amberger, in the Thyssen collection, Madrid. Schwarz was the author of a manuscript Trachtenbuch, showing him in the clothes worn by him on all the memorable occasions from his early childhood (Brunswick, Herzog-Anton-Ulrich-Museum; A. Fink, Die Schwarzschen Trachtenbücher, 1963). A737|1|1|Ear-dagger, the pommel consisting of a pair of disks angled outwards and covered on the exterior side with plaques of horn, from each of which projects a small slanting cone of brass engraved with brass circles, reminiscent of oyster shells. The grip, of steel, is overlaid on each side with a strip of horn, moulded at the base. The blade, of diamond section, has hollow-ground sides and a short ricasso; the strong tang forms the centre of the grip.

Venetian or Spanish, about 1500.
De Beaumont catalogue, no. 79 and pl. 1; Laking European Armour III, fig. 833; Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Jere, xxiv, 1868, p. 422, no. 9, and pl. facing p.41.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
See also A736.

Most existing ear daggers are of Spanish-Moresque origin, though possibly they were made by Middle-Eastern workmen based in Venice as well. The inventory of King Francois I of France mentions 'une petite dague à oreilles à l'espanol.'

See R. Lorente in Gladius, I II, 1964, pp. 67-87, who describes this type of 'ear dagger' with composite grip and equal-sided ricasso as ‘Venetian or Spanish in Hispano-Moresque style’ but made for and worn by Christians (Type II). A738|1|1|Cinquedea, comprised of a flat, rosette-shaped pommel of gilt bronze: curved guard, chased with roping with knob-like terminals, also of gilt bronze; grip of wood bound with fine copper wire woven into a pattern; flat, tapering blade with three, two and one hollowed panels from base to point, blued and decorated in gold on either side in succession, with nude classical figures, busts in panels, chequers and arabesques. There are remains of foliation on the bevelled edges of the blade. On the blade the gold has been applied to areas and lines slightly etched into the surface of the metal.

The whole object is probably 19th-century.
L' Art Ancien IX, no. 1010.
Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The decoration on the blades of this cinquedea and nos. A739 and 740 is distinct from the etched style usually associated with this type of weapon because it is flat and not bitten. Dr. Jan Lauts has drawn attention to this group in Z.H.W.K., XIV (1936), pp. 122-6, and illustrates other examples in the Musée de l' Armée at Paris (J 777 and 779), and the Bargello at Florence (illustrated by Laking III, p. 78, and in Les Arts, October, 1902, p. 13).

A very similar weapon, with closely comparable hilt and a blade decorated in the same style, is in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (inv. no. 2370; 1980 cat., no. 616). A739|1|1|Cinquedea, composed of a flat, trapezoidal pommel of steel with a tang button, piqué with scrolls and gilt; curved, ridged guard widening at the ends, pricked and gilt; iron and silver wire-bound grip; flat, tapering blade with four, three and two hollowed panels from base to point, blued and decorated in succession with allegorical figures, busts and arabesques formed by means of selective fire-gilding. Corrosion has left in low relief the areas originally protected by the gold.

The figures are thus described by De Beaumont: une image de saint auréolé, revêtu d'une cuirasse e tenant une hache; sur l' autreface est représentée l' Intempérance (sic), sous la forme d' une femme versant à terre le contenu d' un large flacon ou chantepleure. The arabesques are in the same style, and possibly from the same hand, as those upon the dagger, no. A738. There is a bladesmith's mark on both sides 9.5 cm from the hilt.

Pommel associated, probably about 1600-20; guards of uncertain date; blade Italian, about 1500.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 77
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke

A 'three grayned staff ' formerly at Hever Castle bears the same mark (sold Sotheby's, 5 May 1983, lot 139, repr. in cat.). A740|1|1|Cinquedea, having a large, arch-shaped hilt of ivory, now stained black, shod with gilt bronze decorated round the edge with foliage, a putto and a female figure in low relief. The grip is inlaid with four pierced circles of brass; down one side runs a narrow band of copper gilt, inscribed:

PROPTER · CANES · E

The corresponding strip on the reverse side is missing. The curved guard is broad and terminates at the edge of the blade. The latter is flat, with four, three and two hollow panels from base to point, and is decorated with the legend of the Rape of Europa, selectively gilt; the subject on the reverse side is obliterated. This cinquedea is much eroded and has probably been recovered from a river bed. The ivory grip is stained green where it is in contact with the gilt-bronze mounts.

Italian (Ferrarese?), about 1480.
Laking, European Armour III, figs. 851-2.

Unlike the three preceding cinquedeas this one has the arched pommel which one commonly associates with the type, as seen on nos. A744, 746 etc.
The U-shaped pommel-cap has on one end a figure of Cupid and on the other end a naked captive seen from the hips up. A similar figure in reverse occurs on the cap of no. A745. The punctuation marks of the inscription are cross crosslets, as on no. A742. Cleaning in 1972 and 1975 revealed that the scenes on the blade represent Argus and lo as a cow and Pyramus and Thisbe respectively.

Boccia and Coelho (1975, figs. 203-5) illustrate the very similar 'cinquedea' in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.777), which they ascribe to Ferrara, about 1500. A 'cinquedea' blade in the Musée' du Louvre appears to be by the same hand. Its sheath bears a coat of arms apparently consisting of Bentivoglio impaling a bend. Decoration in this style and technique also occurs on a 'cinquedea' blade in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 26.145.57) and on a large blade of 'cinquedea' form lent to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1982. On one side of the blade of this last is depicted Orpheus emerging from the gates of the Underworld; the scene on the other side has not yet been identified.

The type of decoration found A740, consisting of broad areas of gilding on the surface of the blade against a blued ground, known in German as Goldschmelz, has frequently been doubted. While this style certainly attracted more than one imitator in the 19th century, there can be no doubt that the decoration of A740 is genuine. The cleaning revealed wide areas of decoration formerly concealed by a thick and very hard coat of rust. A741|1|1|Cinquedea, composed of a strong, curving guard; grip, faced with thick ivory plaques inlaid with four circular ornaments in brass; the bands at the side, usually of gilt copper and inscribed, are missing, as is the arch-shaped metal mount of the hilt; the blade of flattened diamond section, with two shallow grooves, is decorated with allegorical subjects, winged horses and amorini, etched and gilt. It is inscribed:

DESINT FATA DEVM FLETI SPERARE PREC(?)
INFIVTV VISSIMVS MORIEMVR IPORT . .

The second line was probably intended for:
INVICTI VIXIMVS · MORIEMVR IN PORTv
(We have lived unconquered: we shall die in port)

The compartments each contain a group of human figures; on one side, first, a naked woman holding up a sail, and two naked men one of whom is holding a mast with a fighting-top, all riding dolphins; second, two naked men holding a mast, a third naked figure being partially obliterated: on the other side, first, a naked man cutting at a bearded oriental, and two wheels; second, two naked men carrying wheels. Two winged terminal horses are in the pediment above these scenes.

There is a bladesmith's mark 17.7 cm from the hilt; the same rake-like mark appears on nos. A743, 747-8, and on an Italian Renaissance sword, the blade with strong, central ridge, in the Doge's Palace at Venice.

Italian, about 1470.
Skelton I, pl. LXII, fig. 5.
Provenance: Sir Samuel R. Meyrick.

The decoration of this cinquedea has been attributed by Mr. Charles ffoulkes to Ercole dei Fideli (Arch. Journal, LXVIII, no. 270; 2nd Series, XVIII, no. 2, 157-65). See also nos. A742-3, 745.

The decoration of the blade is less good than that on A745. It resembles that on A748 both stylistically and in arrangement, but seems not to be by the same hand. What is apparently the same mark occurs on a 'cinquedea' blade in the Museo Civico, Bologna, but the etching in this case seems to be by yet another hand (Boccia & Coelho, 1975, figs. 206-8, where it is attributed to a 'Maestro dei cavallini' at Emilia, about 1500). A742|1|1|Cinquedea, composed of an arch-shaped hilt shod with gilt bronze, decorated with figures in low relief; strong, curved, steel guard, flat in section, lightly etched with shields and trophies; grip, made in one with the pommel and bound with plaques of ivory and pierced with four circles of brass. It has on either side, inset between the ivory plaques, a gilt, copper band inscribed:

DEVS · IN NOMINE · / · TVO · SALVVM · ME FAC ·
(God in Thy name make me safe)

The broad, flat blade has four and two hollowed panels from base to point; it is decorated at the base with groups of allegorical figures holding banners (? A Triumph) surmounted with busts, amorini and a line of foliage, finely etched and originally gilt; there is a bladesmith's mark on one side. The figures on the end of the pommel-cap are, on one end, a naked youth standing between curtains in a rectangular niche, and, on the other, a female figure lightly clad in classical dress bearing a spear in her right hand also in a rectangular niche (? Diana). The female figure closely resembles one on the pommel-cap of A499.

The punctuation marks of the inscription are crosslets as on A740. The blade appears to have been entirely re-etched (C. Blair, personal communication, 1975).

Italian (Ferrarese), about 1490.
Skelton I, pl. LXII, fig. 4 (?); Laking, European Armour III, fig. 852. Oakeshott, Archaeology of weapons, 1960, pl. 22b.
Provenance: Possibly that of Sir Samuel R. Meyrick.

The decoration upon this cinquedea resembles the work of Ercole dei Fideli of Ferrara. See also A743, 746 and 748.

The mark resembles that on the sword of Gian Giacomo Trivulsio, Marshal of France, now at Vienna (inv. no. A455), which Boccia and Coelho ascribed to Ferrara about 1499 (1975, figs. 242 and 278). A743|1|1|Cinquedea and scabbard, the arch-shaped hilt shod with gilt bronze, decorated with profile busts, cornucopias, a small figure of a winged horse, and a stag in low relief. The grip (made in one with the pommel) is faced with plaques of ivory (possibly later replacements; C. Blair, personal communication, 1975) and inlaid with four circular ornaments in brass; on either side, inset at the sides between the ivory plaques, is a band of bronze, or copper, gilt and inscribed:

NVNQVAM POTEST NON · / ESSE VIRTVTI LOCOS ·

The curved guard of steel, flat, lightly etched with the figure of Pegasus, scrolls and scale ornament. The tapering blade, of flat diamond section, has three and two hollowed panels from base to point; it is finely etched and gilt, with scenes the subject of which is unknown. Above these is a decoration of scrolled foliage, winged horses and a winged putto. The principal composition is inscribed P R M; and there is a bladesmith's rake-like mark, on both sides, 15.5 cm from the hilt; it is the same as that upon A741, 747-8.

Scabbard of black leather (cuir bouilli), the front tooled with interlaced strapwork in low relief on a granulated ground; in the centre a shield with the charges of a cross with its crossing voided of the field, or Checky of nine pieces. The back is delicately tooled with lines and engrailed ornament, and furnished with a pocket for a small knife and pricker; at the top it is pierced to form two loops for the thongs of a belt; about a half an inch of the point is missing, and it is now broken into two pieces.

Italian, about 1500
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The inscription around the edges of the grip also occurs on a 'cinquedea' at Windsor Castle (1904 Cat., no. 30), the scabbard of which bears the arms of the Bentivoglio of Bologna, and on another in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.777; Boccia & Coelho, 1975, fig. 200). A744|1|1|Cinquedea, having an arch-shaped hilt of horn, shod with bronze, plain except for a pair of mouldings at each side; curved flat guard; grip faced with plaques of brown horn inlaid with four circular ornaments in brass. The flat, tapering blade with three and two shallow panels from base to point, which appears to have been trimmed to a sharper angle than is usual; there are traces of etched scrolls of foliage on one side, and a bladesmith's mark 17.8 cm from the hilt. The same mark appears on A745. The gilt copper band inset on either side of the grip between the plaques is inscribed:

DEVS · FORTITVDO · M[EA] / VIRTVS · SVPER · OMNI[A]
(God is my strength, my courage over all)

Italian, about 1480.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 852.

The pommel-cap is rather less well made than usual. The punctuation marks of the inscription on the grip are flowers. As the strip is now fitted there is insufficient room for a final A in the inscription. The etching appears to be by an entirely different hand to that of either. The blade has apparently been considerably shortened. A745|1|1|Cinquedea, of large size. The arch-shaped hilt is shod with gilt bronze, decorated with a profile bust and nude female figure in low relief; the grip in one with the pommel, is faced with two plaques of ivory, inlaid on either side with four circular ornaments in brass; on the sides, inset between the plaques, are bands of gilt bronze inscribed:

AVXILIVM · A · SVPERIS / PRAEBENT · VICTORIAM
(Help from the Gods above given victory)

Curved, steel guard of flattened oblong section etched with scrolls and scale ornament. The blade of flat diamond section, with four, three and two hollowed panels from base to point. Etched on one side, the trial, scourging and crucifixion under triple arches, surmounted with a medallion representing Fortessa (Fortitude) and on the other a classical subject of nude male and female figures with the emblems of Justice above. Traces of gilding remain. The narrow panel up the centre of the blade is inscribed:

DEVS · ET · NATVRA · NIHIL · FRVSTRA · FACIVNT
(God and Nature do nothing in vain)

on the one face, and on the other:

INFICTV · VISSIMVS · MORIEMVR · IN PORTV
(We have lived unconquered and shall die in port)

There is bladesmith's mark 15.2 cm from the hilt; the same mark appears on A744 and 746.
Italian, about 1490.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 852.
Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1930 (Spitzer).
Provenance: L' art ancien, III, 368, Spitzer.

The decoration on this cinquedea resembles that upon one in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, which M. Charles Buttin has attributed to Ercole dei Fideli of Ferrara (Les Arts, Sept. 1910 28-9.) See also A741-3 in the Wallace Collection.

The female figure on one end of the pommel cap apparently has her arms bound behind her. A comparable figure occurs on A740.

The two halves of the inscription are each made with a different set of punches.
The mark on the blade resembles that on A744, but not that on A746. The same mark occurs on the blade of a 'cinquedea' in the Musée de I' Armée, Paris, no. J. 774, which Boccia and Coelho ascribe to Emilia, about 1490-1500 (1975, Fig. 200). The etching on both blades is very similar in style.
The same mark occurs on no. J.08061 in the Musée de l' Armée, but in that case the etching of the blade appears to be by an entirely different hand. A746|1|1|Cinquedea, the arch-shaped hilt of ivory, mounted with gilt bronze, decorated with a pair of lyre-shaped acanthus leaves in low relief; grip in one with the pommel, faced with two ivory plaques, with two circular filigree ornaments and with inlaid coins (see below) inserted. Inset at the side between the plaques are bands of gilt bronze inscribed:

CAVE · NE · VITORIA · / PRAEBENT · VICTORIAM ·

Curved guard of gilt bronze decorated with a delicate filigree scrollwork and seed pods. The hilt is inlaid with six Roman coins as follows:

Side A (with the composition of the Golden Calf on the blade)

Pommel: Tetricus Senior (268-273 A.D.). Bust of Tetricus wearing radiate crown. Inscribed:

IMP · C · TETRICVS P.F. [AVG]

Grip: Possibly Constantine II as Caesar (317-337 A.D.). Bust diademed. Inscribed

IMP. LICINIVS P.F. AVG.

Side B

Pommel: Valentinian I (364-375 A.D.). Bust diademed. Inscribed:

[D.N.] VALENTINIA[NVS P.F. AVG]

Grip: 'Urbs Roma'. Bust of the City of Rome, helmeted. (About 330-337 A.D.)

Guard: Constantine the Great (305-337 A.D.). Bust diademed. Inscribed:CONSTANTINVS P.F. AVG

The blade is of flat diamond section, with hollowed, sunk panels, five, four, three, and two from base to point. Decorated, on the one side, with the Worship of the Golden Calf surmounted with heads in a medallion supported by amorini, and above this in alternate pairs of panels, nude figures, bearing flags, emblems (one inscribed S P Q R), and finally, conventional leaves, all etched and richly gilt. The reverse side has been similarly decorated with a classical subject, nude figures and conventional foliage. The sharpness and depth of the etching suggest that it has been recut. The letter T is incised upon the altar in the first composition. Compare the letter T (? Taurus) on another. There is a bladesmith's mark on either side 14 cm from the hilt. The same mark appears upon A744-5.

Italian, about 1500.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 852; Yriarte, Le Graveur d' Epées de César Borgia.

The ivory scales are later replacements and are of the wrong form and size. The pommel-cap is probably also a replacement. The inscription has been doubted, as has the filigree work of the guard which is of characteristic 19th-century type with granulations (C. Blair and J. F. Hayward, personal communication, 1963). The scene on the blade identified as The Worship of the Golden Calf is perhaps more likely to have a classical or humanist source. The flag is, in fact, inscribed S.P.Q.B. The scenes on the reverse include a stag, two old men speaking to a soldier in classical armour, and two women and a man attending a woman who has apparently fallen to the ground.
Yriarte, 'Le graveur d'épées de Cesar Borgia', Les lettres et les arts, I, 1886, pp. 163-86 and 339-61, illus. on p. 179 (middle); and Yriarte, Maître Hercule de Pesaro, extract from Gazette archeologique, 1887-8, illus. p. 19. The mark does not resemble that on either A744 or 745 except very superficially. It bears a closer resemblance to that on the sword given by Pope Julius II to the Emperor Maximilian I in 1509 as a Knight of St. Peter (Vienna, inv. no. A453; Boccia & Coelho, 1975, figs. 293 and 295). A similar mark occurs on a sword made for a member of the von Kressenstein family, now in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (no. CL11811; Boccia & Coelho, 1975, figs. 294 and 296). The etching on all three blades is very similar in style, although not definitely by the same hand. The same mark occurs on a 'cinquedea' blade mounted in a 19th-century hilt in the Armeria Reale at Turin (no. H 7), the etching of which may also be by the same hand as that of no. A746 (Bertolotto in Mazzini, 1982, pp. 63-5, figs. 9-12) This mark also occurs on a 'cinquedea' blade in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (inv. no. 2369; 1980 cat., no. 615), but in this case the decoration is in Goldschmelz. A747|1|1|Cinquedea, the arch-shaped hilt shod with gilt bronze, decorated like A746 with acanthus leaves in the form of a lyre in low relief; flat, curved guard; the grip, in one with the pommel, consists of two ivory plaques, inlaid with four circular pierced ornaments in brass; the bands usually inset at the sides, generally of gilt copper and inscribed, are missing. The ends of the pommel-cap are decorated in relief with lyre-like arrangements of acanthus foliage. The quillons bear traces of etched decoration. The style and arrangement of the etching of the blade is very like that of A748, but appears to be original.

The blade, of flattened diamond section, has two shallow holes from base to point and is etched with a representation of Leda and the Swan, and other classical subjects, surmounted with winged figures and foliage. Inscribed up the centre:

CAVE · NE · VITORIA · SIT · CAYXA · M ·
(Suggested translation: Take care that victory is not the cause of death)

FATIS · REGITVR · MORTALE · GENS
(The race of mortals is ruled by destiny)

There is a bladesmith's mark 17.7 from the hilt: the same mark appears upon A741, 743, and 748.

Italian, about 1470
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A748|1|1|Cinquedea, the arch-shaped hilt shod with gilt bronze, engraved with foliage. The grip, made in one piece with the pommel, consists of two plaques of ivory inlaid with four circular ornaments in brass (possibly a restoration); the sides, of gilt copper or bronze, are inscribed:

· EXITVS NON CAVSA · / QVERITVR BELLI ·
(It is inquired not what is the cause but what is the issue of war)

Curved guard, of steel, oblong in section, etched with scrolled foliage. The blade of flat diamond section has two hollows from base to point; it is deeply etched near the hilt and gilt, comprising four upright panels of figure subjects (one shows a bear erect) with scrollwork above, and a narrow band of vase and flower ornament up the centre; there is a bladesmith's mark on both sides, 16.5 cm from the hilt, the same as that upon A741, 743 and 747.

Italian, about 1480.
Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1868, p. 420, no. 7, pl. facing p. 414; De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 9 and pl. 1; Laking, European Armour III, fig. 952.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

C. Blair suggested that the etching was either 19th-century or had been re-worked (personal communication, 1975). A749|1|1|Cinquedea, composed of a circular pommel, similar in form to that on A738, of gilt bronze with roped edge, sunk centre with a profile bust on either in relief; curved guard of gilt bronze, formed like acanthus leaves; grip of wood, spirally fluted, with remains of binding with copper wire woven to a basket pattern; flat blade with three, two and one hollow panels from base to point; the surface was at one time decorated with etached and fire-gilt figures and scrolls like A738-9, but little of this now remains.

Pommel and guards 19th century; blade possibly Italian, about 1500.
Provenance: A Beurdeley? (Une dague Vénetienne niellée, 1,500 fr. (with other pieces); Receipted Bill, 21st February, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
Pommel and guards 19th-century; blade possibly Italian, about 1500.

A similar hilt is on a dagger with a 'cinquedea'-like blade in the Hohensalzburg; this or another very like it was in the von Berthold collection (sold Heberle, Cologne, 25-26 May 1898, lot 407, repr. in cat.). Another is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 26.145.59; Dean, Daggers, 1929, no. 86, pl. XXXII). A750|1|1|Dagger, the hilt composed of a hollow wheel-pommel, chased with conventional flowers and a face in the centre of one side; hollow, gadrooned grip swelling in the centre; plain, curved guard of oblong section: the whole of copper gilt. The blade is broad and flat, double-edged and crudely etched with gilt scrolls; the letters E T, deeply stamped on one side only. Not unlike a cinquedea in form.

Entirely 19th-century.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 81
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A751|1|1|Dagger of cinquedea type, having a steel hilt formed of two addorsed eagles in the round, springing from Corinthian capitals; in the centre of the grip on either side are medallions with defaced heads in relief; slightly curved guard of oblong section, roughly chased with leaves and a granulated ornament. Flat, broad, triangular blade tapering to a point; there are traces of a bladesmith's mark, possibly a head, near the guard. The blade has been much scoured.

Probably entirely 19th-century, except for the two pommels which may be French, 16th-century.

J. F. Hayward, in a review of the 1962 Catalogue in the Times Literary Supplement, 26 July 1963, suggested that the eagle-headed pommels might have come from two knife-handles. A knife of the type to which he referred was in the Spitzer Sale, Petit, Paris 17 April-16 June 1893, lot 2419, repr. in cat. A752|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, the blackened hilt made up of a convex, rosette-shaped pommel fitting over the grip like a cap; grip of conical form tapering towards the guard, bound with iron wire and divided into vertical sections by four twisted strands; the three trefoil-shaped arms of the guard curve over the blade and are decorated with scale ornament and applied masks; the blade of flattened hexagonal section with doubly fluted ricasso, the latter bears the maker's mark (the letter R) inlaid in brass: the dagger A812 appears to carry the same mark.
Scabbard of semi-circular section, of blackened steel embossed with nude female figures in high relief surrounded by scrolls, the two panels being divided by 'puffed and slashed' bands of strong iron wire, with six similar bands at the bottom ending in a turned finial; at the back two loops for suspension; there is also a pocket for the byknife (now missing).
German, about 1550.
Skelton II, pl. cxi, figs. 1 and 2.
Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick.
A similar dagger was in the von Berthold collection (sold Heberle, Cologne, 25-26 May 1898, lot 406, repr. in cat.). A755|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, composed of a flat, circular pommel cap cut into fan-shaped segments, with spherical button; spiral, tapering grip of steel; guard set on the forward side only, consisting of a shell between lugs; blade of diamond section with square ricasso; scabbard covered with green velvet, mostly concealed by a deep locket and ferrule of steel extending far up its length; the metal mounts decorated with roped bands, and with flowing patterns done with a burin using a rocking motion rather than with a punch; two loops at the back for suspension; knife and pricker of plain steel, each of one piece, fitted inside the scabbard.

The dagger appears to be entirely 19th-century. It is too small for the scabbard, and the metal of the hilt is of different colour and the edges are less worn.

A very similar scabbard, formerly in the Meyrick collection, was at one time in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 14.25.1299; Dean, Daggers, 1929, no. 114, pl. XL). It was sold at Christie's, 22-3 November 1960, lot 62, repr. in cat. A756|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, comprised of a hexagonal, pear-shaped pommel, made in two parts, with button; hexagonal grip swelling at the centre; both pommel and grip are of steel plated with silver, decorated with classical figures on a blued ground; short guard ending in baluster-shaped knobs plated and very lightly engraved; blade of diamond section with central groove and trebly grooved ricasso; steel scabbard plated with silver and decorated with representations of Abraham and Isaac, Lot and his Daughters, the Judgement of Solomon, Mars and Venus, and arabesques, on a blued-steel ground; three steel loops at the back for suspension; knife and pricker, each forged in one piece, the handles having wooden grips; the fourth pocket of the scabbard is empty; it was possibly designed to contain a fork.

The decoration of the steel has been executed by means of overlay of silver in reserve against a background of grey steel. The outlines and details of the motifs are picked out with engraved lines. On the top of the pommel are foliage scrolls; on the body of the pommel are lion-masks amid strapwork alternating with naked humans, all amid foliage scrolls. On the front of the grip is a representation of Mars, and on the back a grotesque mask, each flanked by panels of foliage. The guard is hatched with plain silver. The decoration of the scabbard is in the same technique.

German, about 1570-80.
De Beaumont catalogue, no. 98; Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 252.
Exhibited: probably no. 1937 in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865. L' art ancien, I, 26 (Nieuwerkerke).
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The decoration of this dagger and of A758 is comparable to that on a pair of wheel-lock cavalry pistols at Vienna, dated 1574 (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. nos. A554-5). Presumably they belong to similar garnitures which would originally also have included priming flasks and cartridge boxes, and possibly swords, all decorated en suite. A very similar dagger is depicted in the portrait of Frederik II of Denmark by Hans Knieper, dated 1588, at Frederiksborg Slott (inv. no. 2171). A757|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, composed of an octagonal, pear-shaped pommel of iron with gilt-bronze cap and button; swelling, leather-bound cord grip with leaf-shaped mounts of gilt bronze at either end; flat ribbon guard curving inwards and widening towards the ends; single side-ring; blade of diamond section with ricasso, the latter bearing the maker's mark; scabbard of wood covered with red velvet and mounted with a deep locket and chape of gilt bronze engraved with the figure of Fortune, a man's head crowned, and bird's fruit and flowers; two loops at the back for suspension, one of these is engraved with the date:

15 ∙ 95

There is a pocket at the side for a knife or pricker, but this is now missing.
German or Swiss, dated 1595. De Beaumont catalogue, no. 99 (the date on the scabbard is given as 1520).

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

L' art ancien, I, 26, and therefore exhibited at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865(?); Norman & Barne, 1980, p. 252.

The construction of the locket of the scabbard is reminiscent of that of so-called ‘Holbein’ daggers. A comparable dagger appears in the portrait of Heinrich Luterburg dated 1596, in the Town Archives of Basel ( W. R. Staehelin, Basler Portraits aller Jahrhunderte, I, 1919, no pagination). A758|1|1|Dagger and scabbard, made up of a large, spherical pommel of wood closely inlaid after the manner of arquebus stocks, with scrolls of dyed antler coloured white, green and brown; steel cap of hexagonal form inlaid in silver and gold; hexagonal grip of wood decorated like the pommel; short, flat guard with disks at the ends; small side-ring; blade of diamond section with central groove inscribed:

I/H/N/N/

on both faces; trebly-fluted ricasso; small, steel knife forged in one piece, with a maker's mark (?) of two dots; steel pricker of one piece with traces of gold and silver overlay at the top; scabbard of steel, semi-circular in section lined with wood and lightly overlaid with a female figure (? Fortune), a man's head and a putto flanked by scrolls in gold and silver. The scabbard is divided horizontally into sections by four semicircular rings terminating in a turned ferrule: there are two loops at the back for suspension.

German, about 1570-80.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 252.

The dagger A759, is of like form and workmanship. A similar dagger was excavated in London (Museum of London, no. A14993; Holmes, 1957, pl. 27A). A759|1|1|Dagger, of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, of similar form and workmanship to A758, but the cap on the pommel is rounded and not hexagonal; the guard are shorter and the disks at the ends are overlaid with scrolls in gold and silver; half-oval side-ring also overlaid; the blade shows traces of similar letters to A758:

I/H/N/N/

No scabbard, knife or pricker.

German, about 1600. A761|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, made up of a hollow, oviform pommel formed of diagonal openwork bands, each fluted and incised with dots; spherical button; square grip of steel mounted with vertical strips of roping at the angles, and ornamented with studs and rosettes between; small upward-curving guard formed of four lobated shells with roped edges, the two side shells are pierced like the pommel, the central one is embossed with a rosette; blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso notched; scabbard, heavily mounted with over red velvet, pierced and decorated with puffed bands, and ornamented with numerous rosettes and studs and rouleaux of scales resembling caterpillars, the hollow, openwork ferrule is formed like the pommel. At the back, which is plain, are steel loops for suspension.

German about 1550.

Provenance: de Rosière sale (Juste), Paris, 19-21 March, 1860, lot 128.

The authenticity of this weapon was questioned by Sir Guy Laking, probably on account of the course and florid decoration and the laden colour of the metal.

Provenance: according to the marked catalogue in the Étude Baudoin at the Service de Documentations Commissaires-priseurs-parisiens, lot 128 was bought by Lowengard for 190 fr. (S. Gaynor, personal communication, 1984).
There appears to be no reason whatever to doubt the authenticity of this piece. A764|1|1|Scabbard for a dagger in the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ style, of bright steel, semi-circular in section, boldly embossed, chased and pierced. The composition is in three parts; at the top stands a man holding an axe over his shoulder surrounded by harpies, lions crowned, and eight spiral ornaments; at the bottom is a framed opening and more curls. The back is chased with the axe, T and set-square symbols symbolizing the carpenter's craft and the letters C S, with foliated ornament below; two iron loops, crossed, for suspension. Compare the scabbard, no. A766, which is of similar design, and probably from the same hand.

German, second half of the 16th century.
Provenance : E. de Rozière sale, Pillet & Juste, Paris, 19-21 March 1860, lot 135, repr. in cat. A765|1|1|Scabbard of a dagger of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, of blackened steel, semi-circular in section, boldly embossed, chased and pierced. The composition is in three parts: at the top stands a man holding an axe over his shoulder surrounded by harpies, lions crowned, and eight spiral curls; in the middle a double-headed eagle among similar spiral ornaments; at the bottom is a framed opening and more curls. The back is chased with the axe, T- and set-square symbols symbolizing the carpenter's craft and the letters C · S, with foliated ornament below; two iron loops, crossed, for suspension. Compare the scabbard A766, which is of similar design, and probably from the same hand.
Entirely 19th-century. A767|1|1|Scabbard for a dagger of the so-called ‘Landsknecht’ type, of copper, semi-circular in section, elaborately embossed and chased with great finish, illustrating in three scenes the story of the Prodigal Son; the back etched with an arabesque, and furnished with a loop for suspension; the brass terminal with heads and fruit in high relief is very like the terminal of the scabbard of A766. It is unlined. The flat back is engraved with scrolled foliage incorporating birds and fruit; it has been described by Sir S. R. Meyrick in considerable detail.
Swiss, about 1590.
Skelton II, pl. cxi, fig. 3; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 241.
Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick.
Swiss dagger scabbards are frequently made of copper cast, chased and gilt, and it has been suggested that A767 is not an actual scabbard but rather a goldsmith's pattern, or maquette, from which actual scabbards were cast. The existence of a loop for suspension, however, and the brass ferrule, indicate that whatever the original purpose of A767, it has been turned at some time to practical use. A768|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, the gilt-bronze hilt made up of a vase-shaped pommel with projecting animals’ heads surmounted by a squat female bust, in high relief; oval grip, swelling in the centre and decorated in relief on either side with a female figure; small guard, oblong in section, scrolled at the ends; single side-ring, with a head as a bezel in the centre; blade, of flattened diamond section, grooved down the middle and inscribed IHS and having a mark which may be that of the bladesmith, with a trebly fluted ricasso also inlaid with a maker's mark in copper; scabbard, of wood covered on the outer side with gilt copper, pierced and chased in relief with a scene from the Legend of Virginia: Appius Claudius III on the Judgement Seat, the throne inscribed:

APPIVS / CLAV / DIVS

(The same composition, but slightly varied, appears upon the scabbard of dagger A769; see also A770-1.) The ferrule is composed of two dolphins; there is a locket and chain at the side and two loops at the back, for suspension; upon one of these is faintly scratched the letters V S, possibly the initials of an owner; the wooden lining of the scabbard is covered with red velvet and there are pockets in front for a knife and pricker (both now missing).
Schneider, 1977, no. 59; ‘entirely 19th-century’. The blade is in fact 16th-century, apparently ground down from a sword. The mouth and upper part of the scabbard have been squeezed to fit the rather narrow blade.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 104.
Provenance: Louis Carrand? Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The construction of the scabbard with separate edging bands stamped with candelabra foliage on a horizontally hatched ground, and with the frieze made of four or five separate pieces, one of which, the third figure from the tip, is largely a replacement in a slightly different coloured metal, all suggest that the scabbard may be genuine after all. It was accepted by J. F. Hayward (Virtuoso goldsmiths, 1976, pl. 693). The grip is undoubtedly 19th-century and a similar one is on a composite dagger in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 26.145.95; Dean, Daggers, no. 135, pl. XLVI.).
Illustrated by Vollon in his Curiosités of 1868 (Sarin, 1980). A769|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Holbein’ type. The hilt is of dark wood, ridged and swelling in the centre, surmounted by a gilt bronze mount at the top, and with a short guard of boat form also of gilt bronze, incised with scrolls and conventional flowers; blade of diamond section with maker's mark on one side.
Scabbard of wood, covered on the front with gilt bronze, pierced and chased in relief with Appius Claudius III on the Judgement Seat (The same composition, with slight variations, appears upon the scabbard of A768). The ferrule has two female heads on either side and there are two flat loops at the back for suspension; the wood at the back is covered with green velvet, and there are pockets in the front for a knife and pricker (both now missing).
The design and workmanship of this dagger and scabbard resemble A770, and are probably from the same hand; the dagger also bears the same bladesmith's mark. See also the daggers and scabbards A768 and A771.
Schneider, 1977, no. A57; entirely 19th-century.
L' Art Ancien V, no. 586 as belonging to Spitzer and exhibited by him at the Musée Rétrospectif, but it has not been identified among his loans.
A genuine scabbard of this pattern is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. 2188-1855 (loc., cit., no. 58), and is dated 1590. A770|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Holbein’ type. The hilt, of dark wood, is covered on the front with gilt bronze, pierced and chased in relief with a scene from the legend of William Tell; the ferrule similar in every way to A769; wooden back covered with green velvet; two flat loops at the back for suspension.
In design and workmanship this piece resembles A769, both are obviously from the same hand; the dagger also bears the same maker's mark. Compare also the daggers and scabbards A768 and A771.
Schneider, 1977, no. A109, mark illus. fig. 171; entirely 19th century.
A similar example, dated 1582, was in the collection of F. Engel-Gros (sold Paris, 30 May-1 June, 1921, lot 206).
A genuine scabbard of this pattern is in the Historisches Museum, Basel, no. 1870-1083 (loc. cit., no. 93), which Schneider dates from about 1570. A771|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, of the so-called ‘Holbein’ type. The hilt is of a form similar to those of A769-70 and 809, but the wood is of brighter colour and the gilt bronze mounts are not engraved; blade, diamond-shaped in section, with single groove and two more grooves near the hilt. The hilt, if not the whole dagger, appears to be a restoration.
Scabbard of wood, covered on the outer side with gilt copper, pierced and chased in relief representing the Dance of Death; ferrule decorated with a lion's mask between scrolls in relief; plain red-leather back with two loops for suspension, the upper one of them is dated 1573. The scabbard contains a knife and pricker (or steel) with wooden grips, gilt-bronze tops with female heads in low relief; the knife bears a mark on one side.
Schneider, 1977, no. 126; entirely 19th century.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 103.
Exhibited : Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1936. L' art ancien, I, 26.
Provenance: A Beurdeley (Un poignard dont le furreau est ciselé à jour représentant le danse Macabre. Epoque Charles IX; 650 fr,; receipted bill, 30 May, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
A genuine scabbard of this pattern in a Swiss private collection is dated 1570 (loc. cit., no. 119). A772|1|1|Parrying dagger, comprised of a flattened cylindrical pommel of hexagonal section, with small spherical button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight flat guard widening at the ends, and oblong quillon block; single side-ring; blade of diamond section strongly ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side.

The pommel and guard decorated with conventional fruit and flowers engraved and gilt.

About 1600; nationality uncertain. A773|1|1|Small parrying dagger, composed of a spherical pommel with flattened button; ribbed, wire-bound grip; curved guard of flattened section widening at the ends, and single-side-ring, decorated with rosettes and lines of dots encrusted in silver on a russeted ground; blade of diamond section, sharply ridged, fluted and pieced, the ricasso flattened on one side.

The steel ground of the hilt was originally entirely fire-gilt.

About 1600; nationality uncertain.

Provenance: ? A. Beurdeley (une dague poignée damasquinée argent lame repercée à jour, together with une mandoline, 900 fr.; receipted bill, 22 November, 1866); Comte de Nieuwerkerke (this description might also refer to A800). A774|1|1|Parrying dagger with scabbard, comprised of a flat pommel shaped like a fleur-de-lys; vertically ribbed, wire-bound grip; curved guard of oblong section, widening at the ends; single side-ring filled with a plate pierced with six stars; the mounts originally blued; blade of flattened diamond section with plain ricasso; scabbard, covered with black leather with blind tooling; the locket (with D-loop at the back for suspension) and ferrule of plain blued steel.

German, about 1610-20.

This type of pommel is usually found on weapons with guards of flattened oval section rather than of rectangular section as here. See also A785. For comparable weapons see Blair, 1974, nos. 29 and 77. A775|1|1|Parrying dagger, made up of a flattened, cylindrical pommel, with button, chased in low relief with entwined strapwork enclosing two small figures, and gilt; spirally fluted grip bound with gilt-copper wire; curved guard inclined outwards, broadening and terminating in disks; single side-ring, the guard is chased with strapwork like the pommel; blade of flattened diamond section and faceted ricasso. The point has been damaged. The metal of the whole hilt is fire-gilt.

German ( ?), about 1585-1620. A776|1|1|Parrying dagger, made up of a faceted, cylindrical pommel with moulded button; original leather-bound grip of oblong section; curved guard with slight outward bend, of octagonal section thickening towards the ends; single side-ring; the whole of plain blued steel; blade of strong diamond section vertically ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso pierced and flattened on the reverse side (for the thumb).

About 1610; nationality uncertain. A777|1|1|Parrying dagger, composed of an openwork pommel, formed of two addorsed C-shaped scrolls, small spherical button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight guard of flattened hexagonal section, widening towards the ends; side-ring of closed C-shape; all of plain steel formerly blackened; blade of flattened diamond section with square ricasso decorated with etched masks and arabesques on a gilt ground, the letter R deeply impressed on one side. The metal of the whole hilt has been hatched and bears traces of silver plating.

Compare the dagger A778.

German ( ?), about 1610-20. A778|1|1|Parrying dagger, comprised of a spherical pommel with elongated, turned button; vertically fluted grip bound with silver wire; guard alternately curved upwards and downwards, of circular section, ending in turned vase shaped knobs; small, rounded shell-guard; all of plain steel formerly blued. Blade of diamond section (cracked through defective forging) with square ricasso decorated with birds and scrollwork on a gilt, etched and granulated ground. The letter P is deeply stamped on one side. Compare the dagger A777.

About 1610-20; nationality uncertain.

De Beaumont catalogue, no. 86.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A779|1|1|Parrying dagger with scabbard, made up of a cylindrical pommel of octagonal section with spherical button; square, wire-bound grip (probably modern); bold, curved guard with slight outward bend, oblong in section and widening towards the ends; single-side-ring; the whole of plain blued steel. Blade of diamond section, strongly ridged, fluted and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb.

Scabbard covered with black leather and mounted with a locket and chape of plain blued steel, the locket carries a pocket for the steel on one side and an oval belt loop on the other. The sharpening-steel is tapered so that it can also be used as an awl.

Possibly North European, about 1610. A780|1|1|Parrying dagger, made up of a spherical pommel with flat button, chiselled on each side with a female head against a ruff within a circle; wire-bound grip of oblong section with grooved mount at either end; curved guard with slight outward bend, of oval section chiselled with acanthus leaves and terminating in lobated ends containing heads like those on the pommel; side-ring, again with a head, enclosing a pierced filling; the mounts formerly blued. Blade of diamond section, strongly ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb (the blade had been wrongly remounted on the reverse side).

Possibly North European, about 1610. A781|1|1|Parrying dagger, composed of a flattened, cylindrical pommel with spherical button; diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; large, curved guard with slight outward bend, the ends shaped and chiselled as dog's heads; single side-ring enclosing an oval plate chiselled in relief and pierced to the shape of vine leaves. The pommel and guards are ornamented with running vines, containing on the pommel a squirrel and a bird chiselled in low relief on gilt ground; blade of diamond section, with slightly hollowed facets; along the edges of the ricasso is inscribed:

. DREIS .

. KИEIИ .

and stamped on one side with a mark comprising the letters D K in the form of a merchant's mark.

German, about 1610.

Provenance : Sir S. Meyrick (Skelton, 1830, II, pl. CX, no. 11. A782|1|1|Dagger with scabbard, comprising a faceted oviform pommel with small button; wire-bound grip of oval section; short guard of octagonal section with slight horizontal curve and swelling at the ends; small single side-ring; all the mounts being of plain russeted steel; blade of diamond section with strong square ricasso; scabbard covered with black leather in fragmentary condition; faceted locket of russeted steel with loop, or D, diagonally placed; faceted ferrule ending in a knob; a byknife with horizontal, drop-shaped pommel (incised with a stylised face) and flat, single-edged blade, fitted into a opening in the locket.

German (?), about 1610.

Provenance: ? E. Juste aîne (Une dague Allemande noire avec couteau, 500 fr.; receipted Bill, 17 June, 1867); ? Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A783|1|1|Parrying dagger with scabbard, made up of a flattened oviform pommel bisected horizontally by a deep groove; spherical button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; guard of flat section, curved alternately upwards and downwards, widening at the ends; single side-ring; the mounts all of blued steel incised with chevrons and dots; blade of diamond section sharply ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb; scabbard, covered with black velvet, the locket (with loop and pocket for a knife) and ferrule of blued steel with vertical flutings.

The top and bottom of the pommel, the guard terminals, and the centre of the side-ring are chiseled and incised with very stylised leaves.

North European, about 1610-20.

Provenance: (?) E. Juste aîne (Une do. [dague noire] lame fine striée et repercée à jour, 200 fr.; receipted bill, 21 October, 1868); (?) Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A784|1|1|Parrying dagger, made up of a faceted cylindrical pommel with turned button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; curved guard with outward bend, of octagonal section and thickening towards the ends; square escutcheon, or block; side-ring; the whole of plain steel formerly blued; blade of diamond section ridged, fluted and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb.

About 1615; nationality uncertain. A785|1|1|Parrying dagger, made up of a flat pommel of fleur-de-lys form, with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; large, curved guard of flattened section, with the ends turned slightly outwards; single side-ring; the parts of the hilt on the exterior chased with panels of conventional fruits and flowers, the inner side plain; blade sharply ridged in the centre and having four pierced grooves, the ricasso flattened on the inner side for the thumb. The centre of the front of the pommel and the centre of the side-ring are each encrusted with a small face in silver.

German ( ?), about 1600-10.

Norman & Barne, 1980, pp. 260 and 373. De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 84 and pl. 3.

Provenance; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A very similar dagger was in the Consul Hans Leiden collection, sold Lempert, Cologne, 19-21 June 1934, lot 557, repr. in cat., while another is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.05199). The decoration of A785 is very similar to that of A808. A786|1|1|Dagger, composite, made up of a flattened, spherical pommel of steel chiselled in relief with the recumbent figure of Mars, or alternatively the personification of fire on one side and trophies on the other; button; grip of oval section bound with leather and reinforced with vertical steel straps and a collar at either end; short guard with slight outward bend, chiselled in the round as torsos; flattened side-ring chiselled with a recumbent figure; the escutcheon with a turbaned figure on one side and a monkey or satyr on the other; blade of diamond section, strongly ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side.

Hilt North European, about 1645-50; blade about 1600.

The guard is presumably from a light sword. All of the parts in fact are probably associated. The figure on the pommel appears to derive from a plaque of about 1611 by Caspar Enderlein (1560-1633), on which the figure represents ‘Fire’ (an example is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. 986-1907). It is possible of course that both depend on a common source. It has been suggested that the Enderlein plaque derives from a figure on a piece of pewter of 1580 by François Briot (c. 1550- c. 1620), which is itself based on an engraving of Mars by Etienne Delaune. (I. Weber, Deutsche, niederländische and französische Renaissanceplaketten, 1975, no. 746.2; A. Radcliffe, letter of 3 December 1982). A787|1|1|Parrying dagger, made up of a flattened, oviform pommel and button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; guard, alternately curved upwards and downwards, of flat section widening towards the ends, with side-ring of plain steel; blade of diamond section with a single, pierced central groove, the ricasso triply grooved and pierced.

About 1600-25; nationality uncertain. A788|1|1|Parrying dagger, composed of a fluted, cylindrical pommel; copper wire-bound grip; curving guard of circular section swelling at the ends; single side-ring, the whole encrusted with silver piqué ornament on a blued ground; blade of diamond section, sharply ridged, with five grooves, the central groove deeply cut and pierced, the ricasso flattened on the reverse side for placement of the thumb.

German or Italian, about 1610

The encrusting of the pommel and guard, although of the same general type, differ in arrangement and the two parts must therefore be associated. The pattern of decoration on the guard is the same as that on nos. A563 and 800. A789|1|1|Parrying dagger, comprised of a pear-shaped pommel with button; oval, leather and wire-bound grip; straight guard slightly curved outwards, broadening at the ends; single side-ring; the hilt parts decorated with seated and reclining figures and trophies of arms, of silver chiselled in relief on a granulated and gilt ground; blade of flattened diamond section, trebly grooved, the ricasso engraved with conventional leaves.

Skelton II, pl. CX, fig. 13.

Pommel Italian (?), about 1550-60; guard probably 19th century; blade late 16th century. A790|1|1|Parrying dagger of King Henri IV of France. The hilt is made of blued steel finely overlaid in gold and inlaid with plaques of mother-of-pearl and comprises a flattened, oviform pommel with button, decorated with a fleur-de-lys, a crowned H, and the monograms M M (Marie de Médicis); on either side are oval medallions of mother-of-pearl representing a hand grasping a palm and the Pierced Hand (?); they are inscribed respectively:

I E RE[SIST] E · A · LA · FORCE
PRVDENCE MESVRE LA · [FI]N DE TOVTE CHOSE

Grip of oval section, overlaid with delicate arabesques and Maltese crosses, and inset on either side with four mother-of-pearl medallions; these represent, on the one side, a crowned H, a palm branch, an olive branch (?), and the lilies of France; on the other, a dagger with the letters H III (no doubt an error of the engraver for H IIII), a palm and olive branch, and the arms of Navarre; single side-ring and curved guard, ending in oval terminals, inlaid on one side with mother-of-pearl medallions representing trophies, and inscribed in gold:

A CET HENRY VAINQVEVR
LES ASTRES PLVS FIDELLES
DEPARTENT LE BONHEVR
ORDINAIRE AVX MERVEILLE[S]

(To this Henri vanquisher
The astral bodies most faithful
Give the goodwill
Common to such marvels)

The other side is inlaid with the letter H crowned, the monograms M M and H H. The two-edged blade has a short, flat ricasso, inlaid with gold, with the royal cypher crowned on one side, and on the other a monogram of the initial H, four sceptres in saltire and a sword in pale. An applied band of russet steel running the entire length of the blade on either side inscribed, on the one side, with the double H crowned, and the following verse:

IVPITER ET VENVS SONT DHEVREVSE INFLVENCE
SATVRN AVEC[Q]VES MARS TRES MALIGNS ET PERVERS
[MER]CVR ET SOLEIL ET A LVNE EN PVISSANCE
MEDIOCRES TOVSIOVRS GOVERNENT LVNIVERS

(Jupiter and Venus are of beneficial influence
Saturn with Mars very malign and perverse
Mercury and the Sun and the Moon have little strength
always govern the universe.)

On the other side are inset seven mother-of-pearl medallions representing the fleur-de-lys radiant and other emblems of the Order of the Holy Ghost, and the motto:

VICTORIA REGIS

This dagger, together with its companion rapier, was given by the City of Paris on the 13 December 1600, to Henry IV of France upon his marriage to Marie de Médicis. The rapier also bears the verse: A cet Henry...Merveilles, a list of the principal victories of the King, and the inscription, amongst others:

LE ROI HENRI DE BOURBON IIII DE CE NOM PAR LA
GRACE DE DIEU ROY DE FRANCE ET DE NAVARRE
ET DE MONTMELIANT ET MAITRE DE SALUCE LE
13 DE DESEMBRE EPOUSA MARIE DE MEDICI

The companion rapier was in the Musée des Souverains (no. 99, pp. 158-60), and is now in the Musée de l'Armée. (Robert, J.380; Phototypie Berthaud, no. 89; Mariaux, pl. XIII).
A790 was lot 1 in the sale of the collection of M. Norzy (Lugt, Répertoire, no. 37090) at the Hotel Drouot in Paris, 9-10 February 1877, when it was bought by Sir Richard Wallace for 12,500 fr.

French, about 1598-1600.

Laking, European Armour III, p. 300; IV, p. 313, fig. 1376.

Napoleon I took the rapier with him in his carriage on his travels.

The monograms on the pommel include a V and an inverted V in monogram, and two Vs overlapping like a W. On both the dagger and the companion sword in Paris most of the mother-of-pearl medallions have been replaced, judging by their workmanship, at several different dates. On the hilts only those chiseled in low relief are original; in this case only those on the forward arm of the guard and the pommel. All those on the blade of A790 also appear to be replacements. The blade has been broken and, to repair it, has been sandwiched between two plates welded to the tang.
Henri took the throne of France in 1589, the first of the Bourbon line of French kings. He was one of his country’s most popular monarchs, a ruler who was generally regarded as caring greatly for the well-being of his subjects. His reign was also distinguished by increased religious tolerance, a remarkable reform in the wake of the religious wars which devastated France in the sixteenth century. However, this generous and progressive stance angered religious hardliners and in 1610 Henri was stabbed to death by a Catholic fanatic.

It is not known when this dagger was separated from the rapier to which it belongs, but it may have been in the early nineteenth century, since the rapier alone later became one of the treasured possessions of Napoleon Bonaparte, who carried it with him on campaign, as a kind of talisman. The dagger meanwhile somehow found its way onto the Paris art market, before being purchased by Sir Richard Wallace in 1877. Sir Richard bought very few weapons after his great outlay in 1871, when most of his arms and armour collection was formed. He was however especially interested in objects which could be associated with famous historical figures. A791|1|1|Parrying dagger and scabbard, the hilt composed of an oviform pommel with button; grooved, wire-bound grip; curved guard of flattened section widening at the ends; single side-ring, all the metal parts inlaid in gold with grotesque birds and animals, candelabra (?), and trophies on a matt ground, punched and plated with silver.

The blade is of diamond section, the facets hollowed and etched with scrollwork.

The scabbard is made of wood covered with black leather (broken at the point), with the metal locket decorated like the hilt, and including in gold an S fermée, a rebus signifying Fermesse, loyalty to one's word; iron loop at the back for suspension.

Italian (?), about 1590-1610.

Possibly illustrated in a dealer's photograph in the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, apparently priced at 200 fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A792|1|1|Parrying dagger, of an unsually large size, the hilt made up of a twelve-fluted, pear-shaped pommel (associated), with button; wire-bound grip; curved guard of hexagonal section, scrolled at the ends; single side-ring; the metal parts of the hilt overlaid in gold with delicate arabesques enclosing trophies suspended on ribbons; at the end of the hilt is the letter V.

The long, ridged blade is of diamond section with four sharp grooves.

Italian (?), about 1590.

L' Art Ancien I, no. 26; De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 102

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A793|1|1|Parrying dagger and scabbard, the hilt of the dagger made up of a hollow, flattened, cylindrical pommel, with button, pierced and chiselled with strapwork loops enclosing small equestrian figures; diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; curved guard pierced and chased with recumbent figures and terminating in pierced disks containing busts; single side-ring, pierced and decorated like the guard.

The blade is of diamond section, the ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark, the letters:

M.
A

Scabbard of wood bound with black tooled leather, the locket of chiselled steel decorated with a strapwork panel enclosing a standing male figure; steel loop for suspension at the back. The ferrule of steel, chiselled on one side with foliage. The associated chape is decorated in a completely different style to the locket and hilt.

Possibly German, about 1590-1600.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 95 and pl. 2; Lièvre, Musée Graphique.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1918.

L' art ancien, I, 26; Lièvre, Musées et collections, 2 Sér., pl. 4; Collections célèbres, pl. 13; Musée graphique, pl. 2. Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A gilt pommel of similar form and identical decoration is on the dagger worn by Sir Walter Raleigh in the portrait of him with his son, painted in 1602 (National Portrait Gallery, London, no. 3914). A794|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt being composed of a ten-fluted, oviform pommel; copper wire-bound grip; small curved guard of octagonal section ending in hexagonal, fluted knobs en suite with the pommel; single side-ring attached to a rectangular block, with fluted knob in the centre; the hilt is fully gilt.

The narrow blade is of equilateral diamond section with ricasso, almost square in section, deeply stamped on one side with a cross which resembles that upon the rapier, no. 566.

About 1580; origin uncertain.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 91.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke; William Meyrick (Illustrated catalogue, 1861, pl. 67 right). A795|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a flattened, cylindrical pommel, with button; fluted, wire-bound grip; curved guard of flattened oval section widening at the ends; single side-ring; the metal parts of the hilt chiselled in low relief with panels of horsemen in combat, the intervening surfaces incised with scrolled foliage on a matt ground.

The blade has a sharp and pronounced central ridge and a strong diamond section at the pinched point, with six pierced grooves, the ricasso indented on the inner side for placement of the user’s thumb.

About 1580-1620; nationality uncertain. A797|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a plain cylindrical pommel with large button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; unusually long guard of circular section, swelling towards the ends and curved towards the blade; single side-ring; the whole hilt is blackened but otherwise plain and undecorated.

The stiff, wavy blade has a single, deep groove pierced with groups of triple holes; the point is pinched and strongly reinforced; the ricasso three short grooves and is flattened on the reverse side for placement of the thumb.

Italian, c. 1600. A798|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a cylindrical pommel (with button), chiselled with a frieze of mounted warriors; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; short, straight guard of circular section swelling at the ends; single side-ring; the whole hilt has been decorated with figures in combat and conventional flowers roughly chiselled in low relief on a blackened ground.

The blade is of flat diamond section with a central groove deeply cut and pierced; the ricasso triply grooved and pierced.

About 1610-20; region of origin uncertain.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 371.

A sword hilt with comparable decoration is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 1623). For a note on the subsidiary incised decoration, see A808. A799|1|1|Dagger, the hilt composed of a small pommel of rounded, quadrilateral section chiselled with classical heads in low relief and encrusted with silver foliage; wire-bound grip; short, curved guard of flat section widening at the end; single side-ring; all decorated with profile heads and silver foliage like the pommel, on a matt ground.

The blade of diamond section has a ricasso of flat octagonal section.

The grip, although old, is too large for this hilt. The silver encrusted heads on the ends of the guard are probably replacements.

About 1600-10; nationality unknown.

L' Art Ancien, V, 591; Lièvre, Collections célèbres 1866, pl. 31, Musées et Collections, 3rd Series.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer. A800|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a fluted oviform pommel (associated) with button; silver, doubly wire-bound grip; curved guard, round in section, terminating in oviform knobs; single side-ring. The metal parts of the hilt are decorated with wavy lines, dots and interlaced bands of silver on a black ground; sharply ridged blade with four pierced grooves, the edges serrated (the teeth pointing back to the hilt), and spear-shaped point; a leather washer, to ease the contact of the hilt with the locket of the scabbard, remains.

Italian (?), about 1605

The serrated edges were probably intended to prevent an adversary from grasping the weapon. The ricasso has been flattened for the thumb on the outer instead of the inner side, an indication that the blade has been remounted and the hilt reversed.

The encrusting of the pommel and guard, although of the same general type, differ in arrangement and the two parts must therefore be associated. The pattern on the guard is the same as that on A563 and A788.

For possible sale history see A773. A801|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a small, oviform pommel having ten facets, with button; wire-bound grip (restored); straight guard of flattened hexagonal section widening towards the ends; single side-ring. All the metal parts on the hilt are inlaid with gold arabesques of great delicacy; sharply ridged blade (of diamond section at the point) with four pierced grooves.

Italian, about 1610.

L' Art Ancien V, no. 590.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865. A802|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of an olive-shaped pommel with flat button; wire-bound grip, square in section; guard curved alternately upwards and downwards, of hexagonal section terminating in oviform knobs; square-shaped escutcheon, or block, with side-ring, moulded in the centre with an olive-shaped knob, all the guards are of plain blued steel.

Blade of diamond section strongly ridged, fluted, with two lines of piercings on either side of the central ridge, the edges slightly wavy; the ricasso is flattened on the reverse side for the thumb. The blade appears to be too narrow for this hilt.

About 1610; hilt probably German or Dutch. A803|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt composed of a flattened, spherical pommel chiselled with recessed circles and lozenges in low relief, with button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; curved guard with slight outward bend, of octagonal section and terminating in knobs chiselled with concentric circles; single side-ring.

Blade of diamond section, the ricasso with a shallow hollow and stamped on either side with a small bladesmith's mark of a common Italian type.

Hilt about 1570-80; blade (?) Italian.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 371. De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 96.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A804|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a flattened cylindrical pommel and button made in one piece; vertically ribbed, wire-bound grip; straight guard of flat section widening towards the ends into spatulate terminals; single side-ring. All of the parts of the hilt are decorated with conventional flowers and foliage etched upon a plain ground.

The blade, square in section, sharply ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb.

About 1610; place of origin uncertain. A805|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a spherical pommel surmounted by a small cap with button; diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight, spatulate guard of flat section widening towards the ends; single side-ring. The hilt mounts are decorated with conventional flowers and foliage etched upon a plain gilt ground.

The blade is square in section, sharply ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for placement of the thumb.
Italian, about 1610.

Scabbard of wood covered in green velvet and mounted with a locket and chape of steel with silver decoration matching the hilt. A suspension loop has been fitted to the rear surface of the locket.

The style of encrusting suggests a date of about 1600 or later, but the pommel is of a type fashionable in the third quarter of the 16th century. Compare the decoration of A554-7 and A796. A807|1|1|Parrying dagger and scabbard, the hilt of the dagger made up of a faceted, conical pommel, flattened at the top, with button; wire-bound grip of hexagonal section; double curving 'crab-claw' guard (one pair inside the other), the larger with slight outward bend, of hexagonal section and curled ends; side-ring with fluted shell behind it. The whole hilt is of plain blued steel.

The stout blade is of diamond section with hollowed facets, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb and stamped with the mark of a cross. The shell, which is shaped like a cockle-shell and curved towards the pommel, is fitted between the grip and the guard and is secured only by the tightness of the parts.

Scabbard of wood covered with plain black leather and mounted with a locket with diagonal loop, and chape.

Italian, possibly second quarter of the 17th century.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 136.

Provenance: ? Louis Carrand (Une petite dague italienne dite main gauche, munie de son fourreau, la garde et les garnitures mises en couleur d' eau du temps, 3,300 fr. with une Paix gothique (no. III-295), receipted bill, 17 April, 1868); ? Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Compare the mark on the knife, A902. For comparable weapons see Boccia and Coelho (1975, figs. 579-81) which they date about 1620-30. Compare also the hilts of swords A599 and A605, and dagger A841. A808|1|1|Parrying dagger, of exceptional quality, the hilt made up of a hexagonal-cylinder pommel, with button; diagonally fluted grip, tapering to the pommel, and bound with copper wire; large, curved guard of oblong section, bent forward and terminating in disks; single side-ring. The hilt is of blued steel with oval panels of fruit and masks chased in low relief.

The blade is of flattened diamond section, deeply grooved down the centre, with a triple groove at the ricasso, the grooving pierced and decorated with delicate patterns, engrailed borders, etched and gilt.

Scabbard of wood covered with black velvet (worn) and mounted with a locket and ferrule of blued steel, decorated like the hilt; at the back a loop (diagonally placed) for suspension; there is a pocket for a small knife or pricker (now missing).

German, about 1585-1610.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 373.

Provenance: E. Juste (Dague noire avec garniture de fourreau, lame striée et repercée à jour, 300 fr.; receipted bill, 1 October 1869, but purchase dated 29 April); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Compare the chasing of the hilt A593.

The decoration of A785 is very similar. Another very similar dagger and scabbard is in the Musée du Louvre (inv. no. P325-348). One or other may be the dagger complete with knife, formerly in the Meyrick Collection (Skelton, II, pl. CX, no. 12). This type of decoration occurs on a sword hilt in the Electoral Armoury at Dresden, known to have been given to the Elector Christian I in 1580, as well as on the hilt of the sword, also at Dresden, of Joachim Friedrich of Brandenburg, which according to the 1671 Inventory had been his while he was Administrator of Halle, that is between 1566 and 1598 (Historisches Museum, 1899 cat., nos. E251 and E288 respectively). The second of these has been attributed to Othmar Wetter (Haenel, 1923, pl. 56 f). For a note on this type of decoration see also A589. It occurs also on A608, 618, 619, 620, 622, 785 and 798. A809|1|1|Dagger, of monumental form. The hilt is composed of five pieces of bovine horn; the grip of square section, architectural in design, the base and capital (pommel) decorated with acanthus leaves in low relief and topped with a ball; secured to the tang by a diamond-shaped, brass washer; short guard of oblong section ending in scrolls; curved shell-guard; heavy blade triangular in section, and back-edged, with strong, forward cutting edge, and with a narrower, chamfered edge on the other side. The ricasso and the chamfered edge are etched with arabesques and inscriptions heavily gilt:

ASSES · BIEN · FAICT · ET · PAR · SAISON
(He does well enough and in season)

QVI · FAICT · SON · FAICT / TOVT · PAR · RAYSON
(Who does his deed all by reason)

TV · FVRIE · CEDAS · CEDENDO · VICTOR · ABIBIS
(Yield thou to madness, by yielding thou shalt go away victor)

ESPOIR · NA · LIEV · OVFORTVNE · DOMINE
(Hope has no place where chance is master)

On the back of the blade:
DE · PEV · A · PEV
(From little to little)

and on the edge of the ricasso:
A B T

There are traces of a mark (?), but these are more likely the remains of engraved decoration.
French, second half of the 16th century.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 87 and no. 107; Viollet-le-Duc, V, pp. 320-2.
Provenance: Louis Carrand (une dague française à manche de corne et à lame gravée à inscriptions et doré, 1,000 fr.; receipted bill, 13 April 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
This class of cutlery is discussed by C. Blair (1974, no. 61). A811|1|1|Dagger, made up of a trilobate pommel, like the head of a demi-fleur-de-lys; hexagonal horn grip with shoulder; small, steel guard slightly curved and ending in prominent, spirally fluted knobs; blade of diamond section for most of its length and back-edged near the hilt.

Probably German, about 1530.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 89.
Provenance: E. Juste? (Dague à quillons recourbés se terminant en boules, 150 fr.; receipted bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A similar dagger is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 26.145.70; Dean, Daggers, 1929, no. 99, pl. XXXVII, but captioned as no. 98). Another with a very similar hilt, found in the River Limmat at Zurich, is in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum (1980 cat., no. 462). A812|1|1|Dagger, the steel hilt made up of a flat, disk-shaped pommel decorated with petals in relief; very short guard, the rosette-shaped ends of which are bent parallel to the blade; horn grip rusticated in squared facets, the centres of which are spotted with pewter nails.

The blade is of diamond section, stiff and with the point strongly reinforced; short, doubly grooved ricasso, on which a maker's mark, the letter R, is inlaid in copper alloy.
Swiss or German, about 1530-40.
De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 85; Viollet-le-Duc, V, p. 319.
Provenance: E. Juste (Dague de XVe siècle à manche en corne sculptée à noeuds comme celui de la dague du Musée de Dijon, 300 fr.; receipted bill, 16 June, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The mark of the letter R also occurs on the Landsknecht daggers A752 and A777, and two Swiss daggers of 'Holbein' type in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Dean, cat. of daggers, nos. 12 and 15), the former, ex-Reubell Collection, being dated 1567; and on a dagger formerly in the Cozens-Smith Collection.

A like dagger is in the Musée de Dijon (Dijon, no. 1491, p. 423); another in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (no. W1758 reproduced by Hefner-Alteneck, Waffen, Taf. 59), the find site is unfortunately unknown. A series of five daggers in the Musée de l' Armée (Robert, II, J783-7, pp. 172-3 and pl. 10, S 134) also bear, with one exception, the letter R as a maker's mark. One is dated 1561, another 1563.

What is probably a pommel of this type is represented in the portrait of Friedrich Rorbach, painted by Conrad Faber in 1532 (Art Institute of Chicago, no. 1935-296). A814|1|1|Dagger, a modern composite, the hilt, from a light dress sword, made up of a hollow, round pommel (with button) of steel, chiselled with foliage and the head of a grotesque animal on either side; diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; short guard chiselled as winged dragons, pierced, their heads turned outwards.

Blade of flattened diamond section with central pierced groove; the ricasso trebly grooved and pierced; a leather washer, for easing contact with the scabbard, remains. Compare A819, which is of a very similar design.

Hilt Italian (?), about 1640; blade probably about 1600.

Provenance: A. Beudereley (?) (Une dague en fer avec figures et monstres fantastiques, 1,500 fr.; receipted bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke (?)

The hilts of A814 and A819 are so nearly identical in design that they must be co-eval.

A very similar hilt is in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (no. 1878. 52.7), another was in the Consul H. Leiden sale, Lempert, Cologne, 19- 21 June 1934, lot 600, repr. in cat. A similar hilt on a light sword blade was lot 54 in the Fayet sale, Pillet & Delange, Paris, 29- 30 April 1870, repr. in cat. Probably all these hilts were originally for light dress swords. A813|1|1|Dagger, the hilt made up of a hollow pommel shaped as a triangular canopy and having inside it a small baluster; vertically channelled grip bound with copper wire; short curved guard, ending in open knobs shaped like the pommel, the arms issue from a curved block; all the parts are skillfully chased in relief with trophies of arms, cannons, etc., on a matt gilt ground.
The blade of flattened triangular section, with central groove wholly pierced for most of its length, the double groove on the ricasso also pierced, the piercings varied by decorative holes.

Probably entirely 19th century.

Illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 300 fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A815|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt comprised of a conical pommel of ridged, hexagonal section, with fleur-de-lys chased in low relief; oval, wire-bound grip; short, curved guard, the arms issuing from a square block, the ends widening and scrolled, the surface chiselled as foliage.

The blade of diamond section sharply ridged, deep central groove pierced, the ricasso doubly grooved and flattened on the inner side for placement of the thumb.

Hilt Italian, about 1540-45; blade probably later.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 93.

Provenance: A. Beurdeley (?) (Une dague en fer poignée ciselée, 3,000 fr. (with other pieces); receipted bill, 24 June, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. This may, however, refer to A865 or others. A816|1|1|Dagger, the hilt made up of a fluted, spherical pommel, with button; wire-bound grip of oblong section; outward-curving guard, fluted and terminating in knobs like the pommel; oblong guard block; all of blackened steel.

Blade of flattened diamond section, with triple-fluted ricasso, reinforced point.

About 1580; region of origin uncertain. A817|1|1|Dagger and scabbard, designed to evoke and complement the ‘puffed and slashed’ style of Renaissance dress. The hilt is comprised of a hollow pommel diagonally slashed; grip of baluster form also slashed in two of three sections; short guard consisting of knobs shaped and slashed like the pommel; oblong guard-block; the centre hilt of russeted steel overlaid in gold with leaves. The blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso also overlaid with gold leaves.

Scabbard of wood covered with green velvet, the locket and chape decorated with diagonal piercings and strawberry leaves overlaid like the hilt.
Italian, about 1550.

Asselineau, pl. 18; L' Art Ancien I, no. 26 (de Courval) ; Norman and Barne 1980, pp. 59 and 358-9; Lièvre, Musées et collections, 2 sér., pl. 4; Lièvre, Collections célèbres, pl. 13; Lièvre, Musée Graphique, pl. 12; De Beaumont Catalogue, nos. 92 and 105 and pl. 2.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1909 (Nieuwerkerke).

Provenance: Moreau, Vicomte de Courval (sold Paris, 17-18 April, 1860, lot 58, 325 fr.); Comte de Nieuwerkerke; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

A sword with similar slashed and baluster hilt previously in the Hearst collection was bought for him at Fischer's, Lucerne, 7-8 May 1935, lot 7, repr. in cat. It later passed into the collection of Otto von Kienbusch (cat., no. 361, pl. C), and is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

King Philip II of Spain, in his portrait in civilian dress by Titian, painted about 1554, is wearing a sword and dagger with hilts of this type (Capodimonte, Galleria Nazionale, cat., no. 127). Very similar decoration of gold ivy leaves on steel appear on the hilt of an unknown man in a portrait by Gianbattista Moroni, of about 1555-9 (Metropolitan Museum, New York, no. 30.95.238). If one can believe Benvenuto Cellini, the use, in gold overlay as on A817, of ivy or bryony leaves, which are very similar in shape, as opposed to acanthus foliage, is an indication of Lombard work, as opposed to that of Tuscany or Rome (R. H. H. Cust, The Life of Benvenuto Cellini, I, 1927, pp. 112-13). This is confirmed by the similar leaves overlaid in gold on the hilt and ricasso of a rapier in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden, which bears the marks of an unidentified Milanese swordsmith (Schöbel, 1975, pl. 85b). A818|1|1|Dagger, a moderm composite, the hilt, belonging to a child’s dress sword, is composed of a round pommel, eight-sided; diagonally fluted, wire-bound grip; short guard of oblong section, slightly forward-curving, the ends thickened. The arms of the guard issue from a guard-block of flattened octagonal section; pommel and guard are delicately chased with floral patterns in low relief, black on a matt gilt ground, the knobs of the pommel and guard are tipped with rosettes.

The sharply ridged blade is doubly grooved and pierced on either side of the central ridge.

The blade probably Italian or German, c. 1615, the hilt probably French, c. 1660.

A comparable hilt is worn by the young Henri-Jules de Bourbon, duc d'Enghien, in the portrait of him and his father painted, probably early in 1662, by Claude Lefebvre, now at Versailles (inv. no. MV8449). A819|1|1|Dagger, a modern composite, the hilt, from a light dress sword, is composed of pommel and guard with grotesques very similar in design to those of A814. The grip however is in this case shorter and of oval section bound with copper-iron wire, and not spirally fluted.

The blade is of flattened diamond section, the single groove wholly pierced except at the centre, the strong ricasso triply grooved and widening towards the hilt.

The pommel and quillons are almost identical to those of A814, although overlaid in gold wire in addition. The hilts of these two pieces are so nearly identical in design that they must be co-eval.

Hilt Italian ( ?), about 1640; blade probably about 1600.

A very similar hilt is in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (no. 1878. 52.7), another was in the Consul H. Leiden sale, Lempert, Cologne, 19-21 June 1934, lot 600, repr. in cat. A similar hilt on a light sword blade was lot 54 in the Fayet sale, Pillet and Delange, Paris, 29-30 April 1870, repr. in cat. Probably all these hilts were originally for light dress swords. A820|1|1|Dagger, a modern composition, the hilt, from a light dress sword, is made up of a flattened, spherical pommel of steel, chiselled with intricate combats and grotesques in high relief, the button is quatrefoil in section; interlaced, wire-bound grip of oval section; short, spatulate guard, with an oval shell-guard at the side. The whole hilt is blackened and decorated in low relief with recumbent classical figures and musicians; a castle and a village are portrayed on the inner side of the guard.

Blade of diamond section, from a parrying dagger, deeply grooved and pierced in the centre, the ricasso flattened on the inner side for placement of the thumb.

The guard is from a light dress sword of about 1650. The transversally elongated shell-guard fitted on the guard-block outside the hand is turned towards the blade. The buildings in the decoration are of distinctively North European type. The associated pommel probably comes from a small-sword similar to A685, but of a lower quality.

Pommel, possibly French; guard North European, both about 1650; blade probably about 1600.

A comparable hilt, but with human terminal figures forming the guard, is on a sword in the Danish Royal Collection (Rosenborg, no. 27). The 1696 Royal Inventory describes it as the rapier of Frederik III (1609-70). A821|1|1|Parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a pommel of chiselled steel in the form of a stylised black African head wearing a circlet of silver, and with silver piqué dots on a blackened ground; silver and iron wire-bound grip of oblong section; short, straight guard of chiselled steel, ending in heads like the pommel, the escutcheon chiselled with medallion heads on low relief.

Blade of diamond section, strongly ridged, grooved and pierced, the ricasso flattened on one side for the thumb.

Possibly Italian, mid-17th century.

African heads are not an uncommon motif on European weapons. Compare the rapier A632. A similar dagger was once the possession of Dr. Hermann Williams of the Corcoran Gallery, Washington (current location unknown).

A similar hilt on a light sword blade was in a Danish private collection in 1979 (Southwick, Antique edged weapons, 1982, pl. 131). A similar dagger is in the Harding Collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (no. 1547), and another in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. No. 2776). For pommels of this type see Norman and Barne 1980, p. 276. A822|1|1|Dagger, composite, comprised of a faceted, olive-shaped pommel of octagonal section, with button; wire-bound grip of circular section (renewed); short, flat guard, the ends rounded; both pommel and guard are decorated with conventional foliage encrusted in silver on a matt and russeted ground.

The blade is of diamond section with oblong ricasso, which is decorated like the hilt, the rest of the blade being etched throughout with flowing conventional foliage.

Pommel and grip associated, 19th century; guard English, about 1625-35.
Provenance: William Meyrick (Illustrated catalogue, 1861, pl. 65 right, without grip and with associated pommel).

The guard comes from an English dagger of the type discussed in Laking, Record, III, pp. 47-8, and fig. 822; in Trenchard, Antique Collector, 1937, pp. 81-3; and in Blair, 1974, under no. 66. Very similar guards, probably decorated by the same hand, are in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (1904 cat., no. 16), and in the Montagu family armoury at Boughton, Northamptonshire. Dates recorded on the blades of this type cover the period 1621 to 1632. The original grip would probably have been of ivory, horn or wood, cylindrical or faceted and slightly lobated at the end further from the blade in place of a pommel. A824|1|1|Dagger, a modern composite. The hilt, from a light dress sword, is made up of a flat, oval pommel of bright steel, chased in low relief with a griffin among foliage on a granulated ground; wire-bound grip; broad, flat guard with rounded terminals, each chased with a female bust among foliage, terminating in a small button, and with a couchant lion holding a ball on the escutcheon.

The sharply ridged blade, from an early seventeenth-century parrying dagger, is of diamond section, grooved on either side of the central ridge and pierced with small round holes in groups of two and three, the ricasso is flattened on the inner side for placement of the thumb.

Pommel possibly 19th century; guard about 1640; blade probably about 1600.

The guard is probably from a light dress sword. The metal of the pommel differs in colour from that of the guards and the workmanship is quite different, nevertheless in form it is very like that on a very similar dagger, also made from a sword hilt, in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen (cat. no. C1105).

The Dassi drawings of the Uboldo Collection in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, show what may be this guard on a composite sword, under no. 117 of Armi lunghe a taglio. A825|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, composed of a flattened spherical pommel, spirally fluted, with large flat button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight guard, also spirally fluted, with rosette-shaped knobs; triangular knuckle-guard, with strongly recurved edge, pierced and chiselled with a female figure, probably Eve as she is accompanied by a snake, among scrolls of leaves, conventional flowers and a bird; blade of triangular section at the hilt, the back edge notched, converging to diamond section at the point; the broad ricasso has an oval depression for the thumb on the inner side and is pierced with two circular holes for sword-breaking; it is punched with dots to form a cross upon a mound, and stamped on one side with the maker's mark. Compare the workmanship of A828-9.

Probably third quarter of the 17th century.

A cup-hilt rapier decorated to match this dagger was sold at Christie's, 2 November 1983, lot 21, repr. in cat., and is now in the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, Australia. A826|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, composed of a flattened spherical pommel, with button, chiselled with scrolled foliage in low relief; copper wire-bound grip; straight guard, spirally fluted and chased, ending in rosette-shaped knobs; triangular knuckle-guard (screwed to the guard), pierced and chiselled with scrolled foliage and berries or grapes; the edges recurved and fluted; narrow blade of oblong section towards the hilt, changing to flattened diamond section half-way to the point; the lower part has notched edges, and is decorated with scrolled foliage; the foible is engraved on one side, and on the other inscribed:

DIDACVS ACVENCA FACIEBAT (an erasure following)
[DIDACVS A CVENCA FACIEBAT]

HOMNI AVINCID AMOR (an erasure following)
[OMNIA VINCIT AMOR]

The ricasso has an oval depression on the inner side for placement of the thumb and the outer etched with foliage; between the ricasso and the blade are two semi-circular sword-catching notches.

Hilt probably about 1675; blade Spanish (Cuenca or Toledo), probably later.

L' Art Ancien, IV, no. 567.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The maker's name would translate as Diego de Cuenca. There was a Juan de Cuenca working at Valencia in 1603, and a Francisco de Cuenca at Madrid in 1613. The erasure in the first line of the inscription probably removed a date. It does not occur in the second half of the inscription. A827|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauge’ type, comprised of a hollow, pear-shaped pommel with button, pierced and chased with foliage; hollow, steel grip of circular section, similar decorated; straight guard chased with leaves and pierced near the ends, which are finished with knobs; triangular knuckle-guard (riveted to the guard), the edges turned over, with two small shells (guardapolvo) on the inner side; the knuckle-guard is elaborately pierced and chiselled on both sides with scrolled foliage, the pommel includes a serpent, the grip a nude figure, deer and a monkey; the blade of triangular section at the hilt, the back-edge notched diagonally, changing to diamond section at the point; the flat ricasso has two holes for sword-catching and the usual oval depression on the inner side for the thumb; it is decorated with punched dots to form a cross on a mound, and stamped on each side with a maker's mark.

Spanish, probably about 1675.

A parrying dagger bearing the same mark is in the Musée de l’Armée at Brussels (former Porte de Hal collection), no. VI, 54.

This piece is of the finest quality. Compare the cross on a mound punched on the ricasso with a similar detail on A825 and 829. The guards appear to match those of the rapier A652. The pommel and grip are associated, coming originally from a walking stick. A comparable example is in the Bargello, Florence. A828|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main guache’ type, the hilt made up of a flattened, spherical pommel, with large button, engraved; spirally fluted wire-bound grip; straight cross-guard, spirally fluted, ending in rosette-shaped knobs; triangular knuckle-guard, the edge strongly recurved, pierced and chiselled with scrolls of conventional flowers, leaves and birds.

The undecorated blade is of triangular section towards the hilt, changing to diamond section half-way to the point, the back-edge notched; the strong ricasso has a hollow depression on the inner side for the thumb, the edges notched, and pierced with two holes for sword-breaking; it bears a maker's mark on one side resembling that upon the parrying dagger A829. The dagger A 825 is of similar workmanship.

Probably third quarter 17th century; hilt possibly Italian (Neapolitan?).

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 53 and pl. 4. L' art ancien, I, 26; Peterson, Daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pl. 57.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1840.

This dagger and the rapier A647, are reproduced together on plate 4 and are presumably described by De Beaumont under the same number in his catalogue (53).

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A rather similar hilt formerly in the Spitzer collection (1892 cat., vol. VI, no. 220, pl. XXXV), and now in the Detroit Institute of Arts (no. 53.216), is inscribed on the hilt LAVRENTIVS PALVMBO DE NEAPOLI FECIT 1551. The date was probably originally either 1651 or 1661. A829|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, made up of a hollow, flattened spherical pommel, with button, pierced with foliage; hollow grip of steel, similarly decorated; straight cross-guard chiselled with foliage, the ends thickened and finished with rosette-headed knobs; large, triangular knuckle-guard, pierced with scrolls of conventional leaves, the edges strongly recurved; it is screwed to the cross and furnished on the inner side with an applied triangular panel of similar, pierced decoration; blade of triangular section at the hilt, changing to diamond section half-way to the point, the back-edge notched; the broad ricasso hollowed on the inner side for the thumb, with two holes for sword-catching, punched with dots in the form of a cross on a mound; it bears a maker's mark (? a sword) resembling that upon the dagger A828, and is probably from the same hand, the notching of the back-edge being very similar. The design of the grip closely resembles that of the rapier A647; see also A825 and A827.

Spanish or Italian (Neapolitan), probably third quarter 17th century.

The workmanship and design of the pommel resemble those of the pommel of A647, while the grip resembles those of both A647 and A648. A830|1|1|Parrying dagger, of the ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt made up of a flat spherical pommel spirally fluted, with tang-button; leather-bound grip, square in section, with diagonally fluted sockets at either end; straight cross-guard, spirally fluted and ending in rosette-shaped terminals; large, triangular knuckle-guard, the edge strongly recurved, pierced and chased with scrolls of flowers and foliage.

The blade is of triangular section, the back edge notched and decorated with circles, changing to flattened diamond section at the point; flat, wide ricasso pierced with small holes for sword-catching and the cross fitchy of Santiago above a double-headed eagle on one side, the other side has an oval depression for placement of the thumb and is stamped twice with a maker's mark of a sword (?).

Spanish, probably third quarter 17th century.

Compare the double-eagle on the ricasso with that on the dagger A831. The floral ornament on the guard is large and flat.

Both on this and on A831 the double-headed eagle engraved on the ricasso is crowned.

Illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 200 fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A833|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt made up of a flattened spherical pommel with tang-button, chased with foliage; grip in square section, with vertical wavy strips on each face, bound with bands of silver wire alternately plain and plaited, steel sockets at either end; straight cross-guard spirally fluted at the ends and finishing in rosettes; triangular knuckle-guard, with solid roped edge and the broad bands of scrolled foliage and berries broadly pierced and chiselled.

The blade is of triangular section (except towards the point, where it is of diamond section), the back-edge notched towards the hilt, minutely serrated at the point, singly grooved and pierced with a row of oblong apertures between herring-bone engraving; there is a second short groove, similarly decorated, at the ricasso, which is stamped on each side with a maker's mark. There are traces of etched decoration on the blade both near the point and on the ricasso.

Spanish, probably third quarter of the 17th century.

The hilt is smaller than is typical for a dagger of this type. The blade may not belong.

Peterson, Daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pl. 56. A834|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt made up a flattened, spherical pommel with button, chiselled with flowers in low relief; oval, wire-bound grip; straight cross-guard, spirally fluted at the ends finishing in flat buttons; triangular knuckle-guard with solid, diagonally fluted edge, with broad bands of conventional foliage in scroll form pierced and broadly chiselled, surrounding a plain triangle in the centre.

The blade is of triangular section, changing to diamond section towards the point, the back-edge notched and diagonally serrated; broad, flat ricasso decorated with circles and stamped on each side with a maker's mark; two projections for sword-catching with serrated edges; the inner side of the ricasso has the usual hollow depression for the thumb. The central mark of each group consists of the letter O over T in a shield of baroque shape, all crowned.

The hilt Spanish or Italian, probably third quarter of the 17th century; blade Spanish (Toledo).

A hilt almost certainly by the same maker is on a dagger in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. J.856; Mariaux, 1927, pl. 100). Another with a knuckle-guard of identical design to A834 was in the collection of J. F. Hayward (sold Sotheby's, 1 November 1983, lot 19, repr. in cat.). A835|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt composed of a flattened spherical pommel, decorated with spirally twisted fluting and pearling; vertically fluted, wire-bound grip; long, straight cross-guard, round in section, the ends spirally fluted and finished with plain, flat buttons; triangular knuckle-guard, the flanged edge pierced and chiselled with flowers and scrolled foliage, the rest plain.

The broad blade is of flattened diamond section, the ricasso pierced with two circular holes for sword-catching and with the usual hollow depression on one side for the thumb; on the other side it is decorated with punched circles to form a cross, the edges of the ricasso fluted.

Spanish, about 1645- 55. A836|1|1|Parrying dagger, a plain example of the ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt composed of a small, flattened, spherical pommel and button; wire-bound grip of octagonal section; straight, plain cross-guard of circular section thickening towards the ends and finished with a plain button; triangular knuckle-guard, plain with turned over edges.

The blade is of triangular section changing to diamond towards the point, the back-edge notched; square ricasso bearing punched circles and a bladesmith's mark (possibly the letter F) deeply impressed on both side.

Spanish, about 1640. A837|1|1|Parrying dagger, of ‘main gauche’ type, made up of a faceted oviform pommel, with button, chased in relief with quatrefoils, crosses and scrollwork; diagonally wire-bound grip, of oval section; straight cross-guard, the ends spirally fluted and terminating in button knobs, the middle part incised with foliage on a gilt ground; triangular knuckle-guard, the border enclosing a scalloped edge, the surface decorated with a stag, hare and hounds in the lobes, and floral scrolls in the central triangle.

The blade is of triangular section, the back-edge notched, changing to flattened diamond section at the point; the ricasso engraved with small circles arranged in saltire on one side, and with two circular holes for sword-catching; on the inner side is the usual oval depression for the thumb. It is stamped on both sides with a maker's mark.

Probably Spanish, late 17th century.

There is a parrying dagger in the Real Armería, Madrid, struck with the same mark (G 154).

The decoration of the guard, made by cutting away the ground to leave the foliage and the animals in low, flat relief, is very unusual on a cup hilt. Sword hilts decorated in this way are in Malmöhus (Carlsson, Kring Malmöhus, 1970, pp. 66-73, illus. on p. 72), and in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore (no. 51.501); another was in the collection of E. Valentine (Valentine, Rapiers, nos. 38-9; sold Sotheby's, 19 February 1973, lot 232, repr. in cat.); and yet another was on the German art market in 1982 (J. H. Fricker, Historische Waffen, Katalog 1982/8, no. 133, illus.). A similar dagger was sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, 29 February-2nd March 1912, lot 124, repr. in cat., and another is illustrated in a Spanish painting of the mid-to late-17th century, A Kitchen Scene, the property of the National Trust, Penryhn Castle, N. Wales. A838|1|1|Parrying dagger, composite, of the ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt made up of an oviform pommel with scrolled foliage chased in relief; wire-bound grip; straight cross-guard, spirally fluted and finished with rosette-shaped knobs; knuckle-guard of trefoil form pierced and finely chiselled with birds and grotesque serpents among conventional leaves and berries; the edges plain.

The blade is of strong diamond section, the ricasso fluted, flattened on the inner side for the thumb, and stamped with a maker's mark, perhaps originally a crescent.

Italian (probably Neapolitan), the pommel late 17th century; the remainder probably third quarter of the 17th century.

This dagger is a modern composite. The pommel is not of the flat form usually found with this type of dagger, nor is the blade, which is four-sided and fluted at the ricasso.

A dagger, formerly in the Spitzer collection, with a guard of comparable form, is very similarly decorated, but is not apparently by the same hand (1892 cat., VI, no. 224, pl. XXXV). A840|1|1|Parrying dagger, of the ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt composed of a flattened, spherical pommel, with button, chiselled with flowers in low relief; octagonal wire-bound grip; straight cross-guard, spirally fluted, and swelling slightly towards the ends; circular, convex knuckle-guard with a pierced border of interlaced loops in the centre; it is chased with the same shield of arms as the rapier A659 (to which it belongs), surrounded by pierced ornaments of birds and scrolled foliage; the base incised with a conventional rose.

The narrow blade is of triangular section at the hilt, changing to diamond section half-way to the point; the ricasso, which is of the same breadth as the blade is stamped on each side with the letters:

A ∙ M or M ∙ V (the M could also be read as X or H)

This object may be a German imitation of the Spanish dagger type, probably made in the third quarter of the 17th century.

L' art ancien, I, 26; Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 179.De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 52 and pl. 4; Laking, Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, nos. 1841-2, with A659 (Nieuwerkerke).

European Armour V, fig. 1487.

Provenance: Joyeau (see A659); Comte de Nieuwerke. A841|1|1|Parrying dagger, of the ‘main gauche’ type, the hilt made up of a faceted oviform pommel and turned button; cord-bound grip of octagonal section; strongly curved cross-guard of diamond section scrolled at the ends and bent slightly outward; single side-ring, and triangular knuckle-guard secured to the pommel by a screw, the edge turned over the surface crudely etched with flowers on a granulated ground; the pommel and cross-guard of plain blued steel.

The stiff blade is of diamond section, the facets hollowed and the edges finely ground, short ricasso grooved and flattened on one side for the thumb.

Norman and Barne, 1980, p. 136.

Probably Italian, second quarter of the 17th century.

The knuckle-guard is of a form commonly found on daggers and a few swords of this type. See Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 579-81 and 586-90 for comparable hilts dated about 1620-30. A dagger of this type is illustrated in ‘Soldiers Fighting Over Booty’ by Willem Cornelisz Duystetter, c. 1625 (National Gallery, London, no. 1386). A842|1|1|Stiletto and scabbard, the hilt in the form of a miniature parrying dagger, made up of an oviform pommel with button; steel grip of octagonal section; straight guard, flat, and widening towards the ends; small side-ring; the entire hilt lightly overlay with scrolls of foliage in gold on a blued ground. The inner surfaces of the guard and the sides of the grip and chape are overlaid in silver with foliage scrolls.

The blade, which has been broken and repaired, is of diamond section moulded near the hilt.

Scabbard of wood covered with black leather and mounted with a locket of steel decorated like the hilt; small ring at the back for suspension; bright steel ferrule with a delicately turned tip, which is a later substitute for the original.
Probably Italian, about 1600. A843|1|1|Stiletto, in the form of a miniature parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a faceted, cone-shaped pommel and button; square, wire-bound grip; curved guard with slight outward bend, of hexagonal section with scrolled-shape ends; single side-ring; the whole of plain blued steel.

Strong blade, square in section, deeply grooved and pierced, with strong ricasso.

Probably Italian, second quarter 17th century.

The form of the pommel and the form of the knobs on the ends of the guard connect this dagger with sword hilts like A599 and 640 here. A845|1|1|Stiletto, made in the form of a miniature parrying dagger, the hilt composed of a faceted, spherical pommel and button; vertically fluted wire-bound grip; short, straight guard of hexagonal section thickening at the ends; small side-ring; the whole of plain blued steel.

The blade is square in section, strongly ridged, grooved and pierced.

West European, probably second quarter of the 17th century. A846|1|1|Stiletto, of small size, the hilt comprised of a faceted, spherical pommel with flattened button; copper wire-bound grip; short, straight guard of hexagonal section ending in small knobs; side-ring; the whole of plain steel with traces of gilding.

The blade is square in section with a baluster moulding at the hilt.

German or Italian, about 1610. A847|1|1|Stiletto, the hilt made up of a faceted, oviform pommel and button; vertically ribbed, wire-bound grip; short, straight guard of octagonal section with turned and faceted knobs; small side-ring; all the mounts being of plain steel.

The blade, square in section, has a rectangular ricasso engraved with conventional foliage and gilt.

North Italian, about 1615. A848|1|1|Stiletto and scabbard, the hilt made up of a flattened, mushroom-shaped pommel faceted, with flattened button; wire-bound grip of circular section; short, curved guard of octagonal section, thickening towards the ends; small side-ring, all the mounts being of plain blued steel.

The slender blade, square in section, has a square ricasso incised with annular ornament.

The scabbard is of triangular section, externally covered with black leather, lined inside the mouth with red velvet, mounted with a locket (with D loop diagonally placed) and ferrule of blued steel.

The scabbard is much too large for this dagger.

German (?), about 1610.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 3.

Provenance: Possibly E. Juste aîne (Une dague noire avec garniture et fourreau, 400 fr.; receipted bill, 21 October 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A849|1|1|Stiletto, of bright steel, the hilt made up of a pommel chiselled in the form of a lion's head; turned grip of baluster form, finely chased with human faces and acanthus leaves in low relief; short guard shaped as dolphins, with entwined serpents chiselled in low relief on the guard-block.

The stiff blade is of triangular section, with turned mouldings near the hilt.

Italian (Brescian), about 1650. A850|1|1|Stiletto, of bright steel, the hilt made up of a pommel chiselled in the form of a lion's head; turned grip of baluster form, finely chased with human faces and acanthus leaves in low relief; short guard shaped as dolphins, with entwined serpents chiselled in low relief on the guard-block.

The stiff blade is of triangular section, with hollow-ground concave faces.

Italian (Brescian), about 1650. A851|1|1|Stiletto, of bright steel, the pommel chiselled in the form of a lion's head; turned grip of baluster form chiselled with grapes; short guard with acorn-shaped knobs and square guard block. The entire hilt is chiselled in relief with scrolls of foliage. The blade is of triangular section, with turned mouldings at the hilt.

Italian (Brescian ?), about 1650.

? L' Art Ancien, 26.

Provenance: A. Beurdeley (une dague en fer, poignée ciselée à glands, 200 fr.; receipted bill, 30 May, 1965); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A852|1|1|Stiletto, comprised of a spherical pommel with miniature button; the grip of baluster form; short, turned guard, ending in knobs like the pommel, and square guard-block; the entire hilt chiselled in low relief, with conventional flowers and foliage; blade of flattened diamond section, each facet having six oval depressions; moulded ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark.

Compare with the stiletto A853. The two pieces are very similar but are not necessarily chiselled by the same hand. The marks differ slightly; the centre of that on A852 is blank.

Italian (Brescian), about 1660.

A very similar weapon was in the Otto Seyffer collection, sold Gutekunst, Stuttgart, 8-9 November 1887, lot 729, repr. in cat. A853|1|1|Stiletto and scabbard. The hilt composed of a flattened, spherical pommel; grip of baluster form; short guard with knobs like the pommel and square guard-block; the entire hilt of bright steel chiselled in low relief, with scrolls of conventional foliage, a monkey and grotesque animals' heads; blade of flattened diamond section, each facet has four oval depressions.

The blade has a square ricasso stamped on each side with a maker's mark; compare the stiletto A852. The two are very similar but not necessarily by the same hand.

Scabbard of wood covered with black tooled leather; steel locket, square in section, chiselled in low relief like the hilt; oval ferrule of steel roughly engraved.

Italian (Brescian), about 1660

The chape of the scabbard is a later replacement. The centre of the mark on A853 contains a trio of raised dots within a raised letter C or O. The same mark occurs on a dagger in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 26.145.13; Dean, Daggers, 1929, no. 215, pl. LXV). A854|1|1|Stiletto, comprised of a pommel shaped as a squatting apes; the grip chiselled with ascending ornament in the form of a double-headed eagle supporting a short, turned baluster; on the eagle is an oval cartouche containing a hat possibly intended for the arms of Sclavonia (or, a hat sable), the Vinidorum Marchia or Marchionatus, one of the Hapsburgs territorial coats; short guard, ending in apes like the pommel, with square guard block; the entire hilt of bright steel chiselled and pierced; blade of triangular section, with turned moulding at the hilt.

Italian (Brescian), about 1660. A855|1|1|Stiletto, the hilt formed of a grotesque figure, nude, double-armed, standing upon a grotesque head and supporting the flower-shaped pommel. The short, flat guard chiselled with parrot-like heads. The entire hilt of bright steel pierced and chiselled; the blade of triangular section, each facet deeply grooved and pierced with small holes; moulded ornament near the hilt. The guard may not be original.

Italian (Brescian ?), about 1660.

Provenance: E. de Rozière sale, Pillet and Juste, Paris, 19-21 March 1860, lot 149, repr. in cat.; illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, price uncertain (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A856|1|1|Stiletto, the grip composed of two elongated nude figures with the heads of apes, embracing, and standing upon a turned base; short guard shaped as dolphins, and square guard-block; the entire hilt of russeted steel chiselled and pierced; blade or triangular section, with turned moulding near the hilt. The moulding at the base of the blade is stamped with a mark consisting of a circle with a dot at its centre.

Italian (Brescian), about 1640. A857|1|1|Stiletto, with a mushroom-shaped pommel made of three separate sections, the top hollow and pierced with foliage, and small button; grip of baluster form and chiselled with acanthus leaves; short turned guard with knobs like the pommel; hexagonal guard-block; the entire hilt of bright steel; blade of diamond section, each facet having four oval depressions (A852). It is moulded near the hilt. The tang-button, the pierced dome and the lower part including the neck.

Italian, about 1640, or later.

A very similar dagger was in the William Meyrick Collection (Illustrated catalogue, 1861, pl. 63 right; sold Christie's, 21 February 1922, lot 20), another is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 26.145.126; Dean, Daggers, 1929, no. 213, pl. LXV). The blade of the New York dagger closely resembles that of A857.

This type of pommel and matching knobs on the ends of the guard are also found on a group of light dress swords, for instance one in the Armeria Reale, Turin, no. G130, signed GBS (Mazzini, 1982, no. 156). A858|1|1|Gunner's Stiletto, the pommel and grip of steel turned to a baluster form; short guard with turned oviform knobs springing from a square escutcheon; the whole of bright steel. Blade of triangular section graduated for calibration on one side with the figures 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 16, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 100 and 120; the other two sides are etched with a male and female figure in the costume of the early 17th century, and with flowered scrolls; turned ricasso, deeply stamped on one side with a mark.

Italian, about 1650.

J.G. Mann, The Antiquaries' Journal, VI (1931), pp. 46-50, pl. X. Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1917 (Nieuwerkerke). L' art ancien, I, 26.

Provenance: ? Félix Petitprêtre (Une dague lame numerotée, 50 fr.; receipted bill, 13 March, 1869); or ? E. Juste (Une dague à lame graduée, 1,900 fr. with other pieces; receipted bill, 2 July, 1866); either of these bills may refer to nos. A858-60; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The gunner's stilleto or fusetto di bombardiere was carried by artillerymen in Italy during the seventeenth century, and these weapons were often called ‘centiventi’ from the highest number engraved upon them. Smaller specimens often stop at the figure 100.

The graduation on this and A860 corresponds to the scale given by Girolamo Cataneo in his Tratto degli Essamini de' Bombardieri, 2nd edition, Brescia, 1571, Libro secondo, under the heading Sagomo per i pezzi. This scale was used for converting the measurement of the diameter of the bore of a gun into the corresponding weight of shot. It will be seen that the intervals between the figures are irregular and that they fall into three groups. These indicate the weights of lead, iron and stone shot repectively, in order of their specific gravity.

For a discussion of stylets with graduated blades see M. Terenzi, Considerazioni su di un tipo di pugnale detto stiletto da bombardiere, 1962. A859|1|1|Gunner's stiletto, composed of a faceted, pear-shaped pommel; herring-bone-fluted, wire-bound grip, with turned socket at the pommel; short guard with faceted knobs, and flat guard-block of hexagonal section; blade of triangular section with turned ornament at the hilt, one facet graduated for calibration with the figures:

1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 100, 120.

Italian, about 1650.

See notes on gunners' stilettos under A858.

Provenance: see under A858.

For a discussion of stylets with graduated blades see M. Terenzi, Considerazioni su di un tipo di pugnale detto stiletto da bombardiere, 1962. A860|1|1|Gunner's stiletto, made up of a turned pommel of blued steel; grip of dark horn, spirally twisted and inlaid with discs of light horn and metal spots; short, straight turned guard of blued steel; blade of triangular section, incised on one side with a sequence of graduations for calibration:

1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 16, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 100, and 120.

Italian, about 1650.

J.G. Mann, The Antiquaries' Journal, XI (1931), pp. 46-50.

Provenance: see under A858. A861|1|1|Stiletto scabbard, made entirely of steel, circular in section, the ends decorated with diagonal grooving, the centre notched and roughly incised; four defaced heads of chiselled steel have been applied to the front, and there are three fluted rivet-heads on the back.

Italian, about 1650. A862|1|1|Dividing parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a cylindrical pommel of octagonal section with spherical button; brass, wire-bound grip square in section; strongly curved guard of oblong section ending in scrolls; single side-ring, the whole of plain blued steel.

The blade, of hexagonal section, is etched down the centre with conventional foliage on a blackened ground and including a shield of arms charged with two bars, with a roundel in chief. Upon drawing a bolt on the ricasso a catch is released and the blade divides into three parts like A863-6; the ends of the guard are notched to receive the cutting edges of the blade when released.

German, about 1600.

Peterson, Daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pl. 50.

This dagger was previously catalogued as coming from the collections of Henry Courant and the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, but the details given in the receipted bill make it clear that the dagger there described was A864. This is confirmed by the plate engraved by Jacquemart for De Beaumont's catalogue.
'It a gilt dagger wth a devise in the blade to devide in iij wth shethe of blacke velvet, a knife bodkin locket and chape gilt', Inventory of Leicester House, 1580, Dudley Papers, vol. V, fol. 10v., Longleat (C. Blair, personal communication). A863|1|1|Dividing parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a flattened, spherical pommel vertically ridged and with circular button; spiral, wire-bound grip; guard horizontally curved of oval section widening towards the ends and large hilt arms; single side-ring enclosing a pierced shell; all of plain steel with remains of gilding on the shell.

The short, stout blade is of hexagonal section. Upon drawing a bolt on the ricasso a catch is released and the blade divides into three parts like A862, 864-6. The outer edges of the blades are held by slits in the ends of the hilt arms.

German, about 1620.

Skelton II, pl. XCII fig. 5.

Provenance: Sir. S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

Exhibited: South Kensington, 1869 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 224, no. 21).

Compare the divided daggers in the Hermitage, Leningrad (Gille, pl. CII) and at Bern, no. 1198.

Possibly one of two similar daggers described under no. 33 of the list of swords and daggers acquired by Meyrick from Domenic Colnaghi, about 1818, now in the library of the Royal Armouries.

Meyrick's successor, William Meyrick, exhibited 'two triple-bladed daggers' at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 16). A864|1|1|Dividing parrying dagger, the hilt comprised of a plain oviform pommel with flattened button; wire-bound grip of hexagonal section; sharply curved guard of circular section with pear-shaped ends bent almost parallel with the blade; single side-ring swelling at the centre.

The blade of hexagonal section, the ricasso etched and gilt with the arms of France encircled with the collar of the Saint-Esprit, and conventional foliage. Upon drawing a small bolt on the ricasso a catch is released and the blade divides into three parts as in A862-3, 865-6.

The scabbard is covered with black leather with blind tooling in the form of chevrons; locket (the loop missing) and ferrule of steel showing traces of gilding.

French, about 1600.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 7.

Provenance: Henry Courant (Une dague, à trois lames, à secret, armoiriée, 600 fr.; receipted bill, July 1866); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A865|1|1|Dividing parrying dagger, the hilt made up of a pommel and grip of one piece of steel, of baluster form and hexagonal section; sharply curved guard of oblong section ending in trefoils; single-side-ring; the entire surface etched with arabesque scrollwork on a gilt ground.

The blade is of hexagonal section. Upon drawing a bolt on the ricasso a catch is released and the blade divides into three parts as in A862-4, 866.

Entirely 19th century, in the style of the 17th century.

The authenticity of this dagger has been questioned on account of the unusual shape of the hilt, and its well-preserved state. A866|1|1|Plug Bayonet, with dividing blade and scabbard, the hilt made up of a tapering grip of horn swelling towards the guard, with a small, brass cap at the end. Short, steel guard with turned mouldings.

Blade of flattened hexagonal section. On drawing back a stud on the ricasso the blade springs open in the same way as A862-5. A portion of the catch is now missing. The blade is etched with a running pattern of foliage.

Scabbard of wood covered with parchment tooled with herring-bone and chequered ornament. In front is a pocket for a small knife, and at the back two loops for suspension, the upper vertical, the lower horizontal.

About 1665-85; nationality uncertain.

The very similar bayonet and scabbard in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, apparently has its original byknife (no. 14.25.1289. and A; Dean, Daggers, 1929, no. 331, pl. LXXXV). A867|1|1|Parrying dagger, designed to ensnare the opponent’s sword. The hilt is made up of a spherical, faceted pommel and button of octagonal section; wire-bound grip; guard curved alternately upwards and downwards, of octagonal section swelling slightly at the ends; single side-ring.

The broad, straight blade has one cutting edge, with the reverse side cut into fourteen deep teeth, the edges bevelled and each fitted with a spring-catch opening inwards (these permitted the entry, but not the withdrawal of a sword blade). The teeth have been separately wrought and are dove-tailed and brazed into the blade. See also A868.

Probably North Italian, about 1620.

Skelton II, pl. C, figs. 6-7.

Provenance: Sir. S. R. Meyrick; Frédérick Spitzer.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planché, 1857, p. 16); South Kensington, 1869, no. 315.

A very similar weapon, apparently by the same hand, is in the Bargello, Florence (no. M257), whither it came from the Medicean armoury. See Boccia and Coelho, 1975, figs. 525 and 526, where they are dated about 1620. A third example is in the old Electoral Armoury at Dresden (1899 cat., no. G149; Schöbel, 1975, pl. 87b). A868|1|1|Parrying dagger, designed to ensnare the opponent’s sword. The hilt is made up of a cylindrical, turned pommel and button; spirally fluted, wire-bound grip; straight guard of circular section, thickening towards the ends and terminating in small spherical knobs; single side-ring.

The broad blade (broken and repaired in the middle) has one cutting edge, with the reverse side being deeply cut to form nine bars with barbed heads, which work on springs; the broad ricasso is decorated with strapwork and conventional flowers chiselled and gilt. Compare the parrying dagger A867.
The guard bears traces of blueing.

Italian (?), about 1600

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 7.

Provenance: E. Juste aînè (Une dague brise lame, 1,900 fr. (with other pieces) receipted bill, 2 July, 1866) Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Demmin, Guide, 1869, p. 430, fig. 31; Demmin, Kriegswaffen, 1891, pp. 430-1, no. 31; Peterson, Daggers and fighting knives, 1968, pl. 51. A869|1|1|Officer's halberd. The head is very small and purely ornamental, consisting of a short fleur-de-lys-shaped spike, with a blade of similar form but larger, balanced by another of the same shape. All three are pierced with circular and oblong openings, and roughly ornamented with scrollwork stamped with a punch. Affixed to the sides at right-angles to the blades are two short pyramidal spikes. The whole formerly gilt. The langets or side-straps on the staff have both been broken short. Slender staff of fruit wood originally covered with velvet, traces of which remain at the head. Tubular steel ferrule.

Perhaps German, 17th century. A880|1|1|Serving knife, of horn, mounted in gilt and enamelled metal. On either side of the pommel is a coat of arms in translucent enamel; azure, three keys or, differenced with a label or, probably those of Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy under Philip the Good from 1422 until his death in 1462. The arms are repeated on the collar round the forward end of the grip; the ground on both pommel and collar and an oblong strip inlaid on either side of the grip is gilt, decorated with flowers in red, blue and green enamel.
The broad blade has a curved edge and straight back inclined at the point; it bears a cutler's mark on one side.
In shape and workmanship this knife resembles A881. It bears no motto. This and the following are examples of the knives used in pairs by the esquire-carvers with which to cut the food and serve it to their masters.
French, before 1429 (?)
Bailey, Knives and Forks, 1927, fig. 1 (3).
Provenance: Philippe Vaillant de Meixmoron sale, Contet, Dijon, 27 April-7 May 1868, lot 985, 3,150fr., Carrand (marked catalogue in the Metropolitan Museum, New York). De Mèixmoron of Dijon; Louis Carrand (Un superbe couteau à trancher gothique, dont le manche garni d' argent émaille et doré, est aux armes du Cancelier Rollin, 4,000 fr.; receipted bill, 1 June, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. Offered by the Count to the South Kensington Museum in 1870, for purchase at 100. Receipt dated 7 October, and marked in pencil: £100; 2,500 fr.

According to the late Mr. A. Van de Put these arms are those of either:
(1) Nicolas Rolin before 1429; or of
(2) Guillaume Rolin (his eldest son and successor), used by him after 1429 and before the death of his father in 1462. Nicolas Rolin (1376-1492 and before the death of his father in 1462. Nicolas Rolin (1376-1462) was Chancellor of Burgundy and Brabant in 1422, and may have carried these arms during the lifetime of his elder brother, Jean who died in 1429. From then, until his death in 1462, the Chancellor was chef de nom et d'armes of his family, and these arms cannot possibly refer to him between those dates.
This famous picture, Vierge au Donateur, in the Louvre by Jan van Eyck (no. 1986) is believed to give the portrait of Nicolas Rolin as donor; and he is again depicted, with his wife, on the triptych by Rogier van der Weyden, in the Hospital of St. John at Beaune. The Chancellor's arms upon this picture (anno 1446) are naturally without any brisure or label, which might characterize the insignia of an elder son, or of a collateral branch of the family. A881|1|1|Serving knife. The rosewood grip is mounted with silver gilt inlaid with translucent enamels. On either side of the pommel, and on the collar, are the arms of Philip III (‘the Good’), Duke of Burgundy (1396-1467), which he assumed after his marriage with Isabella of Portugal in 1429-30. It was in her honour that he instituted the Order of the Golden Fleece, and the collar of the order (composed of the flint and fire-steel of Burgundy) encircles the shield. The surrounding gilt metal is inlaid with flowers in red and blue, and on the strip of the same metal inlaid along each side of the grip is an oblong strip enamelled with the duke's motto (also assumed upon his marriage with Isabella):

AULTRE NARAY

The broad blade has a curved edge with a straight back, very slightly inclined at the point; it is thin and flexible, in excellent condition and bear's the cutler's mark in copper. This knife is very light in weight, well proportioned, and of fine workmanship. Compare the serving knife A880.
French, 1430-5.
Viollet-le-Duc II, 77-9 Lièvre, Musées et collections, 1 ser., pI. 86 Bailey, Knives and forks , fig. 1 (2).
Provenance: Count Alessandro Catellani (couteau aux armes de Philippe le bon, 2,500 fr.; receipted bill, 3 April, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
Offered by the Count to the South Kensington Museum for purchase in 1870 at £140. Receipted date 7 October, and marked in pencil: £140; 3,000 fr.
The blazon of the Grand écu de Bourgogne is briefly as follows: Quarterly: 1, 4, Burgundy modern; 2, Burgundy ancient impaling Brabant; 3, Burgundy ancient impaling Limburg; over all Flanders.
The full motto of Phillip the Good was Aultre n'auray Dame Isabeau tant que vivray ('Other will I not have, Dame Isabeau, while I live'). Isabella was his third wife; he had over a hundred bastards.
Entries in the Burgundian inventories suggest that this knife may have been made at Dijon. One under the date 13 February, 1374 (quoted by Dalton) appears to relate to similar knives:
Jacquot Le Topetet, coustelier, demorant à Dijon: 15 fr. pour 5 paires de cousteaux, eguaignez et garnis et d' esmail.
This Le Topetet was fourlisseur to the previous duke, John the Intrepid, from 1372 until his death in 1398; A881 may have been the work of his successor. The first twenty-four collars of the Golden Fleece, however, were made for Phillip by Jean Peutin orfèvre à Bruges (Kervyn de Lettenhove, La Toison d' Or, Bruxelles, 1907, p. 22), and this knife must have been made about the same time but the close connection of the dukes with Paris does not exclude that city as the place of origin.

The knife belongs to a very notable group:
1. Two in the museum at Vienna (one large and one small); they have the same arms and motto as A881, and is apparently identical in shape, style and workmanship. They bear the same cutler's mark. (Kevryn de Lettenhove, Toison d' Or (text), no. 38; Boeheim, Album I, Taf. XLI, fig. 2)
2. One in the Carrand Collection in the Bargello at Florence with the same arms and motto as A881, and very similar in shape, style and workmanship. (Firenze, Museo Nazionale, 1898, no. 855, p. 156; Sangiorgi, p. 30 and pl. 80).
3. A set of four knives in the British Museum (two large and two small), with incised leather scabbard, made for John the Intrepid (see O. M. Dalton, Archaeologia, LX, xvii, 14 March, 1907, p. 423; Guide to the Mediæval Room, 1907, p. 180). The larger of these knives is very close in shape, style and workmanship to A881. The same wood has been used for the grip, the enamels are of the same colours, and the shields and motto are similarly placed. The cutler's mark on the blade however, is a star, whereas the Wallace knife bears the mark of a cross surmounting a triangle of three dots (in copper).
4. Two in the museum at Dijon with the same arms and motto as A881, and with finely incised leather scabbard. (Viollet-le-Duc II, p. 79, but incorrectly described; Gonse, Sculpture, pp. 151-2).
5. One in the museum at Le Mans bearing the same arms and motto as A881, with incised leather sheath (made to contain two large knives and one small) with similar decoration. It is exceptionally large in size (Hucher, Bulletin de la Soc. d' Agriculture, Sciences et Arts du Mans, 1859; Viollet-le-Duc II, p. 79; Lettenhove (text), no. 37).
6. One in the Louvre (Département du Moyen Age et de Renaissance) with the same arms and motto as A881, but the briquet is replaced by a device composed of two Gothic letters, and united by a cord with tasselled ends.

Other knives are in the Real Armeria, Madrid, with the arms of Castile and Léon (G 161, 162), and in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (ex-E. Foulc, Paris).
The marshalling of the arms of Brabant and Limburg was assumed not on the duke's marriage with Isabella of Portugal on 6 January, 1430 (new style), but a few months later on his coronation as Duke of Barbant on 5 October.
The name Jehan Peutin is sometimes, but erroneously, written Pentin.

Philip the Good (1396-1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until 1465. During this period, the Burgundian Court became a brilliant cultural centre, admired, envied and emulated throughout Western Europe. Philip himself became one of the Duchy’s most famous and successful rulers; by the end of his reign he had virtually doubled the Burgundian lands, and ensured that Burgundy itself had become a byword for all that was noble and powerful. This serving or carving knife was as much a visible symbol of the Duke of Burgundy’s wealth and taste as a mere item of cutlery; it would have been used as part of a set of such knives, conspicuously and with great ceremony during important state occasions and banquets. A882|1|1|Serving knife, similar in form to A880-1. Handle of silver gilt, decorated, with flowers in translucent enamels, purple and green; on the pommel, and at the collar, is a coat of arms of Charles I, Seigneur de Gaucourt Lieutenant and Governor of Paris (?1482), who married in 1454, Agnes (alias Colette) de Vaux de Saintines (d. 1471). The arms may be described as Ermine a barbel in pale gules (Gaucourt) or three (i.e., one and a half) moor's heads (2 and 1) ppr bound about the temples argent (Vaux)– both coats dimidiated. Blade with curved edge and straight back, rounded near the point. It bears a cutler's mark on one side.
French, 1454-82.
Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 1 (1).
Provenance: Louis Carrand (un couteau de la même époque (XVe siècle) à manche d' argent armorié et émaillé. This knife, with un grand collier en argent du XVe siècle, dit collier du roi de l' arc (see no. III J508), was purchased by the Comte de Nieuwerkerke for 2,000 fr. and un coffret en émail XVIe siècle, attribué à Leonard Limousin, given in exchange. Receipted bill, 2 February, 1870: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. Offered by the Count to the South Kensington Museum for purchase in 1870 at £80. Receipt dated 7 October, and marked in pencil: £80; 2,000 fr.
In early editions of this catalogue these arms were stated to be those of Sire de Dancourt, Grand Master of Artillery to Philippe le Bon, based on the spelling of the name on the receipt given to the Comte de Nieuwerkerke by the Council of Education in October, 1870. It would appear, however, from a note contributed by Mr. A. Van de Put (Notes and Queries, 15 January, 1916, p. 41) that Dancourt is almost certainly a mistranscription for Gaucourt. The misspelling ('Dancourt' or 'Daucourt') has resulted in the name Dancourt being inserted in two works of reference (see Bouton, Nouveau traité des armoiries, 1887, p. 457; and Rietstap, Armorial général, Supplément, 2nd ed., II, 1887). No province for Dancourt is cited, and it is clear that Rietstap and his coadjutors had not encountered the name before, hence its appearance in the Supplément.
Charles de Gaucourt was one of the principle French bibliophiles of the 15th century, and various MSS. have been traced to his library. (A. de Laborde, Les manuscrits à peintures de la Cité de Dieu de Saint Augustin, II, 398.)
Mr. Van de Put has also pointed out that all existing seals of Charles I, Seigneur de Gaucourt, bear his paternal coat, without the impalement of his wife's arms of Vaux. A883|1|1|Serving knife, with a handle of flattened octagonal section, heavily mounted with brass and inlaid with panels of polished antler; engraved along the back strip:

BON · FRED · VM · DICH

('Good peace [cheer] about thee')

Arch-shaped pommel with short beak; grip inlaid with strips of polished antler and rosewood, and four ivory panels, carved in low relief, representing St. Barbara (?) and other saints the forward end of the brass hilt is extended at right-angles to support the blade; heavy broad blade, single-edged and straight-backed. It is decorated with a band of Goldschmelz along the hollow, bordering the back edge, and is stamped with a maker's mark in the form of an arrow.
Tyrolese, made by Hans Sumersperger, c. 1500.
Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 6 (2); Hayward, 'Early German cutlery' Apollo Annual, 1949, pp. 60-3, fig. Ill a, but with the caption interchanged with fig. Ill b.
Provenance: Joyeau (?) (Un couteau d' écuyer trachant, du XVième siècle, 520 fr. [with un socle reliquaire]; receipted bill, 19 November, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
A like knife, bearing the same mark, is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (De Cosson, Dino Collection, pl. 17, G45).
This knife belongs to a group which Dr. Bruno Thomas has identified with Hans Sumersperger of Hall, near Innsbruck, who worked for the Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) and made his State sword, now in Vienna (Met. Mus. Bulletin, New York, February, 1955). The State Sword (das Lehnenschwert) of Maximilian I in the Imperial Treasury at Vienna (inv. no. XIV.4) is dated 1496 and signed 'Hanns von Hall'. B. Thomas (Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1963, pp. 41-62) lists a number of additional weapons attributed to Hans Sumersperger of Hall, which do not include the knives and their présentoir in the Museo Correr, Venice. They include the so-called 'Hunting Sword' of Maximilian I in Vienna (inv. no. D11); a hand-and-half sword in the Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe, (no. G58); a 'Landsknecht' sword formerly at Karlsruhe (no. G59); the ceremonial sword of Hans Siebenhirter as Master of the Order of St. George, dated 1499 (Landesmuseum für Karnten, Klagenfurt); a two-handed sword formerly at Ambras, now in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (no. W872); a ceremonial sword in the National Museum, Copenhagen (no. 4580; Thomas, Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger, 6 b-c, 1950/1, pp. 105-84); a sword-blade in the Bargello, Florence (Thomas and Boccia, Österreichische Florenzhilfe, Historische Prunkwaffen, 1970, p. 48, pI. 6); a knife blade in the collection of John Hunt, found in the Thames, which Thomas suggests might have been a present to Henry VIII from Maximilian I; and a five-piece table garniture in its case, at Stift Kremsmünster, Upper Austria. A884|1|1|Serving knife, one of a pair with A885, and a set with sheath A886. Flattened octagonal handle mounted in brass engraved with conventional flowers and the transverse bands, twice, the Gothic letter V, or O; the grip, inlaid with two mahogany panels which carry diamond-shaped plaques of antler. It is enlarged to form a pointed pear-shaped pommel, which is pierced with a circular filigree ornament (an openwork pattern, like a rose window, made up of brass strip), and ends in a finial of leaves; broad blade with straight back, rounded at the point, and inlaid on one side with an involved swastika in brass, and stamped with a maker's mark.
German, about 1470.
Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 6 (1); Hayward, 'Early German cutlery', Apollo Annual, 1949, pp. 60-3, Fig. I.
Provenance: E. Lowengrad (une trousse à 2 couteaux du XVième siècle, 2,000 fr.; receipted bill, 21 May, 1870); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
There is a similar knife in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac at Paris, but M. Buttin regarded this as a clever copy; and compare one in the Kunstgewerbe Museum at Frankfurt-am-Main.
The swastika in this form has a very long history. Mrs. V. Pritchard has produced instances at Jumièges of the mid-11th century, and at Vercelli, 12th century, and it occurs in graffiti in the churches of Steeple Bumstead and Faversham in England. A very similar knife is in the Electoral Armoury at Dresden, but with a different bladesmith's mark (Uhlemann, Armi antiche, 1967, pp. 3-26, fig. 13a). A885|1|1|Serving knife, one of a pair with A884, and a set with sheath A886. Flattened octagonal handle mounted in brass engraved with conventional flowers and the transverse bands, twice, the Gothic letter V, or O; the grip, inlaid with two mahogany panels which carry diamond-shaped plaques of antler. It is enlarged to form a pointed pear-shaped pommel, which is pierced with a circular filigree ornament (an openwork pattern, like a rose window, made up of brass strip), and ends in a finial of leaves; broad blade with straight back, rounded at the point, and inlaid on one side with an involved swastika in brass, and stamped with a maker's mark.
German, about 1470.
Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 6 (1); Hayward, 'Early German cutlery', Apollo Annual, 1949, pp. 60-3, Fig. I.
Provenance: E. Lowengrad (une trousse à 2 couteaux du XVième siècle, 2,000 fr.; receipted bill, 21 May, 1870); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
There is a similar knife in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac at Paris, but M. Buttin regarded this as a clever copy; and compare one in the Kunstgewerbe Museum at Frankfurt-am-Main.
The swastika in this form has a very long history. Mrs. V. Pritchard has produced instances at Jumièges of the mid-11th century, and at Vercelli, 12th century, and it occurs in graffiti in the churches of Steeple Bumstead and Faversham in England. A very similar knife is in the Electoral Armoury at Dresden, but with a different bladesmith's mark (Uhlemann, Armi antiche, 1967, pp. 3-26, fig. 13a). A886|1|1|Sheath of leather, coated with gesso, painted green, with the mouth red, and tooled with scrolled foliage, the background punched; there is a third pocket for a small knife or steel (now missing). At one time furnished with a cap, and there is a loop at the back for suspension. It bears a parchment label with the following inscription:

Di[e]se Credentz messer sein des Werdurch leuchtigisten Grosmechitgisten juersten und[h]errn. . . .Ahansier friederichen [h]och löblichister säliger gedächtnus ge [wes]. . ..en. anno In 1561 jar zum Gtift Gurk. . . .umb. Diese. . . .anden herr Victor Waligers.

This would appear to record that these serving knives (belonged ?) to the most serene and mighty Prince and Emperor Frederick, of blessed memory, and were (transferred ?) to the charitable foundation of Gurck (? Gurk in Carinthia, Austria)… in the year 1561.
German, about 1470
Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 6 (1); Hayward, 'Early German cutlery', Apollo Annual, 1949, pp. 60-3, Fig. I.
Provenance: E. Lowengrad (une trousse à 2 couteaux du XVième siècle, 2,000 fr.; receipted bill, 21 May, 1870); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A887|1|1|Serving knife, with a handle of walrus ivory of oblong section widening slightly towards the pommel; carved in high relief with the figure of a lion holding a small dog in its paws; thin, flat blade, pointed with curved edge and a maker's mark.
Italian, about 1350 (?)
Viollet-le-Duc II, 76-8; Uhlemann, Armi antiche, 1967, pp. 3-26, fig. 7.
Provenance: Louis Carrand (?) (...un autre couteau à manche d' ivoire du XIVe siècle, de trois cents francs; receipted bill, 13 April, 1867; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
A like serving knife is in the Carrand Collection in the Bargello, Florence (Sangiorgi, pl. 80), and another is in the Musée de Cluny, Paris. One was in the Earl of Londesborough's Collection (Fairholt, Misc. Graphica, pl. XXIII), with the lion devouring a monster.
The authenticity of this knife has been doubted by the late Mr. C.R. Beard in an article in the Connoisseur, April, 1938, where he compares it with other knives of the same kind formerly in the Zschille and Carmichael Collections (sold Christie's, 1902, lot 6), and a pair in the Louvre. In his opinion these examples have been made by adapting the handles of ivory gravoirs of the 14th century, of the kind represented by a complete specimen in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Longhurst, Cat. of Carvings in Ivory, II, p. 50), to fit genuine knife blades of the 14th century. The forger has taken as his pattern the authentic knives (with hafts of similar form topped with animals, like those in the Bargello) in the former Spitzer Collection (vol. III, Coutelerie, no. 1, and sale, 1893, lot 2315). Mr. Beard believed that the tapering of the haft and a slight tilt to the pommel betrays a gravoir origin, although the forger has done his bet to modify such traits; whereas a more solid a symmetrical shape denotes the genuine knife-haft. He suspects the hand of Carrand père, whose skill as a restorer has been alluded to above (see Introduction), in the assembling of these attractive pastiches. A888|1|1|Serving knife, of the same form as A880-2, but smaller. The handle is mounted in gilt bronze, oblong in section, chased with scrolls and hatching, the sides having silver plaques delicately nielloed with figures in Italian costume of the 15th century: on one side a youth holding a book above a lady in a long robe, on the other, a lady in a pleated dress above a youth with a sword; a shield bearing on a fess a demy bull rampant beneath. The flat, pointed blade has a curved edge and straight back, and is inlaid with a bladesmith's mark in brass. The nielloed decoration is in the style of the famous goldsmith and engraver, Maso (Tommaso) Finiguerra of Florence (1426-64).

With the possible exception of the blade, entirely 19th century.
Gay, Glossaire, p. 474, fig. A

Provenance: Louis Carrand (Un couteau de table du XVe siècle, à manche d' argent niellé à figures, 600 fr.; receipted bill, 3 July, 1866); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The same mark occurred on the blade of a cinquedea formerly in the collection of the Baron de Cosson. A889|1|1|Serving knife (présentoir), the handle of bronze silvered, a flat oblong in section, tapering slightly towards the blade. It is decorated with panels of Renaissance vase ornament in low relief on a blackened background, the sides inscribed:

LACES CITA · PATIENTIA / FIT FVROR SE[A]PE
('Patience provoked often becomes rage')

There is a square gilt panel on either side of the pommel, one bearing a plain shield, the other inscribed:

NE QVID NI MIS
('Nothing too much')

The broad, flat, two-edged, symmetrical blade, rounded at the end, fits into the broadened socket of the hilt, which is engraved with foliage. It bears two marks, of which the second may be that of the maker; it resembles the mark upon the sword A699.

The authenticity of this piece has been doubted. The handle is very small for a presentoir.

Lièvre Musée Graphique (pl. 17); Lièvre, Musées et collections, 1 Ser., pI. 58 (Nieuwerkerke); Lièvre, Collections célèbres, pI. 86.

Provenance: D. A. Kuhn (?) (un présentoir du XVIe siècle, 600 fr.; receipted bill, 28 February, 1867–this bill may refer to the présentoir, no. A890) Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A890|1|1|Serving Knife (présentoir), the amber and ivory handle of octagonal section widens towards the pommel; the latter is also of ivory and amber; within the translucent amber are three circular ivory carvings enriched with gilding, representing the adoration of the Magi and other subjects; the grip, also of amber, is similarly underset with two ivory carvings (A female saint or mythological character and St. Anne bearing the Cross), and encircled with two narrow bands of ivory inlaid with amber spots. The gilt tang of the blade and the backs of the inset carvings, etched with dots and curved lines, are visible beneath the amber. The broad, flat, symmetrical blade, widening towards the end, is enriched with three trident-shaped bands of arabesques etched and gilt. It bears a cutler's mark on one side.

German (Konigsberg) about 1600.

See A. Rohde, Bernstein, ein deutscher Werkstoff, 1937, figs. 32-40; and
Blair, 1974, no. 119.
Provenance: D. A. Kuhn (?) (un présentoir du XVIe siècle, 600 fr.; receipted bill, 28 February, 1867, this bill may refer to the présentoir, A889); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
A similar example from Duff House is in the Banff Museum and dated 1618 (C. R. Beard, Trans. Banffshire Field Club, 1910-11). Another was in the possession of Lord Londesborough, and came from the Debruge-Dumesnel Collection (Fairholt, Misc. Graphica, 1857, pl. XVIII). J. F. Hayward compares the Wallace Collection example with a single-serving knife, also with amber handle, in the collection of Mr. Howard E. Smith (The Connoisseur, CXXXIV, November, 1954, p. 165). There is also a complete table set in the same style in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Vienna (inv. no. D 207).
The contemporary name for this type of knife is a slice or a voiding knife. It was used in conjunction with a dish called a voider for clearing crumbs from the table cloth (C. Blair, personal communication, 1968). A891|1|1|Knife and sheath, the handle of gilt steel and complicated columnar form, the grip comprising a Corinthian capital pierced, chased and gilt surmounting a baluster of octagonal section inlaid with oblong plaques of mother of pearl; the pommel (associated) is of ivory carved as a grotesque animal's head and inlaid with brown and green spots; stiff back-edged blade with a band of etched and gilt scrollwork at the forte; traces of a cutler's mark remain on one side.
Sheath of leather tooled, on the one side, with diamond-shaped panels of tracery between cross bands of leaves, and painted on the other, with four compartments of figure subjects, gilt and slivered (now barely visible).
French, about 1590-1620.
Provenance: E. Juste (Couteau du 16e siècle à fourreau en cuir gaufrè, 1,000fr.; receipted bill, 24 December, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A892|1|1|Knife, of polished steel, skillfully made in one piece. The handle is chiselled in the round with a statuette of Temperance draped and pouring water from a ewer into a goblet held in the left hand; she stands upon a fluted vase supported by a naked male figure astride and grasping the entwined tail of a sea monster from whose mouth issues finally the blade, single-edged and slightly curved.

French (?), about 1600. A898|1|1|Knife, the handle of pink and white jasper, of flattened octagonal section, with silver mounts, each with a pierced border of trefoils, gilt, and on the cap pointillé ornament of flowers; single-edged blade, straight, flat, and with a nearly square end; at the forte, floral decoration, etched and gilt.

The blade probably about 1530; remainder 19th century.

The authenticity of this knife was doubted by C. R. Beard. Genuine examples of jasper-handled knives of this type are in the British Museum and in the National Museum at Copenhagen. A899|1|1|Knife and sheath, the oval-section knife handle of rock crystal with gilt mounts chased with interlaced strapwork involving quatrefoils; single-edge blade etched at the forte with scrolls, fully gilt; between blade and handle is a cup-shaped element chased with acanthus leaves; traces of a maker's mark on one side of the blade.
Sheath of black dog fish-skin tooled with gilt lines and a diamond-shaped panel. Engraved silver-gilt chape at the point end, and hinged ring for suspension near the mouth. It is too large for the knife associated with it, and probably does not belong.
The leather of the sheath is probably 19th-century.
Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1979 (Marquess of Hertford).
R. & S. Garrard's receipted bill of 21 March 1878 may relate to the restoration of this knife; 'Repairing crystal haft of Dagger 3s. 6d' (archives of the Collection). A900|1|1|Knife, one of a pair with A901, having a silver-plated handle of oval section decorated in very low relief with vertical bands of scrolled foliage involving flaming hearts pierced with arrows in saltire, birds and fruit, inscribed along the back:

· IN · TE · DOMINE · SPERAVI · H · R / S / S
('In Thee O Lord I have trusted')

On each side of the inscription band near the shoulder of the blade is embossed the letter S in the form known as S fermée.

Single-edged blade, pointed, and etched at the forte with an oval containing foliage and gilt. A cutler's mark, the letter Y, inlaid in copper on one side. Both this knife and A901 have the same decoration and inscription, and are of the same dimensions.

Italian, about 1550. A901|1|1|Knife, one of a pair with A900, having a silver-plated handle of oval section decorated in very low relief with vertical bands of scrolled foliage involving flaming hearts pierced with arrows in saltire, birds and fruit, inscribed along the back:

· IN · TE · DOMINE · SPERAVI · H · R / S / S
('In Thee O Lord I have trusted')

On each side of the inscription band near the shoulder of the blade is embossed the letter S in the form known as S fermée.

Single-edged blade, pointed, and etched at the forte with an oval containing foliage and gilt. A cutler's mark, the letter Y, inlaid in copper on one side. Both this knife and A900 have the same decoration and inscription, and are of the same dimensions.

Italian, about 1550. A902|1|1|Knife, made of steel in one piece. The handle, square in section, has been blackened and overlaid with tiny arabesques of gold and silver; the open-work pommel formed as a lantern and gilt; blade pointed and single-edged with a panel of silver and gold foliage at the forte, and a maker's mark on one side .

Italian (?), about 1590. A906|1|1|Chisel-shaped knife, with a handle of agate, square in section with grooved sides; rosette-shaped terminal of brass; short blade broader than it is long, with transverse cutting edge slightly concave, the upper part shaped as two dolphins and overlaid in gold and silver with foliated arabesques with a vase in the centre.

Italian, about 1620.

Provenance: Joyeau (Un outil fer gravé XVIème siècle, 150 fr.; receipted bill, 18 April, 1870); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Called in a former inventory a ‘tobacco-cutter’. In reality this object is probably a broken serving knife. A907|1|1|Small knife, with a handle of white agate, polygonal in section, tapering towards the blade; gilt filigree button at the end, the forward, cylindrical mount of steel overlaid with minute arabesques in gold, the panels bordered with silver roping; the single-edged blade, with rounded point, bear's a cutler's mark on one side.

English, about 1620.

A dagger was the mark of the Cutler's Company of London, made obligatory after 1607. The half-moon mark may be that of Nathaniel Matthews, handed over to Moorehead in 1610, or that of Christopher Butler registered in 1606-7 (see Welch, History of the Cutlers' Company). A908|1|1|Knife, with an ivory hilt; the pommel carved to represent a female demi-figure in the round, the nipples inlaid in coral; blade of triangular section, partly back-edged; the wedge-shaped tang is inserted in the lower half only of the hilt and is held by three rivets, each surrounded by black ivory dots; a maker's mark on one side of the blade.

Probably Spanish, about 1660. A910|1|1|Knife, part of a set with fork A911 and case A912. The blade is single-edged and pointed, with a handle of amber (partly broken), turned and faceted, and having a gold-plated 'bolster' between handle and blade; the latter bears a maker's mark on one side.

French, about 1600. A911|1|1|Fork, part of a set with knife A910 and case A912, of two long prongs, similarly mounted in amber as A910.

French, about 1600. A912|1|1|Case of crimson leather tooled with gilt fleur-de-lys, etc., in the style of Nicolas and Clovis Eve (c. 1548-82 and 1584-1635); hole for suspension at the back, with two holes in the cap for a like purpose. The suspension cords were knotted through small tube-like projections at each side of the lower part and passed through similar holes in the cap, thus preventing its loss when the case was opened.

French, about 1600. A913|1|1|Trousse, comprising three small knives and a pricker contained in a sheath of black leather tooled with scrolls and conventional flowers and inscribed with the date:

16-(0)-18

The sheath terminates in a button ferrule of brass; a loop at the back for suspension. Inserted in the pockets are:

- Two single-edged knives; the handles with plaques of horn on the sides of the grips and decorated with brass mounts and bands of ivory stained green; vase-shaped pommels of ivory. A maker's mark on one side of each knife.
- One shorter knife and a small pricker or bodkin en suite, similarly mounted.
Flemish, dated 1618.
Provenance: Joyeau (?) (Une trousse, cuir gauffré et daté, contenant cinq pièces, les manches ornés d' ivoir, 1,400 fr. [with other pieces]; receipted bill, 3 December, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A914|1|1|Knife, part of a set with fork A915, having a silver handle, oblong in section and ornamentally pierced at the end. It is delicately engraved on the one side with the Judgement of Solomon (?) and below, Justitia. At the top a small oval panel enclosing clasped hands inscribed:…

of thavr or t mo

The symbol within the oval panel on the reverse side is too defaced for identification, but the inscription appears to read:…The symbol within the oval panel on the reverse side is too defaced for identification, but the inscription appears to read:…

... bivchew tr ...' (the w is very unclear).

On the other side is a scene representing Susanna observed by the Elders, and and below that a seated woman with a banner, who is labelled below 'fiducia' (faith).

The blade is single-edged, rounded and recurved at the point. There is a narrow, curled strip along part of the back edge.

Flemish, about 1620.

Provenance: Joyeau (couteau et Fourchette argt. De Théodore de Bry, 400 fr.; receipted bill, 27 7bre, 1867); Comte de Nieuwekerke.

The high finish and delicacy of the engraving upon the handles of this knife and fork are in the style of Theodor de Bry (1528-98), but their shape and general ornament suggest a later date; possibly they were the work of Johann Theodor de Bry, son of the above (1561-1623).

Compare similar examples in the Ridpath Collection (sold Sotheby's, 18-19 February, 1942, lot 220, ex-Trapnell) and in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 17). A915|1|1|Fork, part of a set with knife A914, having three prongs, the short middle prong being merely ornamental; silver handle like that of the knife. The subjects of the engraving on the handle are, in the oval panel, a winged hart radiant inscribed:

treuren . wt . alle

It is not clear where it begins.

Below this is a panel inscribed 'daniel ii'. On the other side in the oval, a tree inscribed:

het wycken . och . mocht

with St. Paul before Festus? And Sapientia below.

Flemish, about 1620.

Provenance: Joyeau (couteau et Fourchette argt. De Théodore de Bry, 400 fr.; receipted bill, 27 7bre, 1867); Comte de Nieuwekerke.

The high finish and delicacy of the engraving upon the handles of this knife and fork are in the style of Theodor de Bry (1528-98), but their shape and general ornament suggest a later date; possibly they were the work of Johann Theodor de Bry, son of the above (1561-1623).

Compare similar examples in the Ridpath Collection (sold Sotheby's, 18-19 February, 1942, lot 220, ex-Trapnell) and in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Bailey, Knives and Forks, fig. 17). A916|1|1|Trousse, comprising a knife and fork contained in a sheath of ivory. The sheath has been carved in high relief with longitudinal panels containing, respectively, on either side, King David and a nude female figure wearing a morion and holding a lance, the intervening panels carved with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The sheath has a silver locket stamped with the same marks as the knife and fork and engraved with an owner's name: ‘ H. White’ in Old English lettering; the terminal is turned and ends in an acorn; two loops and a silver chain at the side for suspension. In the pockets are:

- A single-edged knife of steel with plain handle of silver and of oval section, the blade stamped: W O R M U L The handle bears two small maker's marks.

- A three-pronged fork of silver with plain oval handle stamped with the same marks as the knife: the first is the letter V, the second (much rubbed) may be either the figures 1717, or 1714, or the remains of lettering.

Flemish, date uncertain.
The knife and fork are possibly of later date than the sheath. The V-mark resembles Rosenborg no. 4716, a 19th-century Dutch import mark used from 1814 to 1953. The second mark is a fasces, the petite garantie for silver used in the French Departments from 1809 to 1819, and in Holland from 1810 to 1814. A920|1|1|Knife of steel wrought in one piece, the handle of oval section deeply chased with floral ornament ad gilt, the single-edged blade bearing a winged cupid at the forte.
Italian in style, but of doubtful authenticity.
Lièvre, Musée Graphique (pl. 17); Lièvre, Musées et collections, 1 Ser., n.d., pI. 56 (Nieuwerkerke); Lièvre, Collections celebres, pI. 86. A923|1|1|Shears and case, the shears comprised of two blades made in one piece of steel, the handle of the blades being doubled back in a circle to form a spring; the blades are strongly etched with trophies, a dog and a rabbit.
The flat case is made entirely of steel, decorated with trophies of arms and a castle with three towers surmounted by a bird, deeply etched and formerly gilt; along the sides delicate arabesques and four small loops for suspension.
Italian, about 1560-70.
The knife, fork, and sheath A920-2, are of like design and workmanship. A923 also resembles a pair of shears and case which were in the Meyrick Collection (Skelton II, pl. CXI, figs. 4-5). A924|1|1|Axe-head, with a slightly curved cutting-edge, rectangular at the base. The upper edge rises to form an angle with the cutting-edge, and has a semi-circular, pierced projection with two flukes. On one side the sacred monogram I H S, on the reverse the letters M A have been deeply etched or incised. It is mounted on a modern haft.

Probably German, 15th or early 16th century.

Laking, European Armour III, fig. 918.

If the letters have in fact been etched, this would be an early example of this process. The evidence on which Laking (op. cit., III, p. 118) stated that it was found in France cannot be traced. The form of the letters suggests a German rather than French origin. A925|1|1|Poll-axe, having a blade with curved cutting-edge balanced at the back by a heavy coronel comprised of four strong, pyramidal projections. The top spike is of strong diamond section together with langets on the side straps extending down the staff. Other iron straps have been added on the remaining sides, so that the upper part of the staff is completely encased in metal.
Probably German, about 1430.
The blade has never been sharpened, and has little in the way of a distal taper. Similarly, the top spike is also quite dull, and seems always to have been. These features, combined with the provision of a coronel in place of a curved rear fluke, spike or hammerhead, give the impression that this weapon was made specifically as a ‘weapon of courtesy’, i.e., a rebated weapon for peaceful sporting combats or tournaments on foot.
Laking European Armour III, fig. 886.
Provenance: probably E. Juste, 'Hache a marteau avec pointe, du 15e siecle 40 fr.', receipted bill of 14 November 1868; Nieuwerkerke. A comparable axe is illustrated in a painting of The Crucifixion, dated 1429, from the Franciscan Church, Bamberg (Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, inv. no. MA2625). A926|1|1|Poll-axe, the head composed of two parts: a triangular blade with straight cutting-edge on the one side balanced by an oblong hammer-head on the other, this last having on its face two vertical rows of squared projections, with a vertical strip of copper alloy between them. It is attached to the staff by four iron straps secured with rosette-headed rivets; on the top is a strong four-sided spike, the short, steel straps of which pass over the neck between the blade and the hammer, and the straps that secure them. The two parts are secured together by a bolt and nut with projecting, pyramidal heads. The foot of the staff is shod with an iron ferrule, hexagonal in section with a knob at the base.
The axe is decorated with trefoil piercings and the axe-blade is inlaid with vertical bands of copper alloy; a copper alloy strip down the face of the hammer is inscribed in miniscule lettering inlaid in slight relief on a hatched ground: de bon, together with a rough representation of a heart (of good heart) and foliage.
The wooden staff, and possibly also the rondel that protects the hand, are restorations.
French (?), about 1470.
Viollet-le-Duc VI, 17-18; Hefner-Alteneck, Trachten, 1879, IV, pl. 279; Boeheim, 376-7, fig. 447; Laking, European Armour II, fig. 887.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The statement made by Boeheim that A926 was in the Riggs Collection (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) is incorrect. There was a somewhat similar poll-axe in that collection, and a reference to it by Viollet-le-Duc (VI, 18-19) may have led to the confusion.
For hundreds of years the sword had been the weapon most closely associated with the knightly class, a symbol of aristocratic power as well as its instrument. With the development of full plate armour however, the sword became less effective in armoured combat. In the late fourteenth century a new weapon was created, far better suited to breaking through the hardened steel plates of an enemy’s armour. The pollaxe was not like other staff weapons, the vast majority of which were the arms of the lower classes developed from ordinary farm implements such as the pitch fork, scythe and flail. It was instead an exclusively knightly weapon, fine examples being as beautifully made as any sword.
Axes of this type found in England include an example in Saffron Walden Museum (no. 1836.56) said to have come from Bartlow, near Linton, on the border between Cambridgeshire and Essex. The Royal Armouries have three such axes; nos. VII.875, 1670 and 1827. The second is said to have been excavated in Cheapside, London, and the third is said to have been found near Banbury. The example at Cotehele House, Cornwall, may have formed part of the original armoury of the house. A comparable axe is in the Historical Museum at Bern (Wegeli, Inventar, III, no. 1340, tav. IV). This general type of pollaxe was used both for war and for tournament combat on foot, although it must be noted that the spikes and blade of this example are much sharper than those of the axe A925, which appears to have been made specifically for tournament fighting. A927|1|1|Poll-axe, with a large blade having a curved cutting edge, the inner edges engrailed; balanced at the back with a hammer with oblong, dentated face, like A926. The top-spike, of diamond section, is wide at the base and narrows to a slender four-sided section, stamped with the maker's mark on either side; two steel side-straps; modern octagonal staff spliced to a portion of the original staff within the side-straps. The blade and hammer are decorated with strapwork etching, now much defaced.

Italian (Venetian), about 1530.
Skelton II, Pl. LXXXIII, fig. 4.
Provenance: Sir. S. R. Meyrick.

Compare somewhat similar, but smaller, etched axes in the Royal Armouries (VII.64, .1353 and .1354), and in the Doge's Palace at Venice (Lucia series 9, nos. 183, 184), though the etching here is somewhat different in style (see Boccia and Coelho, 1975, pls. 267-9). A928|1|1|Halberd, the head forged in one piece and comprising an axe blade with curved cutting-edge, the inner edges scalloped; balanced by a slightly drooping fluke deeply stamped with the maker's mark; top spike of strong diamond section; split socket with two side-straps; fixed to the staff by two projecting pyramidal-headed bolts; octagonal ferrule at base of staff, which is studded with small brass-headed nails.

German, early 16th century.

Laking, European Armour III, fig. 926 (f). A929|1|1|Bill, having a spike of strong diamond section; the head of the usual form, with edged hook, salient forward edge and with a back-spike of diamond section stamped with the maker's mark on both sides; two lugs at the base; oblong socket (with bevelled edges) bound with a moulded copper alloy band; two side-straps. The surface is roughly incised along the back-edge with a series of crescents. Staff bound with spirally twisted, red and brown brocade studded with copper alloy-capped nails. Compare the similar bill A930.

Italian, early-16th century.

Provenance: comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Illustrated by Vollon in his Curiositiés of 1868 (see Savill, 1980).

A partizan in the Royal Armouries (Tower Inventory, VII-182), bears a somewhat similar mark, and it also occurs on an Italian halberd in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin (formerly in the collection of Museum für Deutsche Geschichte). A very similar bill with the same mark is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch collection, cat., no. 521, pI. CXXI). Another is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon. The same mark also occurs on a Spiedo alla friulana in the Armeria Reale, Turin (no. J231; Mazzini, 1982, no. 208, n. on p. 370). A930|1|1|Bill, of the same type as A929, but the head slightly smaller in size. The face is incised or punched with a double rose with thorns on each side and crescent-shaped ornament. Near the back spike is stamped the maker's marks, on one side a split cross and on the other the letter S, and at the base of the blade the initials F L have been roughly cut. The socket is bound with two moulded copper alloy bands.

Italian, early 16th century.

This bill has been previously been described as English, no doubt on account of the Tudor-looking rose, but its form is that usual in Italy at this date.

The first two marks occur on a bill in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. no. 4130). The first mark occurs on a bill very similar to A930 in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch collection, cat., no. 518, pl. CXXI). A931|1|1|Bill, of small size; spike of diamond section, with the usual curved hook, salient edge, back spike, and two lugs of diamond section at the base; faceted socket; the surface with trophies of arms and crescent-shaped punch marks; octagonal staff of oak; octagonal ferrule with knob.

Italian, about 1540.

Laking, European Armour III, fig. 915.

Provenance: Felix Petitprêtre (?) (Un petit fauchard, 35 fr.; Receipted Bill, 13 March, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke (?). A932|1|1|Bill, with a long top-spike of diamond section; the head is of usual form with edged hook, projecting face below, and spike at the back; two sharp lugs at the base; flattened octagonal socket and two short straps, the whole made in one piece. It is decorated with monsters' heads, conventional flowers and scrolls, incised in such a way as to throw up a bur on a ground granulated and formerly gilt. The blade is deeply stamped with the scorpion mark bearing the letters I L O.

Italian (probably Milanese), early-16th century.
De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 11 Laking, European Armour III, fig. 912.
Provenance; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The scorpion mark with the letters I L O occurs on a bill in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and on another in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (former Pauilhac Collection). An additional bill bearing this mark is in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. No. 4174). The same mark occurs on glaives in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch collection, cat., no. 543, not illus.); Milan, Museo Poldi Pezzoli (1980 cat., no. 703); Rome, Odescalchi collection (inv. no. 1531; Carpegna, 1969, no. 370); Brescia, Museo Civico L. Marzoli (inv. no. 417; Rossi and Carpegna, 1969, no. 213). A decorated bill very like no. A932, which is now in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, (formerly the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte) does however bear this mark (inv. no. W2489; Müller and Kölling, 1981, no. 238).

A similar scorpion mark, but with the letter B, occurs on staff-weapons in the Royal Armouries (VII, 910, 928); Vienna; Turin, (J 135); in the Museo Stibbert (2485), and the Bargello, Florence (Gay, Glossaire Arch., p. 692); and the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Viollet-le-Duc VI, p. 26, Riggs).
Bills bearing a scorpion as a mark are frequently illustrated in Italian Renaissance paintings, for instance in the frescoes by Bernardino Pintoricchio in the Library of Siena Cathedral (1503-8). A934|1|1|Boar spear, with a symmetrical, leaf-shaped head strongly ridged in the centre and pierced with shaped apertures; the socket of octagonal section with two straps, the whole made in one piece. The surface is etched on both sides with scrolled foliage, black on a granulated ground, and the date:

1575

The straps are also etched with running foliage and secured by rosette-headed rivets; tassel and fringe also of yellow silk. The staff and the circular steel ferrule on the end with square spike are both modern.

German, dated 1575. A935|1|1|Boar spear, with a large, leaf-shaped head with strong central rib; hexagonal socket, the whole made in one piece. Hinged to the socket is a moulded cross-bar, as on A936; two side-straps (of later date). The staff is plaited with leather thongs secured by round-headed nails, and partly bound with red velvet.Glaive, with a tall head with a curved cutting edge, double-edge towards the point; square socket bearing the maker's mark, four iron straps on the staff. The blade is inscribed and dated along the back-edge of each side:Glaive, with a tall head with a curved cutting edge, double-edge towards the point; square socket bearing the maker's mark, four iron straps on the staff. The blade is inscribed and dated along the back-edge of each side:German, about 1600.

The cross-bars of these two weapons (A935-A936) were probably added when the present identical shafts were fitted. A936|1|1|Boar spear, with a plain, leaf-shaped head with strong central rib; hexagonal socket, the whole made in one piece. Hinged to the socket is a cross-bar with turned mouldings; two side-straps (of later date). The staff is plaited with leather thongs (modern) secured by round-headed nails, and partly bound with red velvet.
German, about 1600.
The cross-bars of A935 and A936 were probably added when the present identical shafts were fitted. A937|1|1|Boar spear, with a leaf-shaped of flattened diamond section, set between narrow curved branches, serrated on the inner edge; socket of circular section fluted and roped. It is richly decorated on both sides in gold on a blackened ground with the arms of a duke of Parma of the House of Farnese, probably Ranuccio I (who reigned from 1592 until 1622), before his election to the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1601, rather than, as Meyrick suggests, his father and predecessor, the great Alessandro Farnese (d. 1592), who received the order in 1586 (the year before his accession to the dukedom of Parma).
The quarterings include the escutcheon of Portugal, added to the Farnese arms Alessandro in right of his wife, Mary of Portugal, and also the insignia of the Gonfaloniership of the Holy Roman Church, conferred upon Ranuccio I, in succession in gold with trophies of arms and small leaves and flowers. At the base of the branches on either side of the socket is a horse's head in relief, the flutings gilt; the staff covered with red velvet, is modern.

Italian (Milanese), about 1590-1600.

Skelton II, pl. LXXXVIII; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 745.

Provenance: Sir. S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer. A938|1|1|Glaive, with a tall head with a curved cutting edge, double-edge towards the point; square socket bearing the maker's mark, four iron straps on the staff. The blade is inscribed and dated along the back-edge of each side:

MATER DEI MEMENTO MEI 1551

and has an etched panel mid-way containing the crossed timbers of Burgundy and the bricquet of the Order of the Golden Fleece surmounted by a crown and the letters F ∙ A on a granulated ground of the future Emperor Ferdinand I, as King of Bohemia and Hungary. The haft lacks its ferrule and is deeply incised with the initials WI and less deeply with the initials HA, presumably those of two different Archer Guards who carried this particular weapon.
German, dated 1551.
The ragged St. Andrew's cross passed, with other armorial Burgundian attributes, to the house of Austria after the marriage of the heiress Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold, to Maximilian I in 1477.
In March 1551 Ferdinand I met his brother, the Emperor Charles V, at Augsburg in order to settle the question of the Imperial succession. As a result Ferdinand was designated the heir instead of the Emperor's son Philip II. O. Gamber suggested that the glaives of this type dated 1551 might be connected with this event, perhaps inspired by those carried by the Emperor's bodyguard (letter of July 1984). A939|1|1|Glaive, with a tall head with a single, curved edge, double-edged towards the point; oblong half-socket of rectangular section, with four iron straps secured by brass star-headed rivets. Decorated with an etched shield of arms encircled with the collar of the Golden Fleece, and surmounted by an archducal bonnet; above is the letter F. The haft lacks its ferrule, and is incised with the letter A, possibly the initial of the Archer Guard who carried it.
The arms are those of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (1529-95), second son of the Emperor Ferdinand I, and the founder of the collection at Schloss Ambras. It is possible that the glaives or Kusen of this pattern were made in 1555 when the Archduke was received into the Order of the Golden Fleece. (See Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, EXV, p. 62.)
German, about 1600-1615.
Skelton II, pl. LXXXV, fig. 7.
Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick.
Exhibited: South Kensington, 1869, no. 198. A941|1|1|Glaive, with a tall head with strong back-edge and slight moulding of octagonal section at the base, the latter gilt; the blade screws into a socket of circular section, has two short side-straps and a ferrule of bright steel at the end; the staff is of beech. On either side of the blade, etched and gilt, are the arms of Austria impaling Burgundy ancient, crowned, charged upon a double-headed eagle , and accompanied by the Order of the Golden Fleece, for the emperor Leopold I (1658-1705). The back-edge of the blade is etched with a number and the maker's name:

29 Du Maufacturier J: Phil: Kirschbaum à Sohlingen

German (Solingen), about 1670.

Provenance: E. Juste (Un Couteau de brèche aux armes d' Autriche, 250 fr.; receipted bill, 3 April, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

No Solingen smith called Kirschbaum with the initials J.P. is recorded, but a Philip Kirschbaum, Kaufhändler (merchant in edged weapons and cutlery), son of Wilhelm Kirschbaum, is recorded transferring two marks from the old rolls to the new on 12 February 1778 (H. U. Haedeke, letter of 12 January 1983). At Vienna and at Schloss Ambras are many glaives for the Archer Guard bearing Leopold's monogram and the date 1666. They are of a very much more elaborate pattern (see Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LXV, p. 63, and compare fig. 59). Thomas (loc. cit., pp. 77-8, fig. 62) illustrates one of twenty-four weapons similar to A941 in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, which he suggested were of an archer-guard of the Emperor Charles VI (born 1685, Emperor 1711-40). Gamber suggested, however, that the absence of the arms of Lorraine at the period indicated by the signature indicates that this weapon was used by the Austrian bodyguard of the Dowager Empress Maria Theresa (letter of 31 January 1983). Her husband, Francis of Lorraine, died in 1765, and their son Joseph II (1765-90) succeeded as Emperor and continued the use of the arms of Lorraine combined with those of Austria. Maria Theresa reigned in Bohemia and Hungary as Queen, and in Austria as Archduchess. She died in 1780. A942|1|1|Glaive, with a tall head with curved cutting-edge, the back-edge has a small projection in the form of a dolphin; below this is an upward-curving spike; at the base two moulded horizontal lugs; rectangular socket with faceted edges and two short side-straps; staff of flattened octagonal section with traces of velvet binding and thickly studded with brass rosette-headed nails; it bears two tassels, one above the other, of crimson silk and gilt wire and, at the end, an iron ferrule. The blade is etched on either sides with the arms of France (modern), charged with a bend, which are those of Louis II de Bourbon (1513-1582), duc de Montpensier, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon and Dauphin of Auvergne, surmounted by a coronet, supported below by a classical warrior.

Italian (? Brescian), about 1587.

Exhibited: ? Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1825. De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 11; Laking European Armour III, fig,. 889 (b).

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Eleven similar weapons bearing these arms are now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, whither they came from the collection of the Duc de Dino (cat., nos. H29-39). Since the Baron de Cosson is now known to have purchased these from the Bourbon del Monte family in Florence, L. G. Boccia has identified the original owner as Giovanni Battista Bourbon del Monte (1541-1614), a mercenary commander who entered Venetian service and became Captain-general of the infantry in 1587 (Boccia, Cantelli and Maraini, Stibbert cat., IV, 1976, pp. 227-8 and 244-6 and figs. 69-70). See also the exhibition catalogue The Art of Chivalry, 1982, no. 78, where it is suggested that they may have been made in Brescia. Illustrated in the painting by Tetar van Elven of one of Nieuwerkerke's rooms, inscribed 1866, now in the Museum of Compiègne (no. C51-004; Savill, 1980, and see note under A65), and in Vollon's Interieur (Savill, 1982, and see note under A130). A943|1|1|Glaive, with a tall head with curved cutting-edge, the back has a triple branched projection to the form of the Greek ε, and pierced with a group of seven holes, the upper and lower ends of the branches are shaped as the heads of a grotesque animal; two shaped spurs at the base; the socket of octagonal section without side-straps. The surface of the blade has two oval cartouches, now blank, but formerly adorned with arms, among roughly incised figures, grotesque animals and birds with bands of annular and semi-circular, punched work; traces of gilding remain. Octagonal staff tapering to the base is covered with worn crimson velvet. There are two tassels, one above the other, secured by four copper alloy, lion-headed nails; the staff is also studded with round-headed nails, gilt, and terminates in a ferrule. In form this glaive resembles A944.

Italian (Venetian?), about 1600.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. II.

There are many of these processional glaives preserved in the Doge's Palace at Venice.

Provenance: E. Juste (Un Couteau de brèche ciselé et doré, hampe garnée en velours avec têtes de lions, 600 fr.; receipted bill, 20 June, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A944|1|1|Glaive, closely resembling A943. The tall head has a curved cutting-edge, the back with a triple branched projection shaped to the form of the Greek ε, and pierced at the centre with a group of seven holes; at the base two shaped spurs; tapering socket of octagonal section and two short side straps; the blade is boldly incised with trophies of arms, cornucopias and semi-circular punch marks, with an oval (blank) shield in the centre. The staff is studded with brass-headed nails and has a strong, tapering ferrule of circular section (probably a restoration).

Italian, about 1600. A945|1|1|Glaive, with a tall head having a curved cutting-edge; shaped projection at the back with a spike of diamond section, the whole is pierced with three groups of nine oval holes; at the base two spurs of trefoil shape (one point broken off); socket of octagonal section with two short straps at the side. The surface of the blade is decorated with figures and scrolls worked with a small annular punch on a gilt ground; in the centre a coat of arms: Barry of six, with a lion of St. Mark in the dexter canton, for Venier of Venice. The original tinctures of the Venier arms are argent and gules, the lion of St. Mark gules. For another variety of the Venier arms see the glaives A947-8; compare also the companion glaive A946. Octagonal staff (modern) studded with brass-headed nails and furnished with a silk and gilt-wire tassel.

Italian (Venetian), about 1620.

Skelton II, pl. LXXXV, fig. 3 (?); Laking, European Armour III, fig. 899(a).

Provenance: Lxxx (de) sale, Oudart, Paris, 29 January 1868, lot 70; Oudart's receipted bill, 29 January 1868, 655/r.; Nieuwerkerke (archives of the Collection; S. Gaynor, personal communication, 1984).

The glaive reproduced by Skelton closely resembles A945, and apparently bears the same arms, but slight variations in detail make it difficult to decide, without corrobarative evidence, whether it is this glaive or one like it, that is represented.

The Royal Armouries have two similar but simpler glaives with these arms, which are presumably slightly earlier (nos. VII. 946-7). A946|1|1|Glaive, a companion to A945. For another variety of the Venier arms, see A947-8.

Italian (Venetian), about 1620.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pI. 11.

Provenance: see under A945. A947|1|1|Processional glaive, having a very large head with the top broadening and curving backwards; the back-edge has a large, branched projection shaped with lions ridden by cupids on either side, and between them five rays incised with foliage enclosing a boy struggling with a monster. Higher up is a smaller projection of three leaves; octagonal socket and two short side-straps. The blade is crudely engraved with figures, animals and trophies, and on each side is a cartouche containing the Imperial eagle, but on one side, superimposed upon it, are the quartered arms (1-4, obliterated, but possibly a bird of some kind: a phoenix or eagle displayed; 2-3, barry of six (Venier?)). Meyrick's ascription of these arms to the Doge Francesco 'Veneri' (who held office from 1554 to 1556) would appear to be based upon the circumstance that one branch of that family bore: 1-4, a phoenix in flames; 2-3, barry of six (Venier). But the Doge in question was apparently not a member of this branch of the house; as in quarters 2-3. Modern staff covered with faded and patched crimson cut velvet and furnished with a large tassel of crimson wool. Compare the companion glaive, A948 and A945, which bears another variety of the Venier arms.

North Italian, about 1640.

See Skelton II, pl. LXXXV, fig. 6.

Meyrick states that this glaive was:

'One of eight in this Collection made for the Guard of the Doge of Venice during the time that the Emperor Charles V had the command there, in compliment to whom the central ornament on the blade is the Austrian Eagle. Upon this the arms of the succeeding Doge, Francisco Veneri, who held the office from 1554 to 1556, have been deeply incised, no doubt to commemorate the expulsion of the Germans'.

The poor quality of this glaive and its indifferent engraving suggest that it belongs more probably to the first half of the 17th century than to the 16th.
Two of the eight glaives referred to by Meyrick are in this Collection (A947-8), and two others were in the Leonard Brassey sale, Christie's, 21 February, 1922, lots 90 and 96. Meyrick Catalogue, nos. 462-3, 469-70, 474-5.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

The original arms were not those of the Emperor, as stated in the 1962 Catalogue, but a double-headed eagle charged on its breast with an oval shield bearing an anulet, between the heads an open crown. These arms were borne by one branch of the Barbaro family of Venice (the field and oval shield argent, the eagle sable, the anulet gules). The later, superimposed arms are quarterly 1 and 4, a pelican in its piety; 2 and 3, barry of six; arms borne by one branch of the Venier family of Venice. A948|1|1|Processional glaive, a companion to A947. The arms upon this blade are less worn than those on A946, and the Imperial eagle beneath the barry of six more clearly seen; this, therefore, is probably the one referred to by Meyrick and reproduced by Skelton. The staff is covered with brown velvet, and bears a label cut from the Meyrick Catalogue (1869):

458
'Glaive, engraved steel; belonging to the guard of the Doge of Venice; Italian, 16th century'.

Italian (Venetian), about 1640.

Skelton II, pl. LXXXV, fig. 6; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 468.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

The original arms were not those of the Emperor, as stated in the 1962 Catalogue, but a double-headed eagle charged on its breast with an oval shield bearing an anulet, between the heads an open crown. These arms were borne by one branch of the Barbaro family of Venice (the field and oval shield argent, the eagle sable, the anulet gules). The later, superimposed arms are quarterly 1 and 4, a pelican in its piety; 2 and 3, barry of six; arms borne by one branch of the Venier family of Venice. A949|1|1|Ceremonial glaive, with a tall head, the forward cutting-edge shaped to a gradual convex curve. The back is practically straight and has a sharp edge for ten inches from the point, where it is broken by a projecting scroll-shaped leaf. Placed at right angles two-thirds of the way down there is an ornamental projection (as on A945-6), the edges elaborately cut out and pierced with a circle of eight holes and ending in a spike of diamond section. At the base of the blade are two short, trilobate spurs. The blade is joined to the socket by a cushion-shaped member. The socket is of flattened octagonal section with two long side-straps or langets. The blade (except for the cutting-edge and point) is overlaid on both sides with fine gold arabesques enclosing irregular panels, framed in interlacements studded with silver piqué dots and containing emblems and insignia engraved and gilt; the ornament throughout is on a blackened ground. In an oval escutcheon in the centre are the arms of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (a griffin displayed, beneath a chief charged with an eagle displayed) surmounted by a cardinal's hat. The panels above this contain successively, the griffin from the Borghese arms, three palm-branches encircled by a coronet, and the Papal tiara and crossed keys. Below is the eagle from the Borghese arms, and the bottom panel is filled with a foliated pattern. The socket has small panels similarly framed in silver dots, containing foliage and demi-figures. The side-straps are engraved with a strip of foliage, but only roughly executed as they would normally be covered by the tassel. In 1908 the head was dismounted from its original velvet-covered staff, and a short truncheon substituted for purposes of exhibition.

North Italian, about 1620.

Laking, European Armour IV, p. 343, fig. 1411.

Provenance: possibly the glaive acquired by Nieuwerkerke for 500 livres from Moreau, vîcomte de Courval, which was the subject of correspondence between them in March, 1868, in which there was a suggestion that it should first be offered to the Emperor.

According to the late Sir Guy Laking, there were originally twenty-five of these weapons preserved in the Palazzo Borghese in Rome from which this example was removed in the 18th century. Another of the set is now in the Musée de l' Armée at Paris (no. K 126), which was presented to the French Government by Prince Borghese in 1836. Eight of them were included in the Palais Borghese sale, Rome, March, 1892. Examples are in the Armeria Reale at Turin; in Prince Odescalchi's collection, Rome; in Viscount Astor's collection at Hever Castle; in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Riggs and Stuyvesant collections); one in C. O. von Kienbusch's collection (now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art); and one in the Gardner Museum at Boston; one was in the Baron collection (du Sommerard, Album I, pl. IV), 1838, perhaps identical with A949; two were in the Leiden collection, sold Cologne, 1934, lots 501, 502. They have been copied in recent times and not all the extant specimens are genuine.

Scipione Borghese, elected Cardinal in 1605, was the son of Marcantonio Caffarelli by his wife, Ortensia, sister of Pope Paul V (Borghese) whose name and arms he assumed.

This piece was offered by Nieuwerkerke to the South Kensington Museum for purchase in 1871. Receipt dated 21 July 1871. R. Lightbown (letter of 27 July 1966) suggested that the coat of arms might be that of Camillo Borghese, the future Pope Paul V (1605-21), when still Cardinal Vicar General of Rome. The Vicar General, who was the Pope's deputy in his diocese of Rome, had a band of archers and sergeants (see J. A. Aymon, Tableau de la Cour de Rome, The Hague 1707, pp. 166-8). Boccia and Coelho (1975, fig. 501 and note on p. 388) suggest, however, that the arms are those of Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese, nephew of Paul V. They believe that, although in the Venetian fashion, the glaives were made in Rome. In the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch collection, cat., no.138, pI. LXIII), are a backplate and culet decorated in the same manner and with the same motifs, which came from the Borghese sale of 1892. A950|1|1|Processional glaive, with a very large, flat, and almost rectangular head curved on one side at the top corner to a point; on the right near the base project two seated lions, pierced and gilt; invected lower edge converging to a diagonally fluted ball; into this the socket, of circular section, is screwed; no side-straps; turned ferrule of bright steel; the staff of octagonal section, covered with worn crimson velvet and bound spirally with braid. The lower part of the blade is boldly etched and gilt overall with a cartouche of arms: a lion rampant under a Doge's cap, supported by lions rampant and surmounted by the Lion of St. Mark. On the other side is crudely portrayed the standing figure of a man holding a dagger.

Possibly Italian (Venetian), about 1685.

Provenance: E. Juste? (Beau Fauchard italien, gravé et doré, 240 fr.; receipted bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke (?). A951|1|1|Halberd, with a head with a tapering top-spike ending in a strong point of diamond section; axe-blade with straight cutting-edge, pierced with a cross, a short fluke forming an angle of about 45 degrees, stamped with the maker's mark; the blade split to form a socket and extended as two side-straps, the whole made in one piece.

Swiss, 1663-81.

The pierced cross is a feature of the late 17th-century halberds, known even at that period as 'Sempach halberds'. This example bears the mark attributed to Lambert or Lamprecht Koller of Würenlos in Canton Argau (1640-81). He made about 1,127 halberds for the Zurich arsenal between 1663 and 1681. He was in the service of the Abbey of Wettingen, and also made halberds for Schwyz (see Meier, in Stüber & Wetter, 1982, pp. 223-50, figs. 16-16b and 24b). Others with the same mark were, or are, in the Boissonas Collection, no. 41; in the Historical Museum at Bern, nos. 1411 and 1412; and in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin (formerly the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte). A952|1|1|Halberd, the head with a strong top-spike ending in a strong point of diamond section; axe-blade with oblique cutting-edge; small fluke stamped with the maker's mark; the head is split to form an angular socket and extended as two side-straps, the whole made in one piece.

German, about 1500.

This halberd is typical of the kind carried by German and Swiss infantry at the end of the 15th and first half of the 16th centuries. A953|1|1|Halberd, the head with a tall, double-edged top-spike with central ridge; crescent-shaped (concave) axe-blade and drooping fluke; square socket with four long straps secured to the staff by screws over brass rosettes; riding on the socket is a strong square-shaped band. The head is etched on one side with the arms of Archduke Ernst (1553-1595), governor of the Low Countries, under an archducal bonnet and encircled with the collar of the Golden Fleece, the initials E E within palm and olive branches, and further decorated with conventional foliage on a granular ground. On the reverse side the initials are repeated with crossed timbers, and the flint and steel of Burgundy; the fluke bears on both sides the date 1593. The upper part of the staff is covered with brown velvet, and retains two tassels of copper wire formerly gilt.

German, dated 1593.

This halberd is one of a series, of which five are in the Deutsches Historisches Museum at Berlin (formerly the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte; the 1986 supplement records the old inventory numbers as W65-9), one in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (ex-Dino). The halberd in the Musée de l’Armée, Brussels, (formerly Porte de Hal Collection, inv. No. 4105) is not in fact identical (as was stated in the 1962 Catalogue), (for both see Squilbeck, Bulletin des Musées Royaux d' Art et d'Histoire, XXXII, pp. 82-7, figs. 5 and 6).

This particular series of halberds was presumably made for the Archduke's guard when he became Governor of the Netherlands in 1593 (Thomas, Vienna Jahrbuch, LXV, 1969, p. 63). A954|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.
Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.
Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A955|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A956|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A957|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.
Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.
Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A958|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A959|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A966|1|1|Halberd, the head with S-shaped axe-blade; two-edged spike with central ridge; drooping fleur-de-lys-shaped fluke; socket of round, faceted section; long side-straps; modern staff. The blade is etched with ovals containing upon the one side the arms of Saxony; upon the other the insignia of the Arch-Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire enclosed in strapwork. The fluke is deeply stamped on one side with a maker's mark.

German (Saxon), about 1600-1620.

Provenance: Henry Courant (Une albarde gravée aux armes de Saxe) 200 fr.; receipted bill, 6 June, 1865; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The mark is a very common one on halberds and is found, for instance, on examples in the Royal Armouries (VII. 1028); the Boissonas Collection, formerly at Geneva (described by Buttin); the Zeughaus at Solothurn; the Musée de l’Armée, Brussels; Hermitage, St. Petersburg; Metropolitan Museum, New York; and many in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin. A967|1|1|Halberd, the head with a long, tapering spike of diamond section, with three cusps at the base; axe-blade of crescent (concave) shape; curved fluke; socket of round section and two side-straps; the surface is etched with scrolls and strapwork, formerly gilt, and cartouches containing on one side the arms of Saxony, and on the other the crossed key and sword of Naumberg, surmounted by small Roman capital letters:

+F+S+C+V+

with the date below:
+1+6+1+0+

The fluke is etched with the initials:
*A * H * Z * S *
(August Herzog zu Sachsen)
br>The arms are those of Augustus (son of Christian I, Elector of Saxony), who was Administrator of the Bishopric of Naumberg, and died in 1615. The octagonal staff (a restoration) has a tassel of crimson silk.
br>German (Saxon), dated 1610. A968|1|1|Halberd, the head with leaf-shaped spike with central ridge; small axe-blade with concave edge; drooping fluke, stamped on one side with a maker's mark. It is decorated with two pairs of figures (male and female) in civil dress, Roman shields, helmeted head, drum, a bird, and scrolls of conventional foliage etched on a blackened and granulated ground; ten-sided socket, which bears traces of gilding; two side-straps; staff of circular section and large crimson tassel; the shoe missing.
br>South German (possibly Austrian), about 1575.
br>A very similar weapon with the same mark in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, is dated 1575 (1975 cat., no. 502). A970|1|1|Halberd, the head with a top-spike of flattened diamond section, pierced longitudinally in the centre; at the base six curved bands are grouped to form a hollow knob, each swelling in the centre and bearing a mask in relief; crescent-shaped axe-blade with concave edge and drooping fluke, both decoratively pierced; the whole roughly incised with bands of punched work, gilt; two side-straps, of which the upper portions are widened to form the socket; the staff of octagonal section, studded with brass-headed nails; portions of the velvet binding remain; the staff also has three bands of applied brass ornament consisting of fleurs-de-lys, dolphins, suns in splendor, and double-headed eagles, the dolphins and eagles both ensigned by a crown; turned ferrule of brass.
br>Italian (?), about 1630.
br>Skelton I, pl. XC, fig. 4 (?). Skelton's drawing shows slight variations in detail, but otherwise closely resembles A970.
br>Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick (?); Frédéric Spitzer (?)
br>Similar ornamental nail-heads occur on a halberd of this type in the Royal Armouries, no. VII, 1012 (Norton Hall Collection), and on another in the possession of Mr. W. J. Hemp.
br>Compare the similarly incised (not etched) decoration on A971. A975|1|1|War hammer, the head of two parts: (1) hammer of diamond section with dentated face and strong, four-sided beak on the reverse side; it is secured to the haft by short straps; (2) short, vertical spike of diamond section widening to form a square box which fits over both hammer and beak, and is secured with a bolt and nut. The edges of the box lightly serrated. Haft of oak shod with modern iron ferrule.
Possibly French, about 1450.
Viollet-le-Duc VI, 189. The iron ferrule to the haft is not reproduced; Laking, European Armour III, fig. 871
Provenance: Félix Petitprêtre (?) (marteau d'arme, 75 fr.; receipted bill, 13 March, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. This piece was formerly catalogued as coming from the Juste Collection, but the war hammer A976, answers more closely to the description given in his bill.
The large size of the head of this piece relative to the length of the haft suggests that it may originally have been mounted on a longer staff as a two-handed weapon.
This type of hammer (martel-de-fer) is the precursor of the bec-de-faucon, or Rabenschnabel. Designed to defeat plate armour, one is shown in the hands of a horseman in Uccello's picture of The Battle of San Romano in the National Gallery. An early instance is on a late 13th-century effigy in Malvern Abbey church. A960|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A961|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A962|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.
Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A963|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.
Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A964|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.
Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A965|1|1|Halberd, one of twelve in the Collection, belonging to a much larger series made for the guard of the Elector of Saxony; all of the twelve at the Wallace Collection are of one pattern, differing only slightly in the details. Each has a head with long, two-edged, strongly ridged spike; axe-blade, with the cutting-edge shaped as a double curve; drooping fluke, shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lys; socket of circular section with mouldings at top and bottom, and four side-straps with shaped ends (one strap has been broken off and is now missing); the surface of the blade is etched with strapwork enclosing scrolls of foliage on a blackened ground, and in the centre scrolled cartouches, containing the insignia of the Arch Marshalship of the Holy Roman Empire: party per fesse two swords in saltire and gilt, upon one side, and the arms of Saxony upon the other; pine staff of circular section inlaid with nine longitudinal rows of barley-shaped studs in hardwood (probably box), to facilitate the grip. The socket is fully gilt, and the straps, bearing etched panels, are secured by round-headed steel rivets.

Large numbers of these halberds and their accompanying morions (see A114) exist in public and private collections, including the Royal Armouries; they were carried by the personal Guard of the Electors of Saxony, and date from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th.

German (Saxon), about 1586-1591.
Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1419 (a).

According to H. Nickel (in Stüber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 168-90, fig. Ic), this pattern was carried by the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector Christian I of Saxony. For examples of their helmets see under A114-18. A960 has the remains of its original caul and tassel. A971|1|1|Halberd, the head with a very long top-spike of diamond section; pierced axe-blade with concave edge, and drooping fluke, both decorated with piercings and scale and diaper patterns on a blackened ground roughly incised and gilt; two side-straps widening at the upper end to form the half-socket, which is of rectangular section and reinforced with a square band; oak staff of octagonal section, with tassel of crimson silk; spike-shaped ferrule of wrought iron bearing traces of silver.

Italian or French (?), about 1630.

Compare similarly incised (not etched) decoration on A970. A972|1|1|Halberd, the top-spike of flattened diamond section with two small curved ears at the base. Small axe-blade with concave edge, chiselled and pierced with winged monsters; balanced on the other side by a fluke similarly decorated. Socket of round section with short langets or side-straps down the staff; on the left side of the socket is a hook in the form of a long-necked monster. In addition to the pierced and chiselled decoration, the base of the spike is ornamented with roughly engraved foliage, and the socket with a chevron pattern. Modern staff of walnut.

Probably Italian, mid-17th century. A973|1|1|Halberd, the top-spike with waved edges and strong central ridge, the edges at the base of the blade curved inwards and chiselled as palm branches, the space between being chiselled and engraved as a seeded fleur-de-lys; the decoration formerly gilt. The spike is carried on a bold moulding. Plain, triangular axe-blade with wavy edges, balanced by triple flukes, the outer two also wavy. In the centre, between blade and flukes, the surface is chiselled with a sun in splendor, formerly gilt. Cylindrical socket between two mouldings at the neck, then octagonal and pierced with a transverse steel lug. It bears faint traces of engraved foliage. Two langets or side-straps.

Staff of walnut with moulded steel ferrule.

French from about 1660 to the end of the Ancien Régime.

Saint Rémy, Mémoires, 1697, pI. 94A, Pertuisanne monté sur sa hampe pour les Cens Suisses du Roy. In the Musée de l' Armée, Paris, are preserved thirty-nine halberds of the set: nos. K 318- K 356, which were carried by the Gardes Suisses of the King of France. They vary somewhat in quality and in minor details, and are possibly not all of the same period; most of them are numbered on the socket. Others are in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac, and one was in the Offerman sale, New York, 1937, lot. 196. See also nos. J 63 and 64 at Turin.

The Swiss Guard had its origin in a mercenary regiment during the Wars of Religion, and was first incorporated in the permanent establishment in 1589 and in the guards in 1615. The massacre of the Swiss Guard was one of the events of the French Revolution (10 August, 1792). The guard was partially revived at the Restoration, and finally disappeared in 1830. A similar form of halberd was carried by the Swiss Guard of the Dukes of Savoy, being differentiated by a cross of Savoy (Turin, J 65-91).

Similar weapons are illustrated by P. Dulin, Costumes du Sacre de Louis XV, and by G.-F. Doyen, Louis XVI recevant I' hommage des Chevaliers de I' Ordre de Saint-Esprit, Ie 13 Juin 1775, both at Versailles. Carre, Panoplie, 1795, pI. Ill, H, Pertuisane des Suisses. Only one of those now at Paris, no. K.324, has the engraved fleur-de-lys at the base of the main spike. It presumably indicates the weapon of a Sergeant of the Cent Suisses de la Garde du Roi (C. Aries, fasc. XII, 1969, Hallebarde des Cent-Suisses, no. 1). This unit, which formed part of the Garde du dedans du Louvre, is entirely distinct from the much younger Régiment des Gardes Suisses. However, this second unit had a number of trabans whose duty was to act as body-guard to the Colonel. They also carried halberds and it is not impossible that A973 is an example of such a weapon (Col. M. D. McCarthy, personal communication, June 1982). A974|1|1|Halberd, the long, pyramidal spike, the four sides pierced at the base with a circular hole from which vertical openings run upwards to within 1 1/2 inches of the point. The neck is ornamented with turned mouldings, and carries two small down-curving hooks. Below this is a hollow flattened sphere formed of steel loops set closely together. Octagonal socket, on one side of which is a slender, crescent-shaped axe-blade with a pierced trefoil projecting in the centre, the whole thing elaborately pierced. This is balanced by a fig-shaped hammer formed of a series of close-set bars, not unlike the head of a mace. From the centre of this springs a short pyramidal spike, its base pierced with four holes. Modern octagonal staff of oak studded with large, brass-headed nails. Steel ferrule.

Probably French, mid-17th century. A976|1|1|War hammer, the head of two parts: (1) The hammer of hollowed diamond section with flat diamond-shaped face, balanced on the reverse side by a sharp beak (bec-de-faucon); (2) the leaf-shaped, vertical spike, springing from a faceted knob; this becomes a rectangular socket which passes over the neck of the head and continues down the haft in narrow straps, thus securing the hammer and beak. The grip at the bottom end is covered with velvet. The metal parts are minutely decorated with portrait medallions, scrolls, etc., etched and solidly gilt. On one side of the fluke is etched a shield charged with a lion rampant and a label of three points; on the other side is etched a device which appears to be a lance-rest of Italian type.
North Italian, about 1510.
Boccia and Coelho, 1975, fig. 266, and note on pp. 357-8.
Provenance: E Juste (Marteau d' armes italien à pointe, 200 fr. (with other pieces); receipted bill, 3 October, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The decoration is typical of Italian etched floral ornament on a hatched ground as practised between 1480 and 1520, and is very lightly bitten; the medallions which contain antique bearded heads are now indistinct. The haft has been shortened and the gilt, moulded ferrule (pommel) on the end is modern. A977|1|1|War Hammer (Czákany), with a square, stepped, hammer-head with square face and moulded neck, balanced by a long, slightly drooping, fluted beak. Short, socket straps with shaped edges at top and bottom. Octagonal wooden haft covered with leather and studded with groups of brass-headed nails (probably modern). The haft projects beyond the head at the top, and is finished at top and bottom with a steel cap with a small button in the centre.

Polish or Hungarian, first half of the 17th century.

This type of hammer is called Csákányfocos by J. Szendrei (1896, no. 6681).
J. Kalmár describes a similar hammer as Hungarian, using the name Czakany (Regi Magyar fegyverek, 1971, pp. 34-7, fig. 50). On the other hand M. Pasziewicz describes A977 as Polish (J.A.A.S., VIII, no. 3, 1975, pp. 225-8, pI. LXXXIV B). A comparable hammer is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (G. M. Wilson in A. MacGregor, 1983, pp. 204-6, no. 92, pI. LXVI). A comparable hammer head, said to have been found locally, is at Dyrham, Gloucestershire. There is a detached head of very similar form in the Henderson Collection, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. A978|1|1|Mace, in the German ‘Gothic’ style, the head having six small flanges, each drawn out to an acute angle and delicately shaped, pierced with trefoils, and broken with small architectural mouldings. The head is surmounted by a leaf-shaped cap of copper alloy. Hexagonal haft, each plane inlaid with a strip of copper alloy; the grip, round in section, bound with cord and leather thongs, is protected by the flat steel guard of hexagonal shape; a circular disk at the end is secured by a rosette of copper alloy.
South German, about 1470.
Gazette des Beaux-Arts, lère, xxiv, 1868, p. 423, no. 181, and pI. facing p. 422, Hefner-Alteneck, Waffen, 1903, pl. 67 D, E, F. Viollet-le-Duc VI, pp. 197-8; Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 10; Laking, European Armour III. fig. 879.
Provenance: Georg Wittemann of Geisenheim; Louis Carrand (Une masse d' armes gothique en fer incrusté de cuivre, 300 fr.; receipted bill, 6 August, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A979|1|1|Mace, the head set with eight triangular-shaped flanges, surmounted by a small knob; tubular steel haft of octagonal section for the upper half; long grip with circular mouldings and partly fluted spirally at the base. It is pierced for a leather thong or cord; the entire surface richly decorated with an arabesque of conventional foliage fire-gilt on a blued ground, the grip decorated with bands of scale-pattern. On the flanges the areas to be fire-gilded were first etched to produce a sunken area to accept the gold.

North Italian (Milanese), about 1550.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857.

J. B. Waring, Art treasures of the United Kingdom from the Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester, Vol. II, pI. 14, no. 4 (Meyrick).

Provenance: William Meyrick. A980|1|1|Mace, the head composed of six curved, tubular flanges; short finial springing from a semi-circular knob on top; hollow half pierces for a cord or strap; grip separated from the haft by a moulding. The pommel unscrews on a reverse thread. The whole of the surface is of blued steel overlaid with finely executed floral arabesques in silver and gold, the grip varied by having a reticulated design, with the lozengy strapwork silver, and the intervals filled with conventional flowers in gold. The decoration of the grip appears to be of later date. Presumably this area originally had a covering of leather, cord, or textile.

North Italian (Milanese?), about 1560.

Exhibited: ? Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1942.

Lièvre, Musées et collections, 3 Ser., pI. 22; L' Art Ancien I, no. 163; Lièvre, Collections Célèbres, pl. 31; Lièvre, Musée Graphique pl. 1.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer; Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A981|1|1|Mace, the head set with seven flanges, with shaped edges and strong pointed projections at the middle, and is surmounted by a pyramidal knop. The calyx of the terminal knob, the edges, the reinforced points of the flanges, and the lower ferrule of the head have been gilt. Octagonal haft of bright steel with two small shields in low relief, engraved with a cross on a quatrefoil, and the Roman letters S.P.Q.R. (Senatus Populusque Romanus) on a bend of the quatrefoil. There is a hole for the cord or thong. The surface of the grip is worked with a diamond design in relief, the end spirally fluted, with bands of gilding on the moulding.

North Italian, about 1550.
Viollet-le-Duc VI, 200.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A comparable mace is held by Pase Guarienti in his portrait formerly attributed to Paolo Veronese, dated 1556 (Verona, Museo di Castelvecchio, inv. no. 267). A982|1|1|Mace, with a large head of seven flanges, of simple cusped form with concave edges. It is surmounted by a finial in the form of an acorn. Tubular steel socket ending with a band of roping. Grip or haft of briar or thorn wood with a knotted surface, which is probably 19th-century. The flanges of the head are decorated with conventional, scrolled foliage, on a hatched ground, the socket with spiral lines and delicately etched vines and tendrils.

Italian (?), about 1540.

The acorn, often found on German maces, may not in this case be the original one and possibly replaces a larger finial. The etched decoration is in the Italian style, but as this had spread to Germany by the middle of the 16th century it is not a sure indication of nationality.

A comparable mace is depicted in the portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale by Parmigianino, dated 1524, at Naples (Capodimonte, cat., no. 111). A983|1|1|Mace, with a head of seven flanges, the edges shaped and engraved as pairs of dolphins on either side of a strongly reinforced central spike, the whole surmounted by a fluted knob. Tubular, faceted haft, alternate facets incised with parallel horizontal lines. It is pierced above the grip for a thong. Spirally fluted grip, the flutes separated by incised lines. Flat pommel with roped edge and fluted button. The surface was originally blued, while the dolphins on the flanges, the incised facets on the haft, and the moulding between the flutes on the grip, are gilt. The blueing is now largely replaced with black paint.

Probably Italian, about 1550.
De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 10, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, lère, xxiv, 1868, p. 423, no. 182, and pI. facing p. 422.
Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A mace answering to this description, formerly in the possession of P. J. de Loutherbourg, the painter, was exhibited in the Gothic Hall, 1818, as no. 122, and in 1819 and 1820 as no. 128. A985|1|1|Mace, the head set with eight flanges shaped to a double scroll, and surmounted by a spherical knob; hollow steel haft of circular section tapering slightly towards the head, pierced above the grip for a lanyard; flat cap on the end with a moulded rim and a ring in the centre. The head is etched and then fire-gilt, scrolled foliage; the haft is fire-gilt with oblong panels filled with scrolls, interlaced strapwork and fleurs-de-lys in gold on a russeted ground.

North Italian (Milanese), about 1580.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1401, Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 251, 'Milan, about 1570-80'. A986|1|1|Mace, with a spherical head, set with twenty-two square-section spikes; tubular haft with two mouldings near the head; the grip, nearly square in section protected by a small rondel, beneath which it is pierced for a lanyard; conical pommel finished with a small button. The head, the upper part of the haft and the grip are minutely decorated with addorsed C-shaped scrolls, filled with delicate arabesques overlaid in gold and silver, on a russeted ground; on the head are seven oval panels with borders encrusted with silver pearls or dots and containing figures representing Music, Fame, Venus and Cupid, etc., the haft with three panels of like decoration and the grip with four figures of: Mars, Hercules, Diana and Flora, chiselled in low relief. The central portion of the haft is vertically striped with gold.

North Italian (Milanese), second half 16th century.

L' Art Ancien IX, no. 1010; Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1403, Boccia and Coelho, L' arte dell' armatura, 1975, pI. 474, 'Milan, about 1575'; Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 250, 'Milan, 1560-70'; Bosson, Armi antiche, 1963, pp. 107-40, lists comparable weapons.

A previous identification of this mace with the name 'masse d' arme orientale damasquinée . . . 200 fr.' bought by the Comte de Nieuwerkerke (with other pieces) from Baur is unlikely. Besides not being Oriental, its quality would have commanded a much higher price. Furthermore, Spitzer is unlikely to have ceded so fine a weapon at a fraction of its value to Baur, a dealer of lesser standing. It is more likely that it passed direct from Spitzer to Sir Richard Wallace.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The decoration is not strictly comparable to that of the armour of Don Juan of Austria at Vienna (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. A1048-9), as once thought. A very similar mace was sold from the collection of Graf Erbach at Fischer's, Lucerne, 6-7 September 1932, lot 41, repr. in cat. It was said to match a 'Spanish' morion bearing the arms of Porro of Como (op. cit., lot 40, repr. in cat.). Both pieces came from the collection of Count Trivulzio of Milan, and both are now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in the Kienbusch collection, but not in the published catalogue. The comparable decoration on a kettle hat in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 67.194; exhibited, The Art of Chivalry, 1982, no. 27, 'Milan, about 1590'), has been connected with that of an armour for the barriers, possibly of the Emperor Ferdinand II, at Vienna (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. A1712). This bears the mark of an anonymous maker with the initials IO who used as a device a castle, thought to represent Milan. Three comparable maces are in the Armeria Reale, Turin (nos. 135-7; Mazzini, 1982, nos. 201-2, n. on pp. 367-8). A987|1|1|Farrier's hammer , the head of bronze, slightly arched, the face, reinforced with steel, is octagonal in section; the peen at the back is split for extracting nails, and there are two projecting lips at the eye on top. It is engraved with scrolls of conventional foliage, and has a horseman with baton and St. George and the Dragon on either side respectively. Haft of dark wood (probably cocus) strengthened with two side-straps or langets, the surface inlaid with plaques of mother-of-pearl and tendrils probably of antler; short grip of bone engraved with the scene of a farrier at work and a similar hammer is in the background; at the end is a turned cap of ivory of spherical form, probably of later date.

German, about 1640.

The elaborate decoration suggests that it was probably part of the insignia of a guild of farriers.

A similar hammer is in the Art Institute of Chicago (Wriston, Museum studies, 1967, pp. 74-93, Fig. 15a, and details on facing page). A990|1|1|Commander's baton, of wood, cylindrical, covered with crimson velvet, with mounts at each end of gilt bronze ornamented with trophies of arms and laurel leaves chiselled in sharp relief.

French or Italian, about 1690-1700.

A very similar baton is in the Royal Armoury at Turin, no. Q 7. A991|1|1|Sceptre, of silver, hollow, of tapering baluster form, with cylindrical grip covered with crimson velvet. In front of the grip, the base of the baluster is overlaid with decorative mounts of silver-gilt, pierced and chased, with the figures of the Virgin and Child, St. Peter and St. Paul in architectural frames of Renaissance ornament. At intervals before and behind the grip, round the baluster, and at the summit, are circular hollow bands of puffed ornament, constructed of spirally twisted ribands of silver, similar to the ornament on the scabbards of some Landsknecht daggers (see for example A762).

German (probably Augsburg), about 1600.

Provenance: Couvreur, 29 rue le Peletier, Paris (Septre argent époque du 16e Siècle, 450 fr.; reciepted bill, 18 August, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
There is a silver 'sceptre' of this type, dated 1622, in the Nordiska Museum at Stockholm, which was part of the insignia of the tailors' guild. It is possible that A991 belonged to a German university, where pairs of sceptres of this type are carried in academic processions (information from Dr. G. Berg). If this sceptre belonged to a German university it must have been a Catholic one since the decoration contains figures of Saints. A992|1|1|Partizan, with a long, tapering head, two-edged and strongly ridged up the centre; small cusped wings at the base; ten-sided socket with two lugs, four-sided, projecting on either side, with short side-straps. The lower part of the blade is etched on either side with two medallion heads surrounded by scrolls of conventional foliage on an obliquely hatched ground, the socket is etched with scrolls and stamped twice with a circular mark; octagonal staff of oak with ferrule of like section, the socket secured to the haft by a pyramidal-headed bolt.

Italian, about 1550. A993|1|1|Partizan, with a broad, tapering, two-edged head of flattened diamond section, with small crescent-shaped flukes in the lower part, the point of one being broken. The surface is decorated for half its length on each side with intricate etched and gilt ornament, comprising a central oval cartouche containing a male bust (on one side a bearded king, on the other a warrior) between trefoil-shaped panels of trophies of arms above and below; the remaining spaces are filled with scrolled foliage and terminal monsters. The etching is of fine quality. The socket is etched with strapwork, foliage and half-figures. Transverse brass lug in the form of a twisted scorpion. Large elaborately woven tassel of gold thread with a fringe of green silk.

Octagonal staff covered with green velvet, studded with nails with large, oval, brass heads around which are arranged in a pattern smaller nails with round heads formerly gilt. Moulded brass ferrule. The staff and tassel appear to be original.

Possibly French, about 1600.

Lièvre, Musées et collections, 1 Ser., pl. 58 (Spitzer); and Musée Graphique pl. 5.

Provenance: F. Spitzer. A994|1|1|Partizan, with a long, tapering, two-edged head strongly ridged down the middle, with small curved projections in the lower part. The surface is decorated with a dotted ornament of scrolled foliage, straps and traces of gilding; a maker's mark of a dagger on each side; socket of ten facets pierced with two large, pyramidal-headed lugs; short side-straps. Faceted haft-ferrule.

Italian, about 1580.

Provenance: Louis Carrand (?) (une hallebarde gravée avec gland, 160 fr.; receipted bill [undated but attached to those of 1870]); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A995|1|1|Partizan, with a small head with central ridge, the base with cusped flukes. It is remarkable for a large circular boss in the centre of each side; round socket with two straps; the whole wrought in one piece. The bosses are decorated with silver encrusting including a barred helmet and a trophy of arms and cannon. The rest of the decoration consists of a pair of helmeted medallion heads and foliage, richly encrusted in silver on a blackened ground, with borders of minute silver dots. The ground also bears traces of gilding. The socket is decorated en suite. Fluted staff of oak with ferrule of octagonal section.

Italian, about 1620.

L' Art Ancien III, no. 476.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer; (apparently not in exhibited in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, as previously thought). A996|1|1|Small ceremonial partizan, with a ridged blade narrowing sharply towards the point; the lower part, including the flukes, is pierced and chiselled with an openwork, symmetrical design of entwined, conventional foliage. The upper part is deeply engraved with bands of foliage and strawberry-like fruit in low relief. Round socket chiselled and pierced with foliage en suite with the blade. Modern staff.

Italian, about 1650.

A similar weapon is in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Z.O. no. 4086; Lenz, 1908, pI. XXVII, no. E414); another, in the possession of Prince Batthyàny-Strattmann, was illustrated by Szendrei (1896, no. 3028, on p. 505). A997|1|1|Partizan or spear, with a head of light bronze, or bell-metal, with projecting side-pieces intricately cusped, and pierced with circular holes; welded to the top is a steel spike of diamond section; octagonal socket. The lower part of the shaft is painted with red and white spiral stripes and, with part of the shaft of A1020, was apparently originally a banner stave.

Austrian, late 18th century or early 19th century.

Other weapons of this type are in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer at Vienna. An example of superior quality, formerly in the collection formed by Charles XV of Sweden, is in the K. Livrustkammaren, Stockholm (no. CXV 5417). A998|1|1|Partizan, with a broad, heart-shaped blade with two flukes at the base, and strong central ridge. The surface is covered with an etched design comprising on either side pairs of medallions containing heads of classical and oriental warriors amid conventional scrolled foliage and monsters, on a granulated ground. At the junction of head and socket is a prominent circular moulding. Octagonal socket etched with arabesques. Large tassel of yellow silk. Octagonal staff with four langets or steel straps below the socket. Steel, collar-shaped ferrule and quadrangular spike, the lower edge of the ferrule incised with V-shaped notches.

German, about 1590. A999|1|1|Partizan, with a tall head, the two-edged blade being of flattened diamond section, with upward-curving, cusped flukes of crescent shape; socket of circular section, with two side-straps (one of which has been restored); the blade and socket forged in one piece. The head is etched on a granular ground with a numerous assortment of military trophies and has in the centre of the lower part on both sides the arms of Wolfgang Wilhelm of Bavaria, Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Neuburg (quarterly of eight: Bavaria, Juliers, Cleves, Bergh, Veldentz, Marck, Ravensberg, Mörs, with the Lion of the Palatinate in pretence). The arms are encircled by the collar of the Golden Fleece, to which order Wolfgang Wilhelm was elected by Philip III of Spain. He was born in 1578, succeeded in 1614, and died in 1653. The socket bears his cipher, W W, and the date 1615; the straps are decorated with conventional laurel leaves; the staff of oak is a restoration.

For the sword presented to Wolfgang Wilhelm upon his succession to the Electorate in 1614 by Philip III, see A624.

German (Bavarian), dated 1615.

Skelton II, pl. LXXXVII, fig. 13; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 750.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

A like partizan, bearing the same arms and monogram, and dated 1618, is in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. VII. 217).

Wolfgang Wilhelm restored the Roman Catholic faith to the Palatinate, which his predecessor, Otto Heinrich (A29), had made Protestant.

The initials on the socket include the M of Magdalene, daughter of William V of Bavaria, the first wife of the Count Palatine. Another example is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 596, pI. CXXIX, where other examples are cited). A1000|1|1|Partizan, with a large, wavy head with broad bat-like asymmetrical wings; turned socket with five mouldings; two side-straps, reinforced on the third side with a short additional strap (which is missing on the fourth side); the head is boldly etched and decorated with parcel gilding, on one side the crest and insignia of the Cathedral Chapter of Lübeck (3 lances, the banners charged with crosses patty; supported by cranes holding lances in their beaks, as in the arms. The cranes are also holding the mitre, sword and episcopal staff. The episcopal staff and sword are in saltire behind the arms, while above is the episcopal mitre issuing from a coronet) and the motto (in allusion to the cross in the arms of the see):

IN · HOC · SIGNO

(The crest and episcopal insignia, not the arms, are here represented.) The other side bears the arms (three keys, 2 and 1; supporters: two cranes, each holding a key and the staff, sword and mitre arranged as on the obverse.), with the motto:

· POUR · BIEN ·

The staff is of dark oak and rectangular section, thickly studded with brass-headed nails; steel ferrule of like section.

North German, about 1640. A1001|1|1|Processional partizan, with a large, broad head with strongly-ridged and lateral projections in the lower part, shaped as the wings of an eagle; the blade screws into a socket of circular section fitted with two short straps. The head is boldly chiselled in low relief with two eagles holding respectively a mace and a sword surmounted with the crowned monogram C · S · W, or C · W · S. Since these initials cannot be identified with any member of the Imperial house, or of the houses of Saxony or Württemberg, they are probably those of Christian Wilhelm of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, who was created Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1693, and died in 1711. His arms had been augmented by the grant of an escutcheon charged with the imperial, crowned, double-headed eagle, and the same as a crest. He married (secondly) in 1684, Wilhelmina Christiana of Saxe-Weimar (whose initials also agree with the cipher); she died in 1712. The socket is turned at the top, and the short straps bear scrolls of conventional foliage chiselled en suite in low relief; the octagonal staff is of oak studded with fluted, pyramidal-headed nails; the ferrule of like section, ending in a knob; tassel of crimson and gold twisted fringe.

German, about 1690-1700.

L'Art Ancien V, 583.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer, not as previously thought exhibited in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 583.

Another example is in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. One or other of these may be the example illustrated in the catalogue of the Peuker sale (Brussels, Le Roy, 28-30 August 1854, pI. IV, fig. 49, but not identifiable in the text). A1002|1|1|Partizan, with a tall, flat, two-edged head of diamond section; extending at the base into cusped and shaped wings pierced with three round holes on either side of the ridge; ten-sided socket, with two side-straps. The lower part of the head is etched with scrolled foliage on a blackened ground with, on the one side, the arms of the Elector of Saxony under an Electoral bonnet and, on the other, with the monogram:

F · A · C

(Friedrich Augustus Churfürst)

Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, called The Strong; born in 1670, succeeded in 1694, elected King 1697, and died 1733. The companion partizan is A1003; see also the processional partizan A1010, and the sword A719.

German (Saxon), between 1694 and 1697.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 11.

Provenance: Felix Petitprêtre (Deux pertuisanes Saxonnes, gravées, 200 fr.; receipted bill, 3 April, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

It was only between 1694 and 1697 that Augustus I would have used these initials (see Müller and Kölling, 1981, no. 395, pI. 311). At various times numerous partizans and halberds have been dispersed as duplicates from the Saxon Royal Armoury (e.g. Sotheby's, 1 June, 1934, lots 123-5; Offerman sale, New York, 1937, etc.). Many still remain in the Historisches Museum at Dresden.

Similar partizans are in the Royal Armouries, no. VII. 214 and VII. 1303 (ex-Norton Hall). A1003|1|1|Partizan, a companion to A1002.

German (Saxon), about 1700.

Provenance: see under A1002. A1004|1|1|Partizan, with a flat, tapering, two-edged blade with central fuller; the lower part, where there are three projecting lugs on each side, is pierced and the edges shaped as crowned dolphins, the heads of eagles and of grotesques. The surface in this area, which is fire-gilt, is rather crudely chased with acanthus and other foliage, bearded profile heads, and an oval cartouche bearing on one side a male figure in classical armour holding aloft in each hand a laurel branch, and on the other side a figure of Atlas or Hercules supporting the Heavens. Tapering socket decorated with bright flutes alternating with gilt ribs incised with foliage, and with a knob which is of square section with a grotesque mask on each vertical part and is inlaid on the four faces with rectangular plaques of mother-of-pearl crudely engraved with profile heads (probably 19th century).

The head is secured to the staff by two straps engraved with scrolled foliage and gilt, and is held in position by a bolt which pierces the haft-socket at the base and forms two horizontal projections; neither straps nor bolt are reproduced by Asselineau and may be restorations. Oak haft of octagonal section studded with brass-headed nails; spiked ferrule with plate (modern).

French, about 1610.

Laking, European Armour IV, p. 348, fig. 1418. Not apparently exhibited in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865. Asselineau, pI. 105, fig. 5 (Baron); L'art ancien, V, no. 538 (Spitzer); Lièvre, Musées et collections, 1 Ser., pI. 58 (Spitzer); and Musée Graphique, (pI. 5; Wallace).

Provenance: Baron Sale, Roussel, Paris, 19-24 January 1846, lot no. 204, Pertuisane italienne, d'un bon travail de la renaissance.; Frédéric Spitzer; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 583; There is no evidence that A1004 was in the collection of the Comte de Nieuwerkerke as was previously thought. A1005|1|1|Partizan, with a wavy, leaf-shaped blade, semi-circular at the base where it projects into two crescent-shaped cusps; a wide central moulding at the bottom becoming a pronounced ridge as it ascends towards the point. The surface is blued to within six inches of the point and overlaid with gold. In the centre are the arms of France, surrounded by the collars of the Orders of Saint-Michel and the Saint-Esprit (incorporating the royal initial L). Above is a large royal crown and festoons of drapery, and laurel branches below. The whole is contained within a border of gold lines following the edge, and a break in their continuity indicates that at some period the cusps have been slightly reduced in width.

Socket of circular section with moulded neck and base, carrying two diagonally curved spikes or hooks. The socket is blued, but gilt at the neck. Tassel of red silk and velvet. Modern octagonal staff covered with red, ribbed cotton, and profusely studded with brass-headed nails. Blued steel ferrule.

French, about 1620.

This partizan is one of those carried by the Gardes du Corps of King Louis XIII. It is of more robust construction and simpler in decoration than A1008, and probably earlier in date. Sometimes these partizans bear the names of the noblemen who carried them. See for example one formerly in the Mackay Collection (loan exhibition, New York, 1931, no. 518) which is inscribed with the name "Domoin de Villequier". See note under A1008.

The outer edge of each wing has been severely cropped. The conventional cross-bar has been replaced by a recurved one sharply pointed at each end. The ferrule is not original nor is the tassel. The presence of the letter L, the initial of both Louis XIII and Louis XIV, in the collar of the Saint-Esprit, should indicate a date before 1667, when Louis XIV changed it for an H, the initial of both the founder of the order, Henri III, and of his own grandfather, Henri IV, the founder of the new dynasty. The absence of the arms of Navarre, usually displayed at this date beside those of France, is puzzling (compare A1008). Colonel M. Dugue McCarthy informed A.V.B. Norman, however, that in France minor heraldic distinctions were often treated somewhat cavalierly when used on military equipment and are therefore not reliable criteria for dating (letter of 9 August 1982). This group of partizans, of which there are many variants, is thought to have been carried by members of Les Gardes de la Manche, who belonged to the 1ere Compagnie des Gardes du Corps du Roi, which was originally recruited solely from Scots, being descended from the Scottish archer guard of Charles VII. A partizan of this type is illustrated in the hand of a Scots Guard in the drawing by P. Dulin of the Sacre de Louis XV (J. Guiffrey and P. Marcel, Inventaire general des dessins du Musée du Louvre et du Musée de Versailles. Ecole francaise, V, 1910, cat., no.3795, inv. no. 26354, illus.). G. Aries (fasc. X, 1968, no. 3) illustrates a partizan, comparable with A1005, which he places in the Regency (1715-23) and describes as being- for use in undress (petite-tenue). It is inscribed RAVOISIE FOVRBISSEVR DV ROY A PARIS. The area in which the signature would appear on A1005, if it was originally signed, has been cut away. A number of different fourbisseurs of this name are recorded by P. Jarlier (repertoire, I, p. 234, 1er Supplement, p. 53, and 2e Supplement, p. 235). Aries later suggested the possibility that this pattern of partizan was carried by a brigadier or sous brigadier of the Gardes du Corps du Roi when on duty within the Palace (fasc. XXII, 1974).

The weapon in the Mackay collection, mentioned above, was formerly in the Spitzer collection (1892 cat., VI, no. 257, pI. XLII). Since 1943 it has been in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, no. 42.50.11. A very similar weapon is now in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Vienna, inv. no. A2273. Its socket is inscribed "Doumont Devillequier". Neither is strictly comparable with A1005, since their decoration is even more lavish than A1008. Because of the inscriptions on their sockets, it has been suggested that the original owner was Anton d'Aumont de Rochbaron, due d'Aumont, Marechal de France, Capitaine des Gardes du Roi (died 1667), whose mother was Charlotte de Villequier de Clairvaux (Grancsay, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, VII, p. 109). A1006|1|1|Small partizan or spontoon, with a two-edged blade having a prominent central ridge, double crescent-shaped flukes, the top pair curving up, the lower down, with a short, wavy spike between. Overlaid in silver with the arms of France on a circular escutcheon, surmounted by a crown and surrounded by palm branches. The two flukes and the blade for half its length are lightly engraved with floral scrollwork. Moulded socket with traces of engraving, and pierced for a transverse lug, now missing, the holes for it having been filled in. Two steel langets or straps down the staff.

Staff of pine wood, possibly the original, ending in a steel ferrule.

French, Model of 1714.

The decoration closely resembles that of A1027. Saint Remy, Memoires, 1697, pI. 94E, illustrates a similar weapon but with straight flukes in place of the wavy ones. He calls this a Hallebarde. C. Aries in a letter of July 1969 suggests that it was probably intended for Le Regiment des Gardes Francoises. In a later letter (August 1976) he suggested it was the model of 1714 for sergeants. A1007|1|1|Partizan, with a small, strongly-ridged spike; the wings pierced as two shields, representing the arms of France and Navarre crowned; socket of octagonal section with two small projecting lugs at the base; there are no side-straps; long steel ferrule of octagonal section; the shaft is of oak and probably a restoration.

French, about 1650.

A similar weapon in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris (no. K.Po.83), has been tentatively identified by Colonel M. Dugue McCarthy (personal communication, 1975) as the halberd of a sergeant of the Regiment de Navarre. A rather similar weapon, formerly in the Spitzer collection (1892 cat., VI, no. 253, illus.), is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 14.25.261). A1008|1|1|Partizan, with a wavy, leaf-shaped blade, semi-circular at the base, where it projects in two crescent-shaped cusps or flukes, and a rounded ridge runs up the centre to the point. The tip of one fluke has been broken off. The surface is blued to within four inches of the point and overlaid with gold decoration. In the centre are two oval escutcheons bearing the arms of France and Navarre, surrounded by the collars of the Orders of Saint-Michel and the Saint-Esprit (incorporating the royal initial H) surmounted by a crown. Above this is, firstly a trophy of arms, secondly a sun in splendour, and finally at the top a scroll with the motto:

NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR

On the flukes are two trumpet-blowing figures of Fame among scrollwork.

Octagonal socket chiselled round the neck with acanthus foliage, the rest of the surface blued and semé with gold fleurs-de-lys. At the bottom is fixed a transverse bar or toggle. Tassel of silk, originally white, with gold and silver braid, probably the original.

Staff covered with modern green velvet studded with brass-headed nails. Bright steel ferrule, probably modern, ending in a moulded knob.

French, about 1660-70.

Provenance: Demidoff, San Donato, sold Paris, 5-8 April, 1870, lot 641, 1,900 fr.

This is a partizan of the Gardes du Corps of Kings Louis XIV or XV. Compare the earlier example, A1005, on which the design is probably based. There are three similar partizans in the Royal Armouries (nos. VII, 231, 232, 1358) which may belong to the same set. Two others are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, one is in the Armeria Reale at Turin (J 178) and another is in the Hermitage (cat. Lenz, E 295, Gille et Rockstuhl, pl. CXXXVIII, 2). Compare also one in an Italian collection sold at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 5-6 April, 1875, lot 47. There are four partizans in the Musée de l'Armée (nos. K 508-K 115) which resemble nos. A1005 and A1008 but are smaller and the decoration is less rich. They are there described as being of the time of Louis XVI and represent what was carried by the Garde du Corps at a later date, no. A1009 is a partizan carried by the Garde de la Manche of Louis XIV, a personal body-guard which corresponded somewhat to the Gentlemen-at-Arms or Scottish Archers of today. In addition the King of France had the Cents Suisses (see no. A973, and Musée de l'Armée, K 491).

C. Aries (fasc. XXII, 1974), discussing the very similar partizan in the Musée du Prytanee Militaire de La Fleche, shows that the presence of the H on the collar of the Saint-Esprit indicates a date after its reintroduction in 1667. He also points out that the motto Nec pluribus impar was not adopted until about 1668. He dates this particular weapon and no. A1005 immediately after this. There are three comparable partizans in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, nos. 04.3.64 (still apparently with its original ferrule), 04.3.65 and 14.25.375 (with its coat of arms cleaned off). The second is inscribed on both faces RAVOISIE FOVRBISSEVR DV ROI A PARIS (S. Pyhrr, letter of 8 July 1982). The caul and tassel of no. A1008, although differing from the examples illustrated by Aries, appear to be original. At the time of the Demidoff sale (1870) the staff of no. A1008 is said to have been covered in blue velvet. A1009|1|1|Processional partizan, with a broad head, strongly ridged at the point, the remainder pierced and chiselled. In the centre, against a column, is a figure of Hercules in low relief, above is the head of Apollo surrounded by sun-rays, and encircled with the motto:

NEC PLVRIBVS IM PAR

which was adopted by King Louis XIV in 1663; the column surmounted by a pierced fleur-de-lys; on either side are flying Cupids with trumpets; beneath, the head and paws of a lion's skin with captives seated on either side, one in Roman armour, the other nude and holding a dog; set among eagles' heads, trophies of flags, palm branches and laurel leaves; the whole is skillfully modeled, the ground slightly etched and gilt. One of the wings has been broken and restored: steel socket with two short straps (broken). The socket is pierced for the short bar common to such partizans, but this no longer remains; neither does the pyramidal-headed bolt reproduced by Skelton. The staff of octagonal section is covered with old yellow velvet.

This partizan probably belonged to an officer of the Gardes de la Manche of Louis XIV, so-called because they were always at the side of the king, against his sleeve. The decoration (which is the same on both sides) was stated by Meyrick to be "so completely in the style of Lepautre that the design must be attributed to him". No drawing by either Jean or Antoine exists to confirm this, but one of the compositions of Jean Lepautre represents the reception of the Turkish Ambassador by Louis XIV in December, 1709, the Gardes de la Manche being armed with like partizans to no. A1009.

French, about 1670-80.

Skelton II, pl. LXXXIX; Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1414.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

Compare the partizan A1008. The John Beardmore collection at Uplands contained a partizan closely resembling A1009 (no. 223, pl. 13). In the Royal Armouries is a partizan of brass which also closely resembles no. A1009 in decoration (inv. no. VII. 219). It is described in the Inventory of 1676 as ‘English Rich Partizan’. In the same collection are two other partizans with the sun in splendour and the same motto, but differing greatly in decoration (VII. 231-2). Another example, apparently closely resembling A1009, is in the Armeria Reale, Turin, (J 179). Others are to be found in the Musée de l'Armée and the church of Marly-le-Roi, near Versailles.

The medal struck by Jean Mauger "to the glory of Louis XIV" is dated 1663, but may have been produced much later. The obverse bears the head of Louis, the reverse shows the sun shining upon the world, with the motto: Nec Pluribus Impar and the date MDCLXIII. (Forrer, Dictionary of Medallists III, 618; Mieris, Hist. Métallique des Pays-Bas, II, 531, 1732).

Baron de Cosson quotes the following reference to the Gardes de la Manche by Le Sieur de Montigny (Uniformes militaires, Paris, 1773): Uniforme pareil à celui des Gardes-du-Roy et par dessus une cotte d'armes fond blanc semée de fleurs de lis d'or avec la devise du Roy, surbrodée en plein d'or et d'argent avec la pertuisane à lame dorée et la main frangée de soie blanche et argent. Les Gardes-de-la-Manche sont au nombre de 24, ils sont tirés du Corps-des-Gardes du Roy (de Cosson, Dino Cat., p. 86).

This piece is probably no. 16 of the staff weapons in the list of armour and weapons acquired by Meyrick from D. Colnaghi about 1818, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries. Another example is in the Kienbusch collection, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 602, pI. CXXX). What was almost certainly a partizan of this type was lot 67 in the sale of the collection of M. le duc d'lstrie, Paris, Bonnefons de Lavialle, 24-25 January 1839. It is very unlikely that the similar partizan in the Royal Armouries (VII.219) would have been identified as English in 1676, as suggested by C. ffoulkes.
It is possible that the design of A1009 is by Jean Berain I (1640-1711?), rather than by either Jean or Pierre Le Pautre. The design by Berain for another pattern of elaborately decorated partizan of the Gardes de la Manche was published in the Mercure Galant of October 1679, IIe partie, p. 215. It had been prepared for the celebration of the marriage of Marie-Louise d'Orleans. A surviving example is in the Musée de 1'Armee, Paris (no. K.496; Mariaux, 1927, pI. LXVI). C. Aries, in a letter of August 1976, suggested that this exceptionally elaborate type of partizan might be connected with the final installation of Louis XIV at Versailles, that is to say about 1680.

For a note on the Gardes de la Manche see no. A1005. A1010|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.
Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

This example is a companion to A1012 but of lighter construction.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1011|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

The staff of this example is of octagonal section and covered with brown velvet studded with brass-headed nails; the ferrule is missing.

Provenance: E. Juste? (Deux hallebardes saxo-polonaises, 600 fr.; receipted bill, 3 April, 1868); Comte de Nieuwerkerke (?).

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1012|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

This example is a companion partizan to A1010 but of heavier construction; it varies slightly in shape and decoration; octagonal staff bound with green velvet and studded with oval and round, brass-headed nails; shaped ferrule of circular section.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 583.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1013|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1014|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1015|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1016|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1017|1|1|Processional partizan, one of a series of eight (A1010-1017). The head is shaped as a double-headed eagle; decorated on each side with the arms of Poland (quarterly, Poland and Lithuania) surmounted by a Latin cross charged upon two swords crossed in saltire, their hilts in base, the cross, etc., charged upon rays and the whole ensigned by a royal crown; wavy, tapering blade. The surface is stippled to represent plumage, and partly gilt; socket of octagonal section with two side-straps; circular staff of oak with a cone-shaped ferrule of steel; large silk tassel, bound with a wire trellis.

Each of the series differs slightly from the others in shape and decoration.

Haenel (Kostbare Waffen, pl. 70C) states that these partizans were carried in 1719 by the Polish Guard of Noblemen of Friedrich Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, and King of Poland (1670-1733).

Polish, 1719.

Laking, European Armour IV, fig. 1412.

Examples are in the Rüstkammer at Dresden, in the City Museum at Warsaw, in the Czartoriski Collection in Cracow, and in the Wavel there. The type goes back to the time of John Sobieski. H. Nickel (in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, specifically pp. 179-80) suggested that the presence of the double-headed eagle might have something to do with the marriage of Friedrich August to Maria Josepha of Austria, the Emperor's daughter, in 1719. A further twelve examples were at the Wartburg (nos. 463-74); two are at Arundel Castle; two in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (1917-18 Cat., nos. 1143-4); two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14.25.251 and 378); one was formerly in the collection of S. V. Grancsay; and one in the Kienbusch collection (cat., no. 579, pI. CXXVII), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A1018|1|1|Partizan, with a head with tall, ridged, two-edged blade, with double crescent-shaped wings in the lower part, pierced with four circular holes; the socket is ten-sided with a turned moulding at either end; two side-straps. The surface is engraved (not etched) with scrolled foliage (the lower scrolls terminating in heads of grotesque fishes) and in the broad, flat, lower part with equestrian combats, where one horseman is in Polish or Hungarian costume; the socket with bands of conventional laurel leaves. The staff covered with brown velvet and studded with brass-headed nails; the turned ferrule of bright steel is probably a restoration.

Possibly Polish, about 1680. A1020|1|1|Spear, with a leaf-shaped head of light bronze, or bell-metal, tipped with a steel spike of diamond section. It is pierced, on either side of the central rib, with a star and six circular holes, in one with the six-sided socket; staff painted with red and white spiral bands.

Italian (?), 17th century.

Other examples are in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Vienna. They are believed to be Austrian of the late-18th or early-19th century. For a note on the shaft see A9. A1021|1|1|Spear, with a small, pointed, leaf-shaped head of flattened diamond section. It is held in the jaws of a monster which rises from a kind of capital, from the sides of which project four short spikes. Socket of circular section chiselled with acanthus ornament at the base. The chiselled parts retain traces of gilding. Modern staff, painted black.

Italian or Spanish, 17th century. A1022|1|1|Lance, of light wood, the lower part in front of the grip of octagonal section, with hollow, longitudinal flutes; the whole painted with spiral bands of red and white; conical lance-point. This type of lance was used for running at the ring and at the quintain.

Probably Italian, 17th century.

Laking, European Armour III, fig. 869 (right-hand portion).

Provenance: Probably Dubois de Bruxelles sale (Oudart and Barre, Paris, 28-29 February 1868), lot 218 or 219, both of which are described as 'lance de tournoi';"Article du procés-verbal, no. 1903, 120 fr. plus commission; no year is given, but probably 1868 in view of the sale mentioned above), to the Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1023|1|1|Lance, of light wood, the lower part in front of the grip circular, with hollow, longitudinal flutes; painted red with a spiral band of white; lance-head in the form of a cross, the ends pierced as rings, gilt, the socket pierced with an oblong aperture and secured to the staff by two straps at the side. Bound in three places with leather straps. Used for running at the ring and quintain.

Probably Italian, 17th century.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 869.

Provenance: Springer; Louis Carrand (une bois de lance à courir la bague, 111 fr., plus commission; receipted bill [undated but with those of 1870]; this bill may refer to no. A1022); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The three straps bound round the shaft and firmly secured by nails are placed one before and one behind the hand, and the third at the upper end of the flutes. A row of nail holes four and a half inches above the butt of the lance shows where a fourth strap was once fixed. The first is to hold the vamplate, the second to catch on the lance-rest when the moment of impact approaches, when running at the quintain. The missing strap around the base of the lance was to act as a stop for the hooked side-plate on the right of the fore-arçon on which the lance could be rested; for instance, as on A34. A lance with its lower strap in position is illustrated in The Madonna in Glory with St. John the Baptist and St.George, painted about 1529-30 by Florigiero, in S. Giorgio, Udine (B. Berenson, Italian paintings of the Renaissance, Venetian school, II, 1957, no. 885).

The form of the head of A1023 is unsuitable for running either at the ring or the quintain and probably dates from a time when this piece had been converted to carry a flag.

Provenance: the Springer sale is actually mentioned in the bill, but it is recorded neither in F. H. Cripps-Day, Armour sales, nor in F. Lugt, Repertoire des catalogues de ventes, Troisieme periode 1861-1900, 1964. A1024|1|1|Spetum or trident, with a broad, tapering central blade of flat diamond section and triangular shape; large, outward curving wings; ten-faceted socket (the side-straps broken off); round ferrule with knob at end of the staff. The blade is decorated with a circle formed of crescents and dots in the manner found on "Fringia" blades and some Italian bills. At the top are a pair of marks that may, or may not, be those of the maker.

Italian, about 1530.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 904.

Giacomo di Grassi, Ragione di adoprar sicuramente I'arme, Venice 1570, p. 108, called this type of spear il spiedo, which "I. G. gentleman" in 1594 translated as "lauelin" (fol. Q2). Boccia and Coelho (1975, pI. 138) illustrate a comparable weapon in the Doge's Palace, Venice, inv. no. 1416. They ascribe it to Friuli about 1480, and call it Spiedo allafurlana. ? Demmin, Guide, 1869, p. 466, No. 4 (Nieuwerkerke). A1025|1|1|Spetum, with tapering, two-edged blade with central ridge; at the base are two pointed, upward curving flukes, ridged at the points. At the angles two circular holes are pierced. The flukes and lower part of the blade are etched with conventional strapwork and foliage on a hatched ground. The whole design was formerly gilt, the gilding now remains in the sunk portions only. Faceted socket etched with foliage, and pierced with a transverse lug with acorn-shaped terminals.

Staff of soft wood, possibly poplar, formerly covered with textile and profusely studded with nails with small copper heads stamped as rosettes. Tassel missing, as is also the ferrule, but the end of the haft is cut to a tapering octagonal shape to receive it.

Possibly French, about 1600-10.

Illustrated by Vollon in his Curiosités of 1868 (Savill, 1980), De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 11.

Provenance: M. Baur (Pertuisane à lame tridente, gravée et damasquinée, 120 fr.; receipted bill, 10 November, 1866); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Achille Marozzo simply calls this type of weapon a Spiedo (Opera Nova, Modena 1536, fol. 86v.). The contemporary name for this type of weapon in English was probably a "three grayned staff" (Dillon, Archaeologia, LI, p. 267). S. Pyhrr (letter of 20 March 1979) suggested that the decoration, with its strapwork cartouches and thick rubbery foliage on a hatched ground, was typically French. He pointed out that similar decoration occurs on French armours of the period between about 1600 and about 1610, for instance no. G.I 05 in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris, and on two armours of Henry, Prince of Wales (died 1612), now at Windsor Castle (1904 cat., nos. 786 and 802). A1026|1|1|Spetum, runka or trident, with long spike of stiff, diamond section; curved side blades terminating in points of diamond section; faceted socket with two straps; the whole of the head is wrought in one piece; octagonal haft-ferrule. The blade bears a maker's mark on each side.

Italian, about 1610.
Viollet-le-Duc VI, 25, fig. B.
Provenance: Louis Carrand (?) (Une corcesque, 100 fr. [with une hache pertuisarme]; receipted bill, 14 April, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The Italian name for this type of weapon is corsesca, rather than runka or roncone, from which the English word "runka" is presumably derived. "I. G. gentleman" translated la Roncha of Giacomo di Grassi (p. 104) as "bill" (P3).
Boccia and Coelho illustrate (1975, pI. 592) a similar weapon also with these marks in the Museo Civico, Bologna (inv. no. 700), which they call a corseche and date about 1600-20. Another is in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (1980 cat, no. 712, with a list of similarly marked weapons). The same mark occurs on spetums in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, no. 1987; also on two halberds in the Royal Armouries, VII. 977-8; another at Bern, no. 1528; and on a cutlass in the Keasbey sale, New York, 1925, lot 73. At Venice are four corsesche, of like form, bearing the same mark (J 243-4, 246-7).

It also occurs on a partizan in the Royal Armouries, bearing the arms of France and Navarre (VII-216). A1027|1|1|Spontoon, with a small head, the blade with sharp central ridge and three curved points or flukes on the wings below. It is etched on either side with scrolled foliage, formerly gilt, surrounding an oval shield of arms: the first that of Fay de Sathonay, of the Lyonnais (Azure, and greyhound passant regardant argent, and in chief the sun radiant proper; the oval shield is ensigned by a coronet with seven pearls); the second (an eagle displayed ensigned by a similar coronet) has yet to be identified. Octagonal socket with projecting hook on one side; the part projecting from the other side is hollow and of circular section; short side-straps and octagonal staff of oak (all probably restorations).

French, probably about 1700-20.

The decoration is very similar to that of A1006 which is thought to date from 1714. A1028|1|1|Spontoon, with a leaf-shaped blade with central ridge, engraved and punched with the arms of France on a circular escutcheon, surmounted by a crown, surrounded by palm branches, and filled in with foliage to about half the height of the blade. Socket partly round, partly octagonal, the different sections, which are engraved like the blade, are separated by rounded mouldings; the socket is pierced near the bottom for a bar or lug. Two long, steel langets or straps down the staff. Staff of ash; no ferrule.

French, mid-17th century.

A similar spontoon is in the Royal Armouries. A1029|1|1|Wand of office, of ivory, circular in section, the head of steel pierced and engraved with the arms of France, crowned, the crown surmounted by, and the arms supported by dolphins, chiselled and gilt, on a moulded neck of octagonal section and extending down the shaft in two long cheeks at the side; steel ferrule of octagonal section, gilt. The cheeks are etched with flowers and laurels bound with a fillet.

French, about 1675.

Lièvre, Musées et collections, 2 Ser., n.d., pI. 28; Lièvre, Collections Célèbres, pI.69. Musée Graphique, pl. XV.

Provenance: A. Beurdeley (Un [the space following remains blank] en fer ciselé et doré une arms (sic) du Dauphin de France, 5,900 ft. with other pieces; receipted bill, 16 September, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1030|1|1|Walking staff, of ivory, circular in section, the top carved with the head of a priest wearing a biretta; one of the four ridges on top is missing; ferrule of silver with a steel bud shaped terminal. Except for the head, which is separate, the staff has been cut from one tusk of ivory and is remarkable for its length of over forty-six inches. It may have been that of a mammoth.

Probably Italian, about 1640.

Provenance: G. Laurent of 54 Palais-Royal, Paris (Une canne en ivoire, 300 fr.); receipted bill, 1 February, 1867; Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1031|1|1|Extendable spear or pike, made entirely of steel to simulate the appearance of a sword in its scabbard, with flattened cylindrical pommel, grip of flat rectangular section, formerly doubtless bound with leather or wire; S-shaped horizontally recurved guard ending in flattened disk-shaped lobes. The end of the "scabbard" is shaped as a chape. On giving the haft a sharp forward jerk a blade of stiff diamond section can be ejected from the pommel, and is held, when fully extended, by a levered spring-catch placed below the quillons where would normally be the scabbard locket. The guards at one time included a knuckle-guard and arms of the hilt, now broken off. The guard has been twisted round at a later date.

Probably German, late 16th century.

See also A1330.

Dondi and Cartesegna, "I buttafuori", in Stuber and Wetter, 1982, pp. 205-22. A1032|1|1|Crossbow. The steel bow is covered with gilt parchment painted with eight-petalled, conventional flowers in red and bound to the stock with a bridle of entwined cord and leather thongs; gilt iron ring at the top. It retains its original bow-string of twisted cord. The stock or tiller is of wood wholly veneered with plates of polished antler carved in relief with figures and coats of arms, the arms of the owner alone being painted in the flat. The stock is pierced with a steel pin with gilt ends (to engage the claw of the rack), and furnished with steel trigger (bearing the maker's mark), a steel plate upon which to rest the thumb when discharging the piece, a revolving nut of horn, a V-shaped foresight which is slotted and permitting of lateral movement (no doubt to allow for windage). It was spanned by engaging the string in the revolving barrel or nut which was then released by the trigger.
The subjects of the carving on the sides and underpart of the stock are: (1) at the fore-end St. George in armour standing on the Dragon under a Gothic canopy with roped styles, with the arms of Bavaria (chequy lozengy azure and argent) below. On either side of him are (2) the Emperor Maximinus ordering the beheading of St. Catherine; and on the other side (3) three men, two of them fighting with longswords. Below this comes a row of carved and painted shields encircling the stock, except on the upper side: (a) azure, a crowned lion passant regardant to sinister argent, (b) Bindenschild of Austria (gules, a fesse argent), (c) azure two bars argent, perhaps intended for Hungary ancient which is a barry of eight argent and gules, (d) gules, a horn argent, (e) azure, a fesse with three stars in chief argent, (f) azure or sable, a crescent argent (perhaps for Woellworth of Wurtemburg), (g) azure, a cross paté rising from a mound for Hungary modern, the field gules. Painted, not carved, on the top of the stock, are the quartered arms of Völs -Colonna, its former owners.
Below the binding of the nut on the left side are (4) a fool playing bagpipes; (5) a young woman being enticed by Folly from Wisdom; and on the other side (6) three armed men, two showing their backs, the centre one in full Gothic armour, possibly connected with (8) below; (7) a girl between two young men; on the other side (8) the martyrdom of St. Sebastian; (9) three nude figures, a male between two females; (10) Adam and Eve. Running along the underside under the trigger-guard are (11) entwined dragons, and on one side (12) a stag-hunt led by a horseman in armour and hounds, and a representation of St. George and the dragon.
The identification of the arms is qualified by the probability that some of the tinctures may have been altered at a later date.
German (Bavarian), about 1450-70.
The subjects carved in relief on this remarkable bow strongly resemble in manner engravings by the Master E, S., c. 1460, and his follower, Israhel van Meckenem, but there is no exact correspondence.
H. Wagner, Trachtenbuch des Mittelalters, Munich, 1830, Part 2, pl. VIII; Skelton II, pls. XCVI, XCVII; Meyrick Catalogue, no. 25; Laking, European Armour III, fig. 938.
Provenance: Fels; Sir S. R. Meyrick.
The castle of Völs is near Bozen (Bolzano) in South Tyrol. The Völs family are first recorded in Tyrol in the 12th century, became Freiherren in 1638, and counts in 1712. A branch was established in Bohemia in 1572. Christoph Leopold Colonna von Fels was Grand Huntsman (K. K. Jagdmeister) of Silesia, about 1700. Like other Tyrolese families, including Trapp of Churburg, they adopted as an augmentation the arms of Colonna of Rome without being related by blood.
The lever-trigger acts directly on the underside of the nut without any intervening mechanism. A fragment of the cow-horn spring remains by which the bolt was held in position. The mark is in neither Støckel nor Neue Støckel, but it resembles No. 6404 on p. 1456 in the latter, described as a Hausemark.
Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planche, 1857, p. 15); South Kensington, 1869, no. 2 (The Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, p.224, no.20).
Provenance: Völs family. The family castle near Bozen is called Prössels (Graf Trapp, loc. cit.). A1033|1|1|Crossbow, the strong steel bow, with two indecipherable marks on the inner surface, fastened by an iron bridle to the stock and carrying a stirrup for the foot.

Long slender stock of dark wood ornamented with small lozenge-shaped inlays of horn on the upper side. On the underside, in front of the trigger-lever at the place where the stock is gripped by the left hand, the surface is roughened with fine parallel ridges in low relief. On the underside at the forward end is an iron hook, probably for suspension, and farther back is a short hook or claw for use when bending the bow with a cord and pulley.

There is a groove for the bolt. Nut of walrus ivory. A small portion of wood has been broken away from the end of the butt.

The cord remains. Long trigger-lever of hexagonal section.

German or Spanish, about 1500.

The nut is without an axle of any sort. It is retained by being larger than the hole of entry, except when it is rolled back until the forward edge of the cord-slot coincides with the rear lip of the hole, when the nut can be lifted out. The lever-trigger acts directly on the underside of the nut. A1034|1|1|Crossbow , with a composite bow built up of layers of cane and whalebone, covered with parchment painted to imitate fish-skin with a double band of scrolled foliage along the top. It is bound to the stock with cord and plaited leather thongs; steel loop at the top; bow string of twisted cord.

Stock or tiller of wood veneered with longitudinal strips of antler incised with lines; there is a slot at the top for a movable foresight (now missing); it has a revolving nut, is pierced with a steel bar for the claw of the cranequin, and has a long steel trigger.

German, about 1520.

Provenance: Henry Courant (1 arbalette avec cranken (?) gravé, 600 fr.; receipted bill, 14 July, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

For the construction of the composite bow, see Baron de Cosson and J. Clements in Archaeologia, LIII, 1893, pp. 453-59, and D. Rhode in Z.H.W.K., XVI, 1940, p. 53.

The lever-trigger acts directly on the back of the nut. A1035|1|1|Crossbow, the steel bow secured to the stock by a bridle of twisted cord. It is stamped four times with the maker's mark and inscribed:

D O M F E R N A N D O | R E I D E R O M A N O S

On the inner side the mark again appears four times together with the inscription:

I V A D E | N C I N A S

The cord remains.

Straight, slender stock or tiller of dark walnut, rectangular in section reinforced with steel plates at the passage for the bow and alongside the lock. The groove for the bolt is inlaid with antler, the nut of the same material. In front of the nut the Imperial eagle is inlaid in steel, while behind it is a simplified shield ensigned with the Imperial bonnet and charged with a double eagle and the Golden Fleece depending below. Steel transverse lugs for a goat's-foot lever.

Long trigger lever of square section, the base overlaid in gold with arabesque foliage, and on the underside with the signature:

I V A N D E N S I N A S

At the tip are traces of further gold overlaid, the right side appearing to have borne an inscription now illegible, the left a form of key pattern. To the underside of the stock is hinged a small lever, which, when unfolded, rests on the inner surface of the trigger lever like a strut, thus preventing any movement of the latter and forming a safety-catch.

Spanish, about 1550.

Demmin, Guide des amateurs d’Armes, 1869, p. 500; Laking, European Armour III, p. 138, fig. 939.

Provenance: Spengel, of Munich.

From the inscriptions on the bow, which should read DON FERNANDO REY DE LOS ROMANOS and JUAN DE ENCINAS, it would appear that this crossbow was made for Ferdinand, King of the Romans, younger brother of the Emperor Charles V, by Juan de Encinas or Ensinas. As Ferdinand became Emperor on Charles' abdication in 1558, the bow must be prior to this event. It can be compared with the crossbow of Charles V at Madrid (J 18) which is signed by Juan de la Fuente and (the stock) by Juan Hernández.
A Spanish crossbow of this type signed: Puebla en Madrid, and dated 1582, is in the late M. Pauilhac's collection.

The coat of arms on the stock is ensigned with the Imperial Crown. The end of the lever-trigger acts directly on the underside of the nut.

Neither the maker nor this mark are recorded in Neue Støckel. Harmuth, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1982, pp. 603-4, discusses Spanish crossbows including A1035. In addition to the bow by Puebla mentioned above, there are two more by this maker in the Instituto de Valencia de Don Juan, cat., nos. 176-7. The former is dated 1580 and belonged to Don Juan de Acuña (from 1612 Marqués de Valle Cerrato); the latter is dated 1557. A1036|1|1|Small crossbow, the steel bow stamped in two places with a maker's mark. It is secured to the stock by a steel bridle. The cord remains. At the forward end of the stock is attached a heart-shaped iron loop, and on the underside a short hook, both for suspension.

Walnut tiller or stock inlaid with an ornament of flowing foliage of antler, partly stained green. Immediately behind the nut is an oval medallion of horn, engraved with a female head surrounded by an inscription PLESIR PASSE RICHESSE, and a date which appears to be 1583. There is a groove for the bolt inlaid with guilloche ornament in antler. Projecting steel lugs for the spanner.

Long faceted trigger-lever of steel. The lever-trigger acts directly on the underside of the nut.

Probably English, dated 1583.

From its small size this crossbow must have been made for a woman or a child. Compare a similar mark on a crossbow in the Real Armeria at Madrid, no. J 16. A1037|1|1|Crossbow, the bow of steel with loop for suspension above; it is bound to the stock with plaited cord decorated with the remains of silk tassels of dark blue or green; bow-string of twisted cord.

Bulky stock or tiller of light wood, resembling pear-wood, the sides inlaid with mother-of-pearl and veneered on the upper and undersides with antler, rather crudely engraved with figures of crossbowmen: one shooting at a popinjay, another spanning a crossbow with a cranequin, and on the sides are inlaid figures shooting at ground game; upon the butt-plate is the figure of a lady seated, and there are numerous masks, heads and bands of ornament. The fore-sight does not permit of transverse movement, and there is a hinged aperture-backsight of steel which can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally; horn nut over which a spring of horn is fitted– the use of this was to prevent the bow-string slipping off the quarrel when it was strung; steel pin for the claw of the cranequin, hinged trigger, safety-catch and trigger-guard.

German, late 16th century.

Possibly L'art ancien, III, 368 (Spitzer). A1038|1|1|Crossbow, the broad steel bow stamped with the maker's marks; bow-string of twisted cord; moulded steel loop at the top. The bow is bound to the stock with steel bands; beneath, a rivet with a heart-shaped head.

Long, straight stock or tiller of plain walnut inlaid with a few small plaques of antler engraved with quatrefoils; steel trigger, trigger-guard and lugs. Their proximity to the nut indicates that it was meant to be spanned by a goat's-foot lever, not a cranequin (no. 1327). The nut is of ivory with a steel face. A hole on top of the stock, two inches in front of the nut, was used to set the tumbler which connected the nut with the gun-type trigger.

German, about 1620. A1039|1|1|Windlass crossbow, the strong steel bow stamped in three places with a maker's mark. The cord remains.

Stock of dark wood, furnished with a steel stirrup at the forward end, grooved for the bolt, and at the rear deeply slotted and reinforced with brass for a windlass. Antler nut. There is a curved, steel spring to hold the end of the bolt in place. The underside of the stock has a large projection in the centre to provide a firm grip for the left hand. The edges are outlined with fine lines of antler.

Bridle of steel overlaid with brass plates; these are en suite with the brass supports to the trigger-guard, both are engraved with ornament and formerly gilt. On the left bridle plate is a figure of Minerva, and on the right, Diana, surrounded by running foliage and small satyrs, animals and terminal figures. Each strap is finished at the rear tip with a small, flat plate pierced with floral ornament. The forward trigger-guard support is engraved with figures of Mars on one side and on the other Cupid hunting, with two captives, among foliage, birds, animals and insects; the rear plate has a trophy of arms and two Tritons blowing conch-shells. The remainder of the trigger-guard is of steel. The brass butt-plate is engraved with foliage and a butterfly.

The lock is cocked by pressing a button or lever which projects on the upper side of the stock. Between this and the nut is a transverse groove from which some part is missing, possibly a peepsight. Behind the cocking button is a kidney-shaped, stag's horn projection with probably served as a grip for the right thumb.

Flemish, mid-17th century. A1040|1|1|Crossbow, the steel bow stamped on the inner side with a maker's mark. It is attached to the stock by a bridle of cord decorated with tassels of yellow silk, and similar small tassels are attached to the outer face of the bow at each end.

Walnut stock or tiller, shaped with a cheek-piece to the butt like that of a rifle. There is a notch on the underside of the forward end for the left hand. Decorated with inlaid antler in the form of deer and hounds, the free spaces being filled with fine scrolls of antler and inlays of foliage in mother-of-pearl. The ornament is rather crude in design. There is no nut, the string being held by a pivoted steel catch. The horn spring which held the end of the bolt is missing, as also is the cross-piece which supported the neck at the forward end. There is a short groove for the bolt in front of the catch. This cross-bow is of the kind bent by a wooden lever of goat's foot type. Attached to the front end of the stock is a steel loop, showing traces of gilding, with which the hook of the lever engaged. Folding backsight with adjustable notch. Trigger with screw adjustment behind which is a cocking lever. The trigger-guard is indented for the fingers, and there is an oval depression for the thumb of the right hand in the upper part of the stock.

German, about 1650.

The mechanism is that illustrated by Alm, Europeiska armborst, fig. 41. The z-shaped spring in front of the jaws is missing. The jaws are opened by pushing forward the setting trigger. The mark is not recorded in Neue Støckel. A1041|1|1|Crossbow, the strong steel bow attached to the stock by a bridle of cord ornamented with tassels of red and green wool. On the inner side of the bow is stamped a maker's mark. The cord remains.

Wooden stock or tiller, the upper surface inlaid with oblong plaques of antler bordered with dark horn, possibly cow. This latter material is also applied to the underside and to the end of the butt. The sides are inlaid with engraved antler in the form of foliage interspersed with hounds and game. At the forward end is a steel loop for suspension. Antler nut secured by a cord of cat-gut. The horn spring which held the end of the bolt in place is missing; see also A1037. There is no groove for the bolt, apart from a hollowed horn cross-piece at the forward end. Immediately in front of the nut is a circular inlay of ivory engraved with traces of a crest, now obliterated. Immediately behind the nut is a projecting, round-headed screw which probably replaces the original peg for setting the sears. A similar peg is on the underside. Steel lugs for a cranequin. A hole in the upper part of the stock near the butt possibly held a backsight.

Long trigger-guard, the top bound with cord, and a gun-type trigger, which is hinged and can be folded into the stock so as not to interfere with the loop of the cranequin. Close to the base of the trigger-guard is a pivoted safety-catch.

German, 17th century.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 11.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The mark on the bow, or variations of it, is a frequent on and is even found on crossbows of different nationalities (see for example Stockholm, no., 123, and Musée de l' Armée, no. L 118), suggesting that the steel bows were obtained from a common source.

Immediately behind the nut is a projecting round-headed screw which originally retained the cow-horn spring (now missing) used to steady the bolt. On the underside, in front of the long lever, is a small hole, angled towards the rear, for the probe to set the tumbler which acts on the nut. The hole on the upper side of the tiller behind the nut is not for a back-sight, but is for the probe to set the rear lever into the trigger. The wing-nut underneath the stock is intended to lock the action as a safety measure. The mechanism resembles that illustrated by Alm, Europeiska armborst. fig. 36, but the trigger-spring is mounted separately in the stock. The spring supporting the rear lever is missing, due to some alteration which has been carried out on the mechanism. A steel collar has been fitted round the stock in the area of the nut, presumably in order to strengthen it. The mark is not recorded in Neue Støckel, but see p. 1473. A1042|1|1|Crossbow, the steel bow of unusual size and strength; it is secured to the tiller by two powerful straining screws. Bow-string of twisted cord; small loop at the top for suspension.

Stock or tiller veneered with ebony inlaid with antler, the latter richly engraved with scrolled foliage, with hunting scenes along the sides, and near the butt with an achievement of arms; at the top is the date 1683. The arms (quarterly 1-4, two lions passant; 2-3, two bends; on a shield of pretence an arrow in bend between two mullets; crest: three ostrich feathers) are those of the Counts von Promnitz of Silesia. The stock is furnished with a foresight (permitting of lateral movement to allow for windage), a nut of horn, a pin for the claw of the cranequin, a safety-catch, trigger-guard and slight folding-trigger. There are two shallow notches at the top for the thumb to rest in when the piece was being discharged.

German, dated 1683.

The cranequin, no. A1055, fits this crossbow.

The von Promnitz family graduated as Barons in 1559 when their arms were marshalled per fesse; the quarterly coat was a 'rectification' of their arms effected on their creation as Counts in 1652. The family became extinct in 1791.

One of the cords for setting the trigger mechanism survives. p. 483: The term 'prodd' first appears as a misreading of the word 'rodd' by Francis Grose, in his A treatise on ancient armour and weapons, 1785, p. 59. The correct rendering is given in Archaeologia, XIII, 1800, p. 400, from an inventory of 1547: 'Crossbowes called Rodds 98' (A. Credland, letter of 6 May 1982). It is not clear that it refers specifically to a crossbow designed to shoot stones, bullets, or pellets. A1043|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, the steel bow with a double curve. The string, with its sling, remains. This is not of the usual double type but consists of a single twisted skein, which divides in the centre to hold a small ebony button hollowed on its inner face to receive the bullet.

Stock or tiller of ebony, the neck only slightly curved. It is of square section with bevelled edges and is decorated with carving in low relief. On the fore-end in front of the bow is a double lion's mask (above and below) from the mouth of which issues a steel, spiked ring, possibly for suspension, or to obtain purchase in bending. Behind the bow is carved a grotesque bearded mask and a band of scales, and similar ornament is on the underside of the neck; in front of the trigger is a caryatid figure. On the upper surface at the rear is a projection carved as a couchant lion holding a hare in its paws, and behind it the figure of a dog in the round. The rest of the surface is ornamented with bands of guilloche and cartouche ornament. Octagonal pommel or butt of flattened pear-shape, the facets carved alternately with masks and interlacing bands; at the end is a medallion containing the letter H among foliage. On a sunken tablet immediately behind the bow is the date 1571.

The foresight pillars are pivoted and curved slightly rearwards. Arched backsight with architectural mouldings, the arms curved at the ends and pivoted. The bow-string catch consists of a steel nut resembling the horn nut of a bolt crossbow, but thinner and without the central opening. A small escutcheon-plate is missing from the stock immediately behind the nut. All mounts and mechanism are now bright steel. There is some ornamental engraving on the side plates of the lock mechanism.

Italian, dated 1571.

L'Art Ancien, V, 585; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865; L'Art pour Tous, 13me Année, no. 326, fig. 2,900.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The quality of the decoration of the woodwork is so much superior to that of the metalwork that the suspicion arises that it may be by the Spitzer workshop. A1044|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, with a plain steel bow, the double string with sling remaining in good preservation. Apart from the bow, all the steelwork is chased and overlaid with gold on a darkened ground.

Slender, baluster-shaped foresight pillars; arched, pivoted backsight; the side members chiselled with masks.

Stock or tiller of yew with curved neck, the whole decorated with carving in low relief. The forepart terminates in a wolf's head, the neck is ornamented on the sides with female monsters on either side of a heart-shaped shield, on the top a band of rosettes and a cartouche charged with a bull's head cabossed and encircled with the collar of the Golden Fleece. On the underside is a carved mask of Pan. The rest of the stock is carved on the sides with bands of rosettes, strapwork, and guilloche ornament, a dragon is carved in the round from the same piece of wood as the stock surface between the sight and the butt. The butt is of flattened mushroom form.

The bow-string catch ends in a grotesque mask with open mouth, of which the projecting end of the trigger forms the tongue. The side plates, to which the bow-string catch is hinged, take the form of oval cartouches chiselled in low relief with classical figures. Trigger-lever with scrolled end, the fort part chiselled as a caryatid figure.

Italian, about 1580.

Blackmore, Hunting weapons, 1971, pI. 77, Skelton II, pl. XCVIII, fig. 1;

Laking, European Armour III, p. 142; figs. 943, 944.

Provenance: Sir Samuel Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

The arms are those of Baron Wratislaw II von Pernstein, Grand Chancellor of Bohemia (1530-82). He received the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1555.
In the German Historical Museum, Berlin, is a wheel-lock pistol, the barrel of which is entirely decorated with etching which includes the same coat of arms as on A1044, and is inscribed: Wladislaus Herr von Beerestein. It is said to be dated 1539. A1045|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, the bow decorated along its entire length on both sides with an etched design of trophies of arms, gilt on a blackened matt ground, and on the upper edge with a gilt scale ornament. The bow is bent back in a sharper double curve than usual, which may be due to overstrain. It retains its double string, with sling. The gilt foresight pillars are pivoted and the tips recurved.

Stock or tiller of pear-wood with curved neck. The whole ornamented with carvings of Renaissance foliage and flutings in low relief; on the upper surface of the neck are two bearded masks, and on the underside a grotesque mask and fluting. On the upper surface of the stock near the butt is a projection carved in the round with a male head. The tip of the stock at the forward end terminates in a pyramidal spike of gilt steel. The butt has a flat octagonal end, carved with a cartouche within a border of guilloche ornament.

Backsight, also gilt, of the usual arched form, but pierced with a peep-sight hold in addition to the usual notch. The bow-string catch and side plates are gilt and engraved with foliage and dotted ornament. Baluster-shaped trigger-lever chased and gilt.

Italian, about 1580, the stock modern.

L'Art Ancien, V, 585 and III, 368 ; exhibited Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, ? no. 1944; L'Art Pour Tous. 13e Année, no. 326, fig. 2901.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Though of fine workmanship, the stock appears to be a reproduction of the 19th century.

Parts of the curved portion of the stock bear traces of scratched decoration, older than the present decoration. Presumably this is due to the activities of Spitzer's craftsmen working on an older weapon. A1046|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, with a steel bow, stamped in the centre with a maker's mark; the string is missing. The bridle securing the bow is of gilt bronze in the form of snakes. All the other mounts and the mechanism are of steel chiselled with Renaissance decoration in low relief and richly encrusted with gold. Foresight pillars in the form of columns entwined by a dolphin.

Stock or tiller of yew with curved neck. At the forward end in front of the bow is a ram's head of gilt bronze in the round. The sides of both neck and butt are carved in low relief with trophies of classical shields and helmets united by ribands. The shields are in several cases charged with a crescent and this emblem is repeated in other parts of the decoration. The rear end of the stock has a simple band of overlapping scales. It terminates in a turned ebony pommel. On the upper face opposite to the trigger-lever is carved a monster in full relief. Let into the sides of the stock at intervals along its length are replicas of antique coins gilt and set in turned ebony frames. On the right side of the neck is the second brass of Galba, followed by a coin of Themistocles.
The third inset on this side is filled with a plain turned disk.

Arched backsight, chased with an urn and trophies, the other side overlaid with gold scrollwork. Bow-string catch chiselled with entwined snakes, side-plates with a similar motif and in the middle a shield overlaid with a trophy.

Trigger-lever formed of two dolphins and the tip as an eagle's head.

French or Italian, about 1580.

Provenance: Sir Samuel Meyrick (referred to by Skelton, pl. XCVIII, not under fig. 1); Frédéric Spitzer.

Antique silver coins were sometimes used for the decoration of hilts, e.g. no. A746 and above, and Musée de l' Armée, no. J 125.

The antique coins are set in frames of cow-horn. The mark is not recorded in Neue Støckel.

Provenance: D. Colnaghi; no. A1046 is the sixth crossbow in the list of armour and weapons acquired by Meyrick from Colnaghi about 1818, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries. A1047|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, of small size. Slender, steel bow; the double string, with slings, remains. Walnut stock or tiller of square section with curved neck, the edges chamfered. The scroll-shaped projection on the upper surface is carved with a female head. On the neck immediately behind the bow is carved a grotesque mask, and another mask projects in front of the bow and originally held a steel spike. The flat butt or pommel is missing. Usual foresight pillars and arched steel backsight, the projection carrying the sighting notch is missing.

The steel wedge on the underside of the stock which secures the bridle holding the bow, is stamped:

: | | : | | | :

but this appears not to be a mark, but decoration. Baluster-shaped trigger-lever.

Italian, about 1580. A1048|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, of large size; plain, steel bow, the cord missing. The columns of the foresight are spirally twisted, the arched backsight decorated with architectural mouldings.

Plain stock or tiller of Italian walnut, with curved neck. A sea-horse facing a frog, both carved in full relief, are applied to the upper side. The stock terminates at both ends in finials of turned steel, that in front protruding from the mouth of a grotesque mask carved in the wood.

The pivots of the catch are held by side-plates cut in the form of fleurs-de-lys. The trigger-lever is baluster-shaped in the centre, the rear end ornamented with a succession of circular members with sunk centres. This ornament is repeated on two triangular plates which reinforce the stock beneath the steel bridle securing the bow. These are united underneath and can be tightened by a screw instead of wedges. All the steel parts have been painted black.

Italian, about 1590.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke (une arbalêt en bois sculpté orné du cheval Pegasse, 200 fr.; receipted bill, 2 September, 1868); A. Beurdeley. A1049|1|1|Stone-bow or prodd, with a plain steel bow, the string missing. Two slender columns for the foresight.

Plain stock or tiller of Italian walnut, with curved neck. On the upper side is a prominent, scroll-shaped projection, the front of which is carved with a grotesque mask. The neck is reinforced behind the bow with two fluted steel plates. The forward end terminates in a quadrangular point tipped with steel.

Arch-shaped, pivoted backsight; this latter and the mechanism releasing the string are chiselled with Renaissance ornament. Trigger-lever with baluster mouldings.

Italian, about 1600. A1050|1|1|Stone-bow, or prodd, with a steel bow, the double string remaining.
Stock of steel with a wooden butt. It is fitted with a pivoted lever for bending the bow which is superimposed on the stock (see also A1051). The thumb-piece of the lever is shaped as a scallop shell and the bar is stamped with a maker's mark. There is a gun-type trigger, but the lock is cocked by pressing a large rosette-shaped button on the underside of the tiller in front of the trigger-guard. Part of the mechanism is missing. Usual foresight pillars; folding backsight pierced with a simplified figure of a mermaid. The decoration is confined to slight, punched ornament and rosette-shaped bolt and rivet heads.

Walnut butt with shaped cheek-piece, decorated with plaques of antler, and punched with dots and scrolls. Steel butt-plate roughly engraved with the initials G. S.

German, about 1640.

This type of bow was popular in Germany in the 17th century and numerous examples survive. Two are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (No. 129, 1889 and Currie Bequest). Three with the same mark are in the Musée de l'Armée, nos. L 128, 29, 130. One was in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac in Paris, another (perhaps the same) was in the Kuppelmayr sale, Munich, 1895, lot 519.

The mark is Støckel No. f3133, 'about 1560-1600'. Other examples are in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, the National Museum, Copenhagen, and the German Historical Museum, Berlin. A1051|1|1|Crossbow, approximating to the prodd type, made entirely of steel. The bow is etched with running foliage and animals of the chase on a gilt ground. The string remains. Stock of rectangular section ending in a butt of flattened pear shape. The surface is chiselled in low relief with bands of scrollwork and strapwork interspersed with boar-hunting scenes, birds and animals. The decoration is blued on a gilt ground. Lying along the upper side of the stock is a permanently attached lever for bending the bow, the surface chiselled en suite. It is furnished with a catch at its forward end in the form of a couchant lion, whose hinged jaw seizes the string when the lever is pushed forward. The lever is then pulled back and held in place by a pivoted collar of gilt brass. The trigger acts on a bar situated beneath the lion. On the top of the stock hidden by the lever is an almost obliterated inscription:

AVBERT . A . LVNEVILLE

On the upper surface of the stock immediately behind the lever is a projection chiselled as a scrolled volute ending in a human-headed monster terminating in acanthus scrolls.

Beyond the bow is a shallow grooved channel for the stone or bullet, about four inches long, the forward end finished with the figure of a harpy, chiselled with strapwork and gilt like the rest of the tiller. Curved trigger-guard ending in a pineapple finial.

French, about 1720.

Blackmore, Hunting weapons, 1971, pl.74; L'Art Ancien, IX, 1010.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

There is a prodd in the Musée de l' Armée, no. L 127, inscribed: Aubert A Paris, and dated 1738. This Aubert may have been a descendant of the maker of A1051.

The trigger acts on a bar situated beneath the lion, opening its mouth for the cord. At the same time it operated a device (now missing) intended to keep the lion from rising up. The fact that the lion's mouth closes completely on the string, coupled with the position of the bow set well below the level of the mouth, and the fact that the bow is heavily canted, all suggest that this weapon was intended to shoot stones or pellets rather than bolts. H. Schedelmann (1972, p. 209) records a Francois Aubert, active from 1712 as weaponsmith to Duke Leopold Joseph of Lorraine (reigned 1697-1729). At the time of his death in 1741 he was described as weaponsmith to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francis Stephen of Lorraine; Neue Støckel, p. 35, however, gives his dates as 1710 to 1741. A third crossbow with the same signature as no. A1051 and also dated 1738 was on the London art market in 1972. Schedelmann (loc. cit.) lists a number of guns and pistols by this man in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer at Vienna. A1052|1|1|Goat's-foot lever, for spanning a crossbow. Of plain steel, devised on the same principle as a boot-jack.

Late 16th or early 17th century.

Laking, European Armour III, p. 139, fig. 940.

The original name for this device is a gaffle (A. Credland, letter of 6 May 1982). A1053|1|1|Goat's-foot lever, for bending a crossbow. It is of bright steel and similar in construction to A1052, but of smaller proportions and more finished workmanship.

17th-18th century.

Laking, European Armour III, p. 139, fig. 940.

The original name for this device is a gaffle (A. Credland, letter of 6 May 1982). A1054|1|1|Cranequin or rack, almost the entire surface is etched with interlacing strapwork of arabesque design, the ground filled with small scrolls. The wheel-case, the claws of the ratchet bar, and the winding arm for half its length are gilt, the rest plain. At the base of the claws is deeply engraved the date 1545. On the inner side of each claw is a small hole, in which is pivoted the small pointed blade, with which cranequins were often provided, see also A1055 and 1057. A belt-hook is attached to the top of the ratchet bar. The wheel-case is stamped with the maker's mark. The cord loop remains. Winding handle with turned ebony grip and etched with decoration for about half its length.

German (Henneberg ?) dated 1545.

Cranequins stamped with the same mark are in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. M 2745–1931), with the mark on the ratchet bar; the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Vienna; the Hermitage, Leningrad (Lenz, p. 221, no. 0 53); and in the collection of the late M. Pauilhac. The mark of a cock and star was on a cranequin dated 1527, sold Sotheby's 6 June, 1935, lot 133, and another was formerly in the Zeughaus at Berlin. Compare the crossbow signed Han (Hahn), with the mark of a hen in the Hermitage (Lenz, p. 227, No. 0, 20).

The mark consists of a cockerel with a five pointed star to the left at the bottom (Støckel, nos. f4956 and 4957; N. Støckel, I, p. 501, no. 7572). H. Schneider attributed it to a Zurich rack-maker by the name of Hartmann, active 1541-3. Racks with this mark are known with dates between 1544 and 1570 (Schweizer Waffenschmiede, Zurich 1976, p. 135). A1055|1|1|Cranequin or rack, of heavy construction. Curved iron handle of diamond section with a grip of dark wood slightly carved with bands of ornament; swivel claw; in front between the claws there is a flat triangular plate pivoted at each side; its apex is a pointer to position the claws accurately in the centre of the cord. The case bears a mark consisting of an arc of a circle with an invected outer edge.

German (possibly Augsburg), about 1560 (?)

Provenance: Henry Courant (?) (1 cranquin du XVième, 140 fr.; receipted bill, 6 June, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

This cranequin fits the crossbow A1042. A1056|1|1|Cranequin or rack, with a curved handle made of diamond section etched with foliage, the grip of wood; the ratchet deeply channelled, and pierced with two holes at the end for the missing belt-hook, is etched on one side with a panel of hares and hounds among foliage on a granulated ground; the wheel and its case are similarly decorated with the addition of birds and animals, showing traces of gilding; pivoted claw with a leather binding to ease friction. The wheel-case is stamped with the maker's mark, a star surmounted with the letters H W. The winding- handle, which is etched with decoration for the greater part of its length, is curved at the outer end and has a turned wooden handle. The pointed leaf, which originally hung between the hooks, used for lining up, is missing (compare A1057).

German (Nuremberg), about 1580.

Provenance: See under A1034.

The same mark occurs on many other racks, e.g. at the Royal Armouries (XI.23); on dated 1579, with the arms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, is in the German Historical Museum at Berlin; another of the same date was in the Wartburg, no. 500; one dated 1584 is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; and others are at Solothurn, no. 625; Cleveland Museum (ex-Zschille), no. G. 9; Hermitage (Lenz, p. 221, O. 23); and the Armourers' Company, London, no. 120. (Exhibited with no. A1034.)

Grabowska, 'Trzy okazy renesansowej broni myśliwskiej z decoracja trawiona', Studia do Dziejów dawnego uzbrojenia i ubioru wojskowego, IV, 1969, pp. 25-53, listing thirteen specimens bearing the same mark with dates between 1570 and 1589.

The mark is recorded by N. Støckel, no. 3157. A1057|1|1|Cranequin or rack. The wheel, which is set in a plain ring, is etched with a hound and two deer among foliage; and the underside of the wheel-case with a hare, a hound, an owl and foliage; the ratchet bar is decorated with running, intertwined foliage only. Between the claws is pivoted a small, pointed, steel plate (see also A1055 and 1058). The belt hook is missing. The winding arm is etched for the greater part of its length, is curved at the end, and has a handle of turned cow horn. The cord loop is well preserved and has its outer edge reinforced with leather.

German, second half of the 16th century.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 11.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1058|1|1|Cranequin or rack, the wheel-case consists of a strong open ring, etched and gilt, with roped central bar, the mechanism being party exposed. The wheel is of steel pierced with three sexfoils and three heart-shaped openings. The under surface of the ratchet bar is of bright steel etched with running foliage and interspersed birds, and the top with strapwork enclosing trophies, bunches of fruit and masks, and at the end nearest the claws a male figure in contemporary costume aiming a crossbow. The claws are etched with arabesque scrolls and on the top is the date 1600. The etching on the bar has a blackened, granulated ground with no trace of gilding.

On the inner side of each claw is a small hold in which was originally pivoted a pointed steel plate, see also A1055 and 1057. The winding handle is missing, as is the belt hook from the top of the bar; the loop of twisted cord remains.

German, dated 1600. A1060|1|1|Part of the windlass of a crossbow, consisting of one half of the part which fits over the end of the stock, and carries two wheels for the pulleys. The five rectangular openings in the bar allow it to be adapted to stocks of varying lengths. The edges are bevelled and moulded; the two wheels are of bronze pierced with ornamental tracery.

16th or 17th century. A1061|1|1|Quiver, for crossbow bolts or quarrels. Convex on one side and flat behind, widening slightly at the bottom, made of wood covered with raw hide, which in parts still retains the hair. The mouth, below which is a grotesque face, is covered with hardened leather; the back is reinforced by a sheet of iron; the cover or lid is missing.

Exhibited with it are ten crossbow bolts: four have triangular-barbed heads of iron, three have spear-shaped heads, and three more of like form but of stouter make. The shafts, which vary in length from 33.0 to 49.5 are fletched with thin wood.

German, about 1470.

Viollet-le-Duc (VI, 352-3 and V, 25) gives the quiver to the 16th century, but it may date from the 15th; see Boeheim 429, fig. 508. Quivers of this kind are not uncommon in old German armouries. One is at Churburg (Trapp and Mann, no. 347).

Provenance: Louis Carrand (dix vir[e]tons ou traits d'arbalêtes, 800 fr. (part); receipted bill, 12 November, 1868); both quiver and bolts come from the collection of the Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1062|1|1|Archer’s bracer, of ivory, gutter-shaped and slightly tapering. It is prominently engraved with the figure of St. Adrian in classical costume, dated 1608, and the bottom bears the signature N.F. Below is the name ADRIEN PHLIPPE, probably that of the owner. At the bottom is a small panel engraved with a representation of an armourer working in his forge. The borders on either side and above are engraved with cherubs and foliage. The straps for attachment remain and are secured by three steel rivets on either side. A small portion of the upper edge is missing.

Flemish, dated 1608.

Compare similar bracers in the collection of the late Mr. Claes of Antwerp, sold Antwerp, Nov.-Dec., 1933, one of them (lot 216) being engraved with a figure of St. Adrian. Bracers are to be seen in the Scott Collection, Glasgow, on is in the Royal Armouries (ex-Hearst), another was in the Ullmann sale, Cologne, 1891, lot 321. A good example of an English archer's bracer of cuir bouilli bearing the Tudor rose, is in the British Museum. A1063|1|1|Part of a sword-belt, comprised of a narrow leather strap encircling the waist, tooled with horizontal lines and furnished with mounts of steel etched with scrolled foliage on a blackened ground; the mounts consist of buckle, hinge, chape and three rings for suspension, the latter hang from the belt on pairs of loops with prominent half-round bosses; two of the attachments are free to run on the belt, the third is riveted to it.

German (Saxon ?), about 1560.

Provenance: Henry Courant? (un petit ceinturon gravé, 130 fr.; receipted bill, 6 June, 1869); this bill may refer to A1064; Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A number of similar belts were in the Historisches Museum at Dresden. A1064|1|1|Part of a sword-belt, similar in all respects to A1063.

German (Saxon ?), about 1560. A1065|1|1|Belt for a rapier or sword, of leather, covered with crimson velvet and faced with a band of silver galloon of herring-bone pattern, the warp of silver wire, the weft of silk thread; it carries as mounts two double buckles of steel having rings for the frog (the latter missing); clasp of steel (with 'S' hook and eye) shaped as two cockle-shells; sliding buckle for adjustment; finial (or tag) and chape, both of steel chiselled as cockles like the clasp.

French(?), about 1610. A1066|1|1|Hanger of a rapier belt, made of black leather composed of three strips, at the top is a steel hook for suspension attached by a triple-tongued shank; each strip has at the base three loops adjusted by buckles; through the loops passes a strap with a steel buckle, chape, tag and hook for attachment to the front of the sword belt. The surface is tooled with lines and decorated with a stitched arabesque.

South German, about 1610-20.

Meyrick Catalogue, no. 543(?), Hangers . . . stamped leather, from the Royal Armoury at Dresden.

Possibly this is the hanger delineated in Skelton's unpublished vol. III of the Meyrick Collection preserved in the library at Hertford House.

In the Historisches Museum at Dresden are a number of similar hangers which are believed to have been worn by the Saxon Guard. See also Z.H.W.K., Band 9, Heft 4, Taf. IV. The manner of wearing such a hanger is well illustrated by the complete belt and hanger preserved at Vienna (Boeheim, Album I, pl. XXX, fig. 1); see also p. 290 of Boeheim.

The top triangle of leather is a 19th-century replacement. A flap of leather hangs down on the inside of each set of slides to save the clothes from wear.
For a discussion of this type of hanger see Norman and Barne, 1980, pp. 293-303. A1068|1|1|Chain-belt, composed of decorative, silver links connected to each other by two grooved rings, the surface chiselled with conventional flowers of quatrefoil shaped; at intervals of four and a half inches are solid panels with winged cherubs' heads applied; there is a chased loop for suspension and the clasp is formed as a larger rosette, being stamped with the maker's initials C F, and a crossed-keys mark, which may refer either to Liegnitz or to Regensburg (Ratisbon) (see Rosenberg, nos. 2021 and 3355). An oval paper label edged with blue and bearing in pencil the figures 13 (or 23) remains on the back of one of the panels.

German, about 1680. A1069|1|1|Chain, of iron, of heavy make, showing traces of gilding. Comprising two flat bars each expanded in the middle to form a diamond-shaped opening, linked by four circular rings. The middle two rings support a plate pierced with a key-slot, to which is attached a swivel ring.

North Africa, late 18th century.

This chain apparently originally formed part of a parade bridle for a camel. The Musée de l'Armée, Paris, has a number of similar objects among material brought back from Egypt by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte (Col. M. Dugue MacCarthy, letter of 20 June 1975). A1071|1|1|Locket of a falchion scabbard, of finely embossed and chased steel; oblong in section, with flat sides, on each of which, in low relief, is the head of Medusa in a strapwork cartouche outlined in gold, with two winged cupids at the top, chain-pattern at the side, and trophies of arms at the bottom; ring at the side for suspension.

French, about 1550.

This locket must have belonged to a weapon of the highest quality. The decoration resembles the designs of Cornelis Bos or Sylvius, dated 1550 (R. Berliner, Ornamentale Vorlage-Blätter, I, 1925, pI. 155.1).

Provenance: A. Beurdeley (Un fragment de fourreau en fer ciselé et damasquiné de la Renaissance, 450 fr.; receipted bill, 2 May, 1866); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. Offered to the South Kensington Museum for purchase at £20. (Bélière de fourreau de cimeterre en fer ciselé et damasquiné représentant une tête de Gorgone, 500 fr. (£20); receipt, 7 October, 1870). A1072|1|1|Match-lock target rifle, the barrel of octagonal section, the planes being changed at a point eight inches from the muzzle and so representing an edge to the line of sight instead of a flat plane. The surface of the barrel has been etched to give a crystalline effect, probably by binding it irregularly with narrow strips of some impermeable material before applying the mordant. It has then been engraved at breech, muzzle, and a point midway between, with conventional foliage. Brass foresight. The backsight takes the form of a peepsight; on the top is a sliding plate, which is engraved with scrolls and gilt, to the underside of which is attached a small vertical plate pierced with two sighting apertures, one above the other. At the breech are stamped five maker's marks (one of which a unicorn between the letters L.H. occurs three times), and the initial N (for Nuremberg?). Pivoted pan-cover. Rifling of twelve grooves.

The narrow, strap-like lock-plate is lightly engraved with arabesque foliage en suite with that on the barrel and bears a maker's mark. The slender match-holder is ornamented with turned mouldings. The lock mechanism incorporates a tumbler, to enable the lock to be cocked and work with a snap action. A cord passed through a hole situated towards the rear of the lock-plate, and when pulled effected the action of cocking, and behind this is a screw which provides an adjustment for the pull-off. The trigger is missing.

Stock of pear-wood, inlaid with engraved antler with an intricate ornament of foliage and strapwork involving amorini, fauns, birds and grotesque figures of men and animals. On either side of the breech strap are the figures of Venus and Mercury; on the fore-end Jupiter, Chronos, Apollo and Mars; on the heel of the butt, Diana. On a small panel of mother-of-pearl on the underside is engraved the date 1598, while just above the lock-plate is stamped the letter N. There is no trigger-guard, but to take its place the butt is stepped underneath on the right side to accommodate the fingers.

German (possibly Nuremberg) dated 1598.

Of the highest quality. Match-lock rifles of this type were used for target-shooting.

A few small shreds of the green silk cord for setting the tumbler still survive. The straight slender trigger was originally screwed into place. No ram-rod has ever been fitted.

Guns with similar stocks and locks are in the Royal Armouries, XII. 10; at Windsor, no. 351; Musée de l' Armée, nos. M 9, M 23, M 24, and one was in the Whawell Sale, Sotheby's, 4 May, 1927, lot 249.
Hoff, 'Late firearms with snap matchlocks', TøjhusMuséets Skrifter, 7, 1963, pp. 9-30, fig. 8; Hayward, Art of the gun-maker, 1962, 1, pp. 34-5 and 278, pI. Ic; Blackmore, Guns and rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 60. A wheel-lock rifle, also dated 1598, with comparable decoration on its stock and with the same marks struck on its barrel, is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome, inv. no. 5. The lock is by a different Nuremberg maker (Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, cat., no. 8, illus.). A rifle very similar to no. A1072, with a stock dated 1581, apparently from the same workshop, and with a Nuremberg barrel, was formerly in the collection of S.V. Grancsay and thereafter in the Clay Bedford collection (Hoff, op. cit., pI. 5; Lavin and Gussler, 1977, pp. 120-1). Of the comparable rifles in the Musée de l' Armee, Paris, mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue, no. M.23 is by Christoph I Dressier of Dresden and is dated 1607, while no. M.24 has a stock possibly from the same workshop as no. A1072. The rifle of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol is at Abbotsford (Norman, Apollo, LXXVI, pp. 525-9, figs. 10-11). An example in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen, is dated 1613 (cat., no. B288); and another made by Gabriel Dorn of Prague, as late as 1625, was sold at Sotheby's, 6 December 1965, lot 149, repr. in cat.

The first mark on the barrel, which is not in N. Støckel, occurs with the Nuremberg town mark on a pistol barrel sold at Sotheby's, 17 December 1974, lot 70, repr. in cat. N. di Carpegna (loc. cit.) pointed out that it resembles the mark attributed in N. Støckel, I, p. 522, no. a 4935, to Hans Herl (Herelt, Herold or Höroldt) of Nuremberg, active from 1566 to his death in 1608. This man had a son Lorenz Herl, active from 1572 to his death in 1622. The mark could therefore be that of the son, although N. Støckel gives his marks as a falchion and a falchion flanked by the letters LH (I, p. 522, nos. a 5814 and a 529 respectively). See also under nos. A1073 and A1152-3.
The second mark was tentatively identified by C. Bosson as that of Michael Wiedemann of Augsburg, active 1572-81 (Genava, 1953, p. 159), an identification followed by N. Støckel (II, p. 1382, no. a 8535). This identification is, however, not apparently borne out by the Augsburg archives (letter of E. Heer, 19 April 1982). Neither the third mark, a man between the letter IB in a shield-shaped compartment, nor the fourth mark is in N. Støckel. The fourth was tentatively identified as that of the Neuburger Gewehrkammer by Hayward (op. cit., p. 278), in which case this rifle presumably belonged to Wolfgang Wilhelm, Pfalzgraf von Neuburg (1578-1658).

The mark on the lock-plate is not recorded in N. Støckel. A1073|1|1|Gun with a combined match- and wheel-lock, barrel of round section etched with interlacing strapwork in low relief, with three broad bands of chiselled ornament representing at the muzzle a winged female half-figure holding a cartouche, midway along the barrel a horned and bearded satyr and a horned merman, at the breech figures of a nymph and satyr above a grotesque mask holding in its mouth a ring. The decoration is of fine quality. The whole surface of the barrel was originally gilt, of which considerable traces remain.

Lock with external wheel enclosed in a steel cover engraved with foliage. Lock-plate etched with arabesque strapwork en suite with the barrel. The entire surface of the lock is gilt. Trefoil-shaped release button for the pan-cover catch, and safety-catch. The cock, which has a concealed spring, is engraved with a monster's head. Slender match-holder with screw to tighten the jaws. The match-holder spring is in one with the guard over the sear extension for the safety-catch.

Walnut stock of German fashion, inlaid with ornament of engraved antler, in the form of heavy strapwork enclosing panels of animals and foliage. On the cheek-piece is a rectangular plaque engraved with a combat of antique horsemen, and above is inscribed HERCVLES. Further forward by the lock-screws are two oval, sunken panels representing bear and stag hunts, while a panel on the right side of the butt shows a boar hunt and another on the underside by the ramrod socket a warrior in classical dress inscribed above HECTOR. The heel of the butt has a sunken panel engraved with a similar figure and is furnished with three flattened knobs of antler.

Indented trigger-guard etched with strapwork and gilt. The trigger is furnished with a screw to regulate the pull-off. Wooden ramrod tipped with antler.

German, about 1565.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 109. L'Art Ancien, IV, 564-6; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1977 (Spitzer); Lièvre, Musées et Collections; Musée Graphique, p. XVIII.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1977 (Spitzer).

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

There are two guns in the Royal Armouries, nos. XII. 4 and .43, with bands with similar chiselled decoration.

The barrel is twice struck behind the back-sight with a mark of a small falchion, its cutting edge to the left (Støckel, nos. a 5812 and 5813, 'possibly Augsburg, about 1580'). N. Støckel, I, p. 30, tentatively attributes this mark to an Augsburg gunmaker, Christoph Arnold, active 1547-73, on the grounds that the Arnold family used crossed falchions as their arms. A rather similar mark has been attributed to Lorenz Herl of Nuremberg (N. Støckel, I, p. 522, no. a 5814; see also under no. A1072).
The wheel-cover is domed. The lock-plate is edged with engraved laurel foliage.

The match mechanism is unusual. A lug projecting forward on the pivoted end of the match-holder rests on a hook projecting through the lock-plate. Pressure on the trigger pushes the hook outwards against the force of its spring, clear of the plate, thus allowing the lug on the end of the holder to pass between the lock-plate and the hook, and the match-holder to pivot forward to fire the priming. Although the pull of the trigger can be regulated, it is not a set-trigger.

A rifle by the same group of makers, working to similar designs, and with the same marks on the barrel, is at Konopiště in Czechoslovakia (Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, pI. 14b). The same mark occurs on a gun barrel in the Royal Armouries dated 1546, no. XII.4; on a double-barrelled wheel-lock pistol in the Musée de l' Armee, Paris, no. M.I 639; and on a pair of wheel-lock pistols in the W.G. Renwick collection (sold Sotheby's, 18 March 1975, lot 49, repr. in cat.), later in the G. Bedford Collection (Gussler and Lavin, 1977, pp. 112-13, no. 42).

W. Glage considers that the lock of no. A1073 is of typically Brunswick type (personal communication 1983). A1074|1|1|Gun with combination match- and wheel-lock, the barrel octagonal at the breech, the rest polygonal, separated by a chased silver band. At the muzzle an applied silver moulding carries the foresight. A silver mount at the breech is chased with a cherub's head. The backsight is made of silver, and takes the form of a woman in relief, lying on her back, and oriented so that the shooter sights between her spread legs.

The lock is a combined wheel-lock and match-lock, both mechanisms being actuated by a single trigger, the first pressure releases the wheel-lock mechanism; the second pressure operates the match-holder. External wheel with ring-shaped bearing-plate chiselled with winged terminal figures. The pan is decorated with silver appliqué acanthus ornament. The cock is chiselled with fine mouldings, and is further enriched by a small applied silver plate chased with a dolphin's head. The match-holder is formed as a dragon's head with open jaws, and works against a coil spring which is attached to the exterior of the lock-plate. The surface of the lockplate is unornamented, save for a double line of silver inlaid around the edge, and at the rear end a silver ornament chased with a grotesque mask. Two engraved rosettes, resembling maker's marks, are in fact the ends of screws on the inside of the lockplate.

Stock of Italian walnut, the graceful butt being curved on the underside approaching the shape of a modern stock. It is decorated with inlaid silver wire and with engraved insertions of the same metal in the form of recumbent female figures, amorini and explicitly erotic subjects. The socket of the ramrod and the single ramrod pipe are of silver, pierced and engraved, and there are panels of similar decoration on either side of the breech strap, on the comb of the butt, and applied to the steel heel-plate which bears a representation of Venus and Cupid. The gracefully curved trigger-guard is chiselled with acanthus ornament and inlaid with engraved silver. Attached to the left side of the stock is a steel sling swivel, and a steel loop at the muzzle end is for a sling. Roughly branded on the left side of the fore-end are the letters M.S. Wooden ramrod tipped with engraved silver, the opposite end having a steel ferrule threaded internally to take a cleaning implement.
Italian, about 1620.

There is a tradition that this weapon, which is of the finest workmanship throughout, belonged to King Louis XIII of France.

There are three somewhat similar guns in the Musée de l' Armée, nos. M 70, 71, 142.

The decoration of the heel-plate includes a seeded lily, a device used by a number of families of which the Farnese were the most prominent.
Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, pp. 53 and 286, pI. 22b; Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 102; Hoff, Feuerwaffen, II, 1969, fig. 83; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, figs. 46-7; Carpegna, 'Brescia, o Milano, o Firenze? Molti interrogativi e qualche proposta', Armi e cultura nel Bresciano, 1420-1870, 1981, p. 85. A. Gaibi (loc. cit.) suggested that no. A1074 might be Lombard about 1620, while N. di Carpegna (loc. cit.) suggested extremely tentatively that it might have been made in Milan.

Since there is no sign of a French Royal Inventory stamp on this gun and it cannot be identified in any version of the French Royal inventories, the tradition that it belonged to Louis XIII should be regarded as apocryphal. A1075|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel partly octagonal, etched for its entire length with arabesques and running foliage interspersed at intervals with exotic birds on granulated ground, formerly gilt. It possesses both foresight and backsight, the former being of brass. A maker's or viewer's mark is stamped near the breech.

Lock with wheel partly sunk into the lock-plate and covered by a domed steel casing. This latter is etched with the Imperial eagle. The rest of the lock-plate is etched with foliage on a gilt ground, enclosing a central band which has a granulated ground filled with a black pigment instead of being gilt. The lever of the safety-catch is missing. The cock is engraved to represent a monster's head.

Slender stock of German fashion, of wood entirely overlaid with antler, carved in relief with hunting scenes, grotesque masks, and on the underside the figures of Lucretia, Judith and a Landsknecht. On the base of the butt is a medallion with the head of a man in contemporary dress. Wooden ramrod with antler top carved en suite. Trigger-guard indented for the fingers.

South German, about 1560.

L'Art Ancien, IX, 1013.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Compare the decoration on the lock of no. A1167.

The barrel is hog-backed towards the muzzle. Its gilding was confined to certain areas.

A V-spring on the inner face of the lock-plate beneath the sear-lever appears to lock the sear in the disengaged position. How it was unlocked is not clear. The pan-cover release-knob has been replaced by a screw.

A pistol with a very similar lock, and comparable decoration on both lock and stock, was in the collection of Lord Astor at Hever Castle (sold Sotheby's, 5 May 1983, lot 68, repr. in cat.).

W. Glage considers the lock of no. A1075 to be of typical Brunswick type, and the decoration of the stock to have Brunswick features (personal communication 1983). A1076|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with a barrel of circular section chiselled with decoration in relief along its entire length. At the breech is a reserve containing a figure of Justice, and two similar panels further along the barrel contain the figures of Venus and Fortune (or Fate). The rest of the surface is covered with an intricate pattern of flowers and foliage involving animals of the chase and monsters. At the muzzle is a groove for a missing foresight. The backsight has a wide deep notch, and has hinged on one side a small plate pierced with a sighting aperture, which on being lowered across the notch converts it into a peepsight.

Lock, with an internal wheel with geared winding mechanism. The extension for the winding key is not part of the wheel spindle, but is connected to a large cog-wheel engaging in the wheel proper, the spindle for which appears on the outside of the lock-plate in front of the winding key extension. Lock-plate entirely chiselled with conventional foliage containing the representation of a deer hunt. Cock with pyrites-guard chiselled and pierced with foliage and a sea monster, and a small plate joining the screw of the cock to that securing its spring is similarly ornamented.

Stock of German fashion, inlaid with antler, forming running foliage interspersed with hunting scenes. On the cheek-piece is a representation of a bear hunt with a gentleman and lady mounted. The single ivory or bleached cow's horn ramrod pipe at the fore-end is engraved with a figure of Venus with flaming heart and dart, and a similar figure appears on a antler plaque at the ramrod socket. On the underside just in front of the trigger-guard is a halberdier in a corselet. The sliding cover of the butt-trap is formed of a single plaque of antler engraved with figures of Venus, Fortune and Justice, and another figure posed like the corresponding figures on the barrel. Several other motifs including the bear and a conventional mask are common to both stock and barrel. On a horn panel behind the breech strap is engraved the date 1579. Steel trigger-guard chiselled with foliage. Trigger with screw adjustment to regulate pull-off. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

German, dated 1579, the lock about 1670.

The chiselling of the barrel is later (J. F. Hayward, personal communication 1982). Diefenthal, 'Typical firearm forgeries…', American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28, 1973, fig. 13.

A very similar lock, made for Anselm Franz von Ingelheim, Prince Archbishop of Mainz (1679-95), is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 908; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, cat. no. 98, illus., with a list of comparable examples). A1077|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with a short, heavy barrel of very large bore, chiselled at the muzzle with a lion's mask, at the breech and midway along the barrel with two bands of acanthus ornament, separated from each other by three flutes. The chiselling is gilt, and the remaining surface has formerly been blued.

The lock has an external wheel enclosed in a steel case pierced and engraved with two monsters. This, together with the button of the pan-cover catch and the safety-catch spring, are gilt, while the surface of the lock-plate is blued. The lever of the safety-catch is missing. The cock is engraved with monsters on a flat surface and has a short cocking spur.

Walnut stock of elongated form, inlaid with engraved strips of ornament between which are hunting scenes, all of antler, and underneath is the back view of a male figure in antique costume. The heel-plate is of steel, etched with Oriental strapwork arabesques and gilt. Two steel straps ending in fleurs-de-lys, which are laid along the top and bottom of the butt, are similarly decorated.

Wooden ramrod with a steel tip from which some form of finial is missing. The trigger-guard possesses a hinged extension for the fingers.

German (probably Augsburg), about 1590.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 770; Skelton, vol. II, pl. CXVI, fig. 2.

Provenance: Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

Exhibited: Manchester Art Treasures, 1857 (Planche, 1857, p. 15); South Kensington, 1869, no. 702 (Illustrated London News, LIV, 1869, illus. on p. 344, no. 5).

The inlaid decoration of the stock resembles that of no. A1081 below. A very similar gun is in the German Historical Museum at Berlin.

Guns of this type were intended for a large charge of heavy shot- grenades or rockets most probably. At a later date they were called Langridge guns, after their use to fire ‘Langridge’ chain-shot.

The barrel is however of unusually small calibre for a grenade-launcher and it has been suggested, therefore, that it might possibly be intended for launching rockets (O. Gamber, personal communication, 1962). The antler inlay of the stock was originally intended to fit much narrower areas, presumably on a stock of conventional form; for instance, the tops of all the trees are cut off unnecessarily. This suggests that this type of inlay could be purchased ready-made from specialist craftsmen. A1078|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel octagonal at the breech and broadening to a muzzle of flattened, bell-mouthed shape. Large brass foresight. Makers' marks stamped on the underside.

Lock with external wheel bordered with a casing of brass engraved and gilt. There is a spring pan-cover catch, the button of which takes the form of a lion's mask of gilt brass, and an applied ornament with a female bust also in brass, chased, pierced and gilt is applied to a small plate which joins the pivot screw of the dog-head to the screw securing the spring of the cock. There is a safety-catch. The engraved cock may be of slightly later date than the lock.

Stock of German fashion, closely inlaid with antler in close-set pattern of interlaced strapwork, interspersed at intervals with birds and animals, including monkeys, an elephant and a camel. On the underside of the fore-end a long plaque is engraved with a hunting scene, and behind this another engraved with a figure of Fortune. The sliding cover of the butt-trap is engraved with a soldier in the costume of the late 16th century bearing a flag, and on a plaque on the heel of the butt is another military figure holding an arquebus.

Trigger-guard indented for the fingers, and trigger with screw adjustment to regulate the pull-off. Wooden ramrod tipped at either end with antler.

German (probably Saxon), about 1590.

An early example of the blunderbuss.

The close-set ornament of the stock is frequently found on German wheel-lock arms of this kind, and represents a definite style at present unidentified. See also nos. A1091, 1139-40, 1144.

Some of the decoration of the lock appears to be 19th-century. There is a vertical join about half-way along the fore-stock which is more noticeable on the right side. The stock was x-rayed by the Conservation Department of the Courtauld Institute in May 1968. In front of the join the stock proved to be impervious to x-ray; the portion behind the join was not. This adaptation was presumably made to accept the flared end of the barrel which comes from an Austrian Cavalry musketoon Model of 1781. Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 112; Baxter, Blunderbusses, 1970, pI. 4; Diefenthal, "Typical firearms forgeries...", American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28, 1973, fig. 12. Stocks inlaid with antler with very tightly scrolled strapwork inhabited by small birds and animals, as on no. A1078, are often ascribed to a workshop in Wasungen in Thuringia. The evidence of a single stock decorated in this style and signed there, is insufficient to attribute others to this town (see also under no. A1144). A1079|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel of blued steel, octagonal at the breech, and bearing traces of engraving and of gold overlay. The position of the backsight has been altered, having been moved four inches forward from its original position. Near the breech are stamped three stars, the mark of the maker.

The lock had an external wheel covered with a domed steel cover. Release button for the pan-cover spring and safety-catch. The lock is blued and the lock-plate shows traces of gold overlay. The cock is later than the rest of the lock, and dates from about 1660.

Stock of German fashion, profusely inlaid with flowing foliage interspersed with birds and animals of engraved and stained antler. A plaque on the underside is engraved with the figure of Lucretia. The butt contains five receptacles for paper cartridges; the heel-plate, which was probably pivoted, is missing. The trigger-guard, which is indented for the fingers, is a very roughly made replacement.

Wooden ramrod tipped with horn.

German, about 1590.

The marks are not identifiable among the many stars in N. Støckel, II, pp. 1478-80. A1080|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel octagonal at the breech and terminating at the muzzle with a turned moulding. The surface is engraved with figures in classical and contemporary dress, now much worn, and showing faint arabesque overlay.

The lock has an external wheel covered with a plate held in position by two screws. There is a self-winding mechanism, but the wheel-spindle is also furnished with an extension for a spanner. The lock-plate bears traces of etching and overlay, but the decoration, like that of the barrel, is much worn.
The lever of the safety-catch is missing.

Ebony stock of German fashion, profusely inlaid with mother-of-pearl and engraved antler in a connected design of strapwork, cartouches, human figures and putti holding swags of fruit, birds, monsters, satyrs and animals. There is a butt-trap with sliding cover. Heel-plate of gilt brass embossed in relief with a male figure in the costume of c. 1600 blowing a horn. The shoulder of the stock at the breech-strap of the barrel is also covered with a plate of gilt brass embossed with fruit and a lion's mask.

The wooden ramrod is tipped with antler, and the trigger-guard is indented for the fingers.

German, about 1600.

L'Art Ancien 1013.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

See also the powder flask A1288, which may be by the stockmaker of this gun.

The surface of the barrel is hatched all over for overlay in gold and/or silver. Large areas were formerly silvered or gilt. The barrel is contemporary but associated at a later date (J. F. Hayward, personal communication).
Exhibited: not identifiable in the catalogue of the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.
L'art ancien, IX, 1013 (Spitzer); not illustrated in Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, pI. 41c, as stated in the 1962 Catalogue, p. 628.
Provenance: illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph among the papers of W. H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 500fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A1081|1|1|Breech-loading wheel-lock gun, the barrel of blued steel, octagonal at the breech, and deeply engraved at breech, muzzle, and at the end of the octagonal section, with leaf ornament which is gilt. Near the breech is stamped the fir-cone mark of Augsburg.

The breech mechanism resembles the Snider system of the 19th century. The rear part of each half of the back-sight, which is divided longitudinally, has to be raised and then, by exerting pressure downwards and backwards on the backsight, a short bolt can be withdrawn from the rear of the breech-block, which is hinged on its left, allowing it to spring open, being hinged on the left side. A steel cartridge, which can be introduced and withdrawn through the opening thus formed, fits into the breech, which is chambered to receive it.

The cartridge has a small extension at is rear end drilled with a vent, which communicates with the pan of the lock. Originally the cartridge (of which a number would be carried by the user of the gun) may have possessed its own pan to fit into that of the lock, which is exceptionally large and deep.

The lock incorporates an external wheel covered with a casing of gilt brass, pierced and engraved with figures of mermen. It is spanned by the act of moving the cock into contact with the wheel. Alternatively, the operation can be effected in the usual manner by means of a spanner, and for this purpose the cock can be disconnected from the winding mechanism by withdrawing a hinged staple on the pivot (see also A1118). The surface of the lock-plate is blued. On the inside the two plates which serve as bearings for the mechanism are etched and engraved, in the case of one with monsters and of the other with a figure in peasant costume surrounded by scrollwork. There is a safety-catch, but the release button for the pan-cover catch is missing. The flat surface of the cock is engraved with a monster, and has a short cocking spur with a knob.

The stock, stained to look like ebony, is of German fashion, inlaid with strips of antler engraved with scrollwork, between which are lively hunting scenes. On the opposite face to the lock-plate are scenes of the Creation of Eve, the Temptation, and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, whilst the butt is decorated with scenes of the Triumph of Youth and Love, respectively. The two ramrod pipes are engraved with nude female figures, the lower one representing Venus. The butt-trap is closed by a sliding cover which has a knob at the end carved in the form of a dog's head, and on the heel of the butt a antler button serves to preserve it from damage when in contact with the ground.

Trigger-guard indented for the fingers and etched with a floral pattern on a gilt ground. Wooden ramrod with steel worm and antler tip.

German (Augsburg), about 1600.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 355; L'Art Ancien, III, 368 and V, 587; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, possibly; although F. Spitzer is credited in the captions of L'art ancien with the ownership of this gun, it cannot be identified among the pieces he exhibited in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The decoration of the stock resembles that on A1077. A very similar breech-loading gun is in the Musée de l' Armée (no. M 952), with Augsburg mark and self-winding lock. Compare also no. M 953, ibid. Guns with similar breech-loading action are: Henry VIII's gun in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. XII. 1); a gun in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh; a gun with lock, dated 1638, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Bashford Dean Collection, Kienbusch and Grancsay, no. 189); three guns and a pistol in the German Historical Museum, Berlin; a gun in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen; two guns in the Scott Collection in the Glasgow Corporation Museum. In the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer at Vienna (Böheim, Album, 1898, pl. L (3)) there is a wheel-lock rifle, the stock of which is by the same maker as no. A1081, and the barrel also of Augsburg make. There is a pistol, by Hans Stockmann of Dresden, dated 1610, with similar mechanism in the Farquharson Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M 641-1927). The gun of Don John of Austria at Madrid (K 14) has a similar stock, but Nuremberg marks on the barrel and lock. See also nos. A1148-9.

Of the comparable weapons listed in the 1962 Catalogue, that in the Royal Scottish Museum is No. 1869.9.3 (Norman, 1972, no. 59, with a list of comparable examples); that in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, which also bears the Augsburg town-mark, is no. 29.158.671; the whereabouts since the Second World War of the Berlin weapons is unknown; neither of the Glasgow guns are strictly comparable, since no. E.1939.65.up is self-spanning but on a different principle, while E.1939.65.un is not self-spanning. That in the Victoria and Albert Museum is not self- spanning. On a comparable pistol, formerly in the collection of Lord Astor at Hever Castle, the pan was fixed to the removable cartridge (sold at Sotheby's, 5 May 1983, lot 61, repr. in cat). Another list of comparable pieces is given by Carpegna in which he distinguishes between the various methods of self-spanning (Firearms, 1975, under cat., no. 14, p. 63, n. 6 and 64, n. 11). A1082|1|1|Light wheel-lock rifle, the barrel decorated for its entire length with foliated ornament chiselled in low relief on a gilt ground, broken at intervals by four upright panels containing symbolical female figures and with the background filled with arabesques in gold overlaid. The parts not gilt were originally blued. In front of the lock there is a cock's head in a rectangular frame. At the breech is stamped a maker's mark. There is a foresight, but no backsight. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with exterior wheel covered by a steel case. Both wheel-case and lock-plate are etched with foliage, blued upon a stippled gilt ground. Cock similarly decorated, the jaws representing a scaled monster's head, and extended in a cocking spur.

Stock of Italian walnut, with short, combed butt, inlaid with engraved antler in a well-executed design of scrollwork and tendrils. On the near side is a circular cartouche containing a horse, and on either side of the butt a bear playing the flute. At the ramrod socket an antler plaque is engraved with a half-length male figure in contemporary costume. Wooden ramrod with antler tip. The trigger-guard is decorated with foliage and terminates in a chiselled lion's head.

German, about 1600.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 12.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

There are three guns in the Musée de l' Armée (M 52, M 87, M 107) which have similarly decorated barrels, and compare also no. A1144 below. A gun and a pair of pistols with similar barrels were among the objects from the armoury of Prince Liechtenstein, sold by the American Art Association, New York, 1926, lots 213, 238. These pistols bore a mark somewhat similar to that of A1082. A rifle formerly in the W. R. Hearst Collection had similar chiselling on the barrel.

Similar marks are on the lock of a wheel-lock gun at Schwarzburg, no. 902, and on the lock of a match-lock wall-gun in the Royal Armouries, XI. 14.
There are two wheel-lock guns at Madrid (Martìnez, nos. 1984 and 1988) with similar stocks.

The decoration of both lock and barrel is later, probably 19th century. The foliage on the lock-plate is lightly chiselled rather than etched. The barrel mark resembles Støckel no. b2792, on an example dated 1619 at Veste Coburg, tentatively ascribed to Zeila. N. Støckel, I, p. 260, however, ascribes it tentatively to Wasungen, Saxony, about 1580-1600.

For a note on this subject see under nos. A1078 and A1144. A1083|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel of watered steel inlaid with silver in a flowing pattern. There is a foresight, but no backsight. Rifling of eight grooves.
Lock with wheel sunk into the lock-plate and covered on the exterior with a casing of copper engraved and gilt. The surface of the lock-plate is engraved with close-set foliage. There is a safety-catch and a release button for the pan-cover catch. The spring of the dog-head is covered with a small engraved plate. The jaws of the dog-head are engraved on the outside and serrated inside.

Walnut stock of German fashion, inlaid with hunting scenes in engraved antler, the free spaces being closely filled with a pattern of flowers and leaves in antler and stained ivory (green and yellow). On the cheek-piece is portrayed the Conversion of Saul, while on the underside of the butt is a plaque engraved with a medallion of Francis I of France. This last is part of a modern insertion. The ramrod pipes are banded with plaques of antler engraved with nude allegorical figures, including those of Justice and Love, while a plaque on the underside of the stock is engraved with a figure of Lucretia.

The sliding cover of the butt-trap is missing. Wooden ramrod tipped with antler, engraved en suite. The trigger ends in a round knob, and the trigger-guard is indented for the fingers.

German (possibly Saxon), about 1580-90.

L'Art Ancien 587; Musée Rétrospectif, V, and possibly III, 368, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The barrel is in the Turkish style. Compare that on a wheel-lock rifle in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. M 612-1927.

The touch-hole is inlaid with brass. The decoration of the lock-plate is of 17th-century type. The plate itself appears to have been cut to fit the stock. Much of the inlay of the stock appears to be 19th-century. The allegorical figures are probably based on Flemish engravings, but these have so far not been identified. The cover of the butt-trap was still present in 1865 when it was illustrated in place in L'art ancien, 587.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1970 (Spitzer).

The barrel appears to be a Turkish one remounted, but whether during the working life of the stock or in Spitzer's workshop is not clear. A1084|1|1|Wheel-lock rifled carbine, the barrel of twisted steel, octagonal from the breech to a point midway along its length, then circular in section. Copper blade foresight, the backsight is missing. Rifling of eight grooves. On the side of the barrel opposite the vent is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel in a ring-shaped bearing-plate. The arm of the cock is fluted and the flat surface of the jaws engraved with a monster's head. The cock is large in proportion to the rest of the lock, and possibly may not belong although it is of the correct length. There is a release button of cockle-shell form for the pan-cover spring, but the safety-catch has been removed and the holes filled in.

Walnut stock of German fashion, richly inlaid with engraved antler, mother-of-pearl set in cow-horn and stained ivory (green and yellow). The ornament includes female heads, demi-figures and an abundance of fruit and flowers, and on the fore-end are cartouches containing nude warriors reclining. The intervening spaces are filled with foliated arabesques. On the cheek-piece of the butt is a larger plaque containing a medallion of a man in profile in Turkish dress in mother-of-pearl. Another Turk is engraved on the antler cover of the butt-trap. Below the end of the breech-strap are the initials HB (H.H.B.?). Wooden ramrod with antler tip. Both trigger and trigger-guard are missing, as is also the steel knob of the heel-plate.

German, about 1590.

The late Dr. Hans Stöcklein, in his book Meister des Eisenschnittes, attributed the stock of this carbine to Hieronymus Borstorffer of Munich, from the presence of the monogram HB. This attribution must be accepted with reserve, since the decoration, though of fine quality, shows no marked resemblance to Borstorffer's usual style. It is possible, however, that it may be an early example of his work, and that his manner developed later.

The hole in the stock for the trigger is an inaccurate restoration and the present piece of bone or antler inlay probably covers the holes for screws securing the original trigger-plate.

The barrel mark is N. Støckel, I, p. 260, no. a 3235. It also occurs on the barrel of a wheel-lock pistol, dated 1591, in Paris (no. M.Po.840; Reverseau, Musée de I'Armee, 1982, p. 37, pls. 54 and 173).

The signature on the stock of no. A1084 differs from that given for Borstorffer by N. Støckel, I, p. 126, no. 87. This is apparently an early example of a twist barrel of European manufacture. A1085|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, the octagonal barrel etched for its entire length with guilloche ornament and running foliage, while the top facet is decorated with arabesques broken at intervals by small cartouches containing figures in classical costume, showing traces of gilding. There are no sights, though there are signs that a groove for a backsight has at one time existed and been filled in. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with external wheel and ring-shaped bearing-plate. The surface of the lock-plate is entirely etched and gilt, with arabesque decoration including winged monsters.

Stock of Italian walnut, the butt delicately curved on the underside. It is decorated with antler inlays of hunting scenes, animals and monsters, while on the side opposite to the lock a mounted archer is in combat with a lion. The two ramrod pipes of antler are engraved with full-length, male figures in Polish and Western European costume. Wooden ramrod tipped with antler. Trigger-guard with a long spur to serve as a finger rest, with an acorn finial. The trigger is missing.

South German, about 1610.

L'Art Ancien, IV. 574 and III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The antiquity of the etching on the barrel and lock has been doubted.
The lock-plate has a fleur-de-lys apparently stamped on it, possibly as a mark of some sort.

Exhibited: although Spitzer is credited in the caption of L'art ancien with the ownership of this rifle, it cannot be identified among the pieces he exhibited in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

In 1963 J. F. Hayward expressed grave doubts about whether this rifle was homogeneous. He was convinced that the barrel was associated. A1086|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel chiselled along its entire length with a formal pattern of flowers and foliage encrusted with silver.

Lock with external wheel which is covered by a steel plate. This latter, together with the surface of the lock-plate, is decorated en suite with the barrel; the cock has a curved cocking spur ending in a knob.

Stock of German fashion of Italian walnut, inlaid with scrolled cartouches, soldiers, squirrels, etc., of engraved antler; on the near side is a seated figure of Justice in the costume of the early 17th century, and underneath is Minerva. The sliding cover of the butt-trap is of antler engraved with a figure of Fortune. On the stock near the trigger is stamped the number 695 and on the cheek-piece the number 675, probably old arsenal numbers.

German, about 1610.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif , 1865, No. 1977 (Spitzer).

Provenance: F. Spitzer.

J. F. Hayward examined this gun on a number of occasions and concluded that the barrel was associated and its silver encrusting doubtful; a new fore-end had been fitted; the lock had been decorated to match the barrel at a later date; and the cover of the butt-trap was probably a 19th-century replacement. A1088|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, the octagonal barrel widening slightly at the muzzle. A broad groove in the upper facet ends just behind the backsight. Foresight of brass. Slight engraved ornament at muzzle, breech, and by the backsight, in front of which is engraved the date 1611. At the breech is stamped a maker's mark, repeated, and the initials C.T., probably for Christoph Trechsler (see also nos. A1087, 1246).

The lock has an external wheel encased in a cover of gilt brass engraved with birds and foliage. Cock with slight engraved ornament similar to that on the barrel, curved cocking spur ending in a small ring. The release-button for the pan-cover spring takes the form of a cherub's head in gilt brass, and another joins the screw of the cock to that securing its spring. The pan cover is not pivoted at the point where it is joined to the arm, and therefore draws back with a downward motion (see also nos. A1089 and 1093). A steel strip secured to the upper edge of the lock-plate covers the opening when the pan-cover is in the closed position.

Stock of walnut of German fashion, with inlaid decoration of engraved antler in the form of elephants, bears, deer, etc., trophies of arms and musical instruments among curling tendrils. On the cheek-piece of the butt a finely-engraved trophy of armour and arms. Immediately in front of the lock is engraved the monogram IS and the date 1612. On the underside of the fore-part the ramrod is covered by strips of antler engraved and pierced in a guilloche pattern; at either end are plaques of solid antler carved in relief with fruit and flowers. Similar panels in relief ornament the fore-end cap, and breech-strap. The butt-trap cover is formed of one piece of antler engraved with a musketeer loading his piece. Wooden ramrod with antler top. Trigger-guard of gilt steel with finger indentations. Hair trigger.

By Christoph Trechsler (?) of Dresden, dated 1611-2.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 12.

Provenance: A. Beurdeley (Une magnifique carabine avec incrustations en ivoire gravé au millesime de 1612, 3.500 fr.; receipted bill, 15 February, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Compare the marks on the barrel of A1087, and a rifle in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. 2232-1855. A similar mark is on the barrels of a match-lock gun and a rifle in the Musée de l' Armée, nos. M 23 and 62, and on a wheel-lock gun in the Stuyvesant Collection, no. 173. See Støckel, p. 80.
In 1972 C. Blair expressed doubts about the authenticity of this rifle, and particularly of the lock, which has a rotary pan-cover of a type much favoured by the Spitzer workshop (personal communication). There is, however, at present no evidence that A1088 was ever in the hands of Spitzer.
The screw-holes in the stock are sleeved with antler, and the aperture for the lock is partly lined with it. The carving at the fore-end and on the underside near the breech is not very convincing.

Hayward, The Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, pp. 283-4, pI. 15c. Illustrated in Vollon's Curiosités of 1868 (Savill, 1980).

J. F. Hayward (loc. cit.) pointed out that the panoply of arms inlaid in the butt is copied from an engraving in the Panoplia seu armamentarium by Hans Vredeman de Vries (published by G. de Jode, 1572). A very similar gun signed by the same stock-maker is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 642, pls. CXL and CXLI), and a similar pair of pistols in the Russell Aitken collection, formerly in the collections of F. Spitzer (1892 cat., VI, nos. 354-5 and pI. LIII) and of W. R. Hearst. A1089|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with a heavy octagonal barrel with backsight and brass foresight. Smooth bore. On the underside near the breech the letters ЯR have been outlined with a fine punch.

The lock has an external wheel enclosed in a case of gilt brass blade engraved with two supporters: a lion rampant and a griffon. The lock-plate is covered with brass tracery, formerly gilt, representing a mermaid among foliated ornament, the details of the design being rendered by punched dots. The release knob of the pan-cover catch is formed as a cherub's head in gilt brass, while the pan-cover itself, being in one piece with the interior arm, draws back with a slight downward motion. A strip of brass, engraved and gilt, secured to the upper edge of the lock-plate covers the opening left when the pan-cover is closed (see also nos. A1088 and 1093). A small brass member acting as a bridle between the screw of the cock and that securing its spring is chiselled with a female figure. The cock is engraved as a monster; a finial is missing from the cocking spur.

Stock of German fashion, of walnut, inlaid with engraved antler in a design of fine interlacing scrolls and flowers, with reserves containing grotesques and on the fore-end a lion rampant. On the underside are the double eagle, Jupiter, and at the butt Venus and Cupid. An antler plaque at the ramrod socket is engraved with the bust of a lady in contemporary court dress. The butt-trap cover is formed of a single plaque of antler, engraved with Orpheus and Flora, and the monogram MD probably that of the stockmaker or engraver. Brass trigger-guard indented for the fingers and cast with ornament in relief soldered on, and at the back with a female caryatid figure. Wooden ramrod with antler tip. Hair trigger.

German (probably Saxon), about 1615.

The mark M and D conjoined engraved on the cover of the butt-trap is not recorded in N. Støckel. A1090|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel of circular section, blued, and decorated with three panels of elaborate Renaissance ornament finely chiselled in low relief on a gilt ground. The compositions include at the breech a figure of Actæon, at the muzzle Bacchus, and in the middle panel, Diana. The design is further enriched by being piqué with gold dots. Between the breech panel and that midway along the barrel the surface is longitudinally ridged and fluted, the flutes gilt. Backsight and gilded brass foresight. Near the vent is an indistinct mark.

The lock has an external wheel with flat steel casing, chiselled with swags of fruit and a trophy of arms. Lock-plate chiselled with a representation of a bear hunt. The arm of the cock is chiselled as a sea monster and the jaws as a dragon's head. The release button of the pan-cover spring shows traces of a brazed repair.

Stock with butt of modified fish-tail form, made of snake-wood, outlined with narrow strips of ivory, and further inlaid with compositions of delicate scrollwork and foliage. On a small ivory panel below the breech-strap are engraved the initials HB, of the famous Munich stockmaker, Hieronymus Borstorffer. Trigger-guard chiselled with fruit and floral ornament, and there is similar decoration on the steel heel-plate of the butt, in the latter case within a border of scale ornament. The four screws securing the barrel to the stock pass through steel bands passing round the stock, which also form ramrod pipes. These bands are chiselled en suite with the decoration of the barrel, the raised portions being enriched with gold dots and formerly blued, the ground gilt. Wooden ramrod with moulded gilt steel tip.

German (Munich), about 1620. By Daniel Sadeler and Hieronymus Borstorffer.
L'Art Ancien, VIII, 980 and I, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865; Lièvre, Collections célèbres, 1866, pl. IX; Musées et Collections (3rd Series); Musée Graphique, pl. X; De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 12; Hans Stöcklein, Meister des Eisenschnittes, p. 64, pl. XXII; J. F. Hayward, Apollo, XLIV, 1946, pp. 69-70, fig. IV Hayward, Art of the gunmaker, I, 1962, pp. 172, 176 and 288, pI. 32a; Peterson, Encyclopaedia of firearms, 1964, pI. 2; Blair, Pollard's history of firearms, 1983, pI. 345.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Daniel Sadeler, together with his brother and co-worker, Emmanuel, was in all probability the son of Emmanuel Sadeler or de Sadeleir, a bladesmith of Antwerp. The brothers were settled in Munich about the year 1590, and by 1600 were in high favour with the Electoral court, and many of their finest pieces, of which A1090 may be one, were executed for the personal use of the members of the Bavarian ruling house or as presentation pieces. Emmanuel died in 1610, Daniel surviving him until about 1633, when he died, probably of the plague. Three pistols in this collection, nos. A1154-6, are also the work of Daniel Sadeler. A gun from his hand, very similar to A1090, and with stock by Borstorffer, is in the Waddeson Bequest, British Museum, and further examples are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Musée de l' Armée (no. M 148); in the Royal Armoury, Turin (no. M 11, made for Maximilian I of Bavaria); the Metropolitan Museum, New York (nos. 14, 25, 1396-7); the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer at Vienna (D 86, D 209); and in the collection of M. Paul Corbin, exhibited at Berlin in the Hunting Exhibition, 1937.

Hieronymus Borstorffer, the stockmaker of A1090, as also of pistol A1154, stocked many guns for the Sadelers, his work being always remarkable for restraint and refinement of technique. He was working in Munich from about 1595 to his death in 1637. Examples of his work are to be found in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer at Vienna (D 86); in the Bayr. National Museum, Munich (C.S. 16); and four examples are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. There are also the guns in the Waddeson Bequest and the Musée de l' Armée, referred to above. See also A1084.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1965 (Nieuwerkerke, ex- Pourtalès collection).

Provenance: Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier; a receipt from the Cassette Particuliere de I'Empereur shows that this gun, having been purchased by the Emperor from the Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier, was ceded to Nieuwerkerke for 9135 fr. on 17 June 1865 (archives of the Collection).

See Schedelmann, 1972, p. 67 for a list of the works of Borstorffer; p. 56 for the works of Emanuel Sadeler; and pp. 72-3 for those of his brother Daniel. The pieces in the Hunting Exhibition in Berlin in 1937 were nos. 281 and 282.
J. F. Hayward (op. cit., p. 172) compared the workmanship of A1090 with that of a gun in the British Museum (Waddesdon Bequest, 1927, cat., no. 8). He came to the conclusion that they could both date before 1610 and could therefore equally be the work of either Emanuel or Daniel Sadeler. Borstorffer's mark is N. Støckel, I, p. 126, no. c87. He was received as Master in the Gunmakers' Guild of Munich in 1598, and made his first delivery to the Bavarian court in 1604. In 1609 he had an un-named son working with him. From 1598 to 1616 he lived in 'der engen Gasse' in Munich, and thereafter in the 'Schaffergasse'. He probably died in 1637 or early in 1638. A1091|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, the octagonal barrel decorated for its entire length with silver ornamental incrustations in the form of cherub's heads, terminal figures, foliage, etc. The stippled groundwork was formerly blued (see also nos. A1094, 1164). On either side of the backsight are the letters H W inlaid in silver. Rifling of six grooves, the bore being almost hexagonal.

The lock has an external wheel covered by a steel casing shaped to take the screws securing it, and drawn to a point at the bottom, the surface blued and roughly engraved, as is also the cock. The surface of the lock-plate is decorated with encrusted silver in a design en suite with the barrel, of winged harpies framed in a double line of herringbone. The fence of the pan has been broken off.

Stock of German fashion inlaid with antler in a close-set pattern of involved foliage with birds at intervals, the background of wood scarcely appearing. The bands framing the butt are engraved with scrolls, masks and scale ornament (see also no. A1078). Steel protective knob on the bottom of the butt. About 3/4 inch has been cut off from the muzzle end of the stock. The ramrod is missing. Hair trigger and plain, steel trigger-guard with finger indentations.

Barrel and lock- German, about 1620; stock- Saxon, about 1570.

There was a wheel-lock rifle in the Magniac sale, Christie's, 1892, lot 1028, and later in the Zschille sale, Christie's, 1897, lot 19; and Lepke sale, 1900, lot 192, which had a barrel with very similar decoration and the same initials H.W., stamped on the underside, together with the date 1624 (the date is wrongly given by the Magniac sale catalogue as 1628).

Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 18.

The comparable rifle mentioned in the 1962 Catalogue as being in the Zschille and Lepke collection is now in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (inv. no. 1526). It does not appear to be the same as the example in the Magniac collection, which may be the one later in the Kindig collection (see below). The work of the encruster 'HW' has been discussed by N. di Carpegna (op. cit., p. 80, including n. 11, and p. 84, n. 4). Examples of barrels signed by him are in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome, dated 1624 (inv. no. 1526); and the collection of J. Kindig, dated 1628 (Schedelmann, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1962, pp. 1-7, no. 2, fig. 1). A detached barrel, dated 1623, was formerly in the Malengret Lebrun collection.

J. F. Hayward examined A1091 on a number of occasions and concluded that the lock had been decorated to match the associated barrel, presumably in the 19th century, and that the stock had originally been longer. A1092|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with a heavy octagonal barrel, the surface blued and decorated at intervals with bands of punched ornament, formerly gilt, the intervening spaces being lightly overlaid in silver with birds and foliage, and dotted scroll ornament carried out with a fine punch. Large, adjustable backsight and brass foresight. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock, with external wheel and ring bearing-plate. Lock-plate engraved and inlaid en suite with the barrel. Cock shaped and engraved as a winged monster, with ring-shaped cocking spur. Release button for the pan-cover catch.

Stock profusely inlaid with plaques of antler in the form of deer, hounds, squirrels, human figures and monsters, alternating with circular and diamond-shaped inlays of mother-of-pearl. The free spaces are filled with scrolls and circular spots of antler. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Antler heel-plate engraved with a squirrel and furnished with a steel protective knob. Steel indented trigger-guard engraved, inlaid and gilt en suite with lock and barrel. Hair trigger. Wooden ramrod with antler top.

All the areas with silver decoration appear to have been fire-gilt originally. The fore- sight is blade-shaped. The back-sight is extremely unusual. It consists of three quite separate sights; (1) a conventional v-sight over which slides (2) a larger v-sight fitted with (3) a vertically sliding v-sight which is secured by a small screw. The bearing-plate on the lock is C-shaped. The trigger-assembly is removable.

Silesian (Teschen), about 1620.

This rifle is very similar to A1097, and the decoration of its stock is of the kind commonly found on Tschinkes. See also that on A1105. A1093|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with an octagonal barrel, the upper plane chiselled in low relief for their entire length with conventional patterns of fruit, terminal figures and strapwork, the design broken by four oval panels bordered with silver dots, containing scenes from Roman history: Romulus and Remus, Marcus Curtius and Horatius. The panel at the breech which represents a combat of two horsemen is chiselled in high relief and the succeeding panels in progressively lower relief until that at the muzzle is on the same scale as the surrounding decoration. The ground is gilt throughout. An unusual feature is that the circumference of the barrel is reduced on the underside to accommodate the stock. Steel foresight and large tubular peepsight chiselled with a grotesque mask. Lock with external wheel covered with a gilt-brass case engraved with winged terminal figures. The plain steel lock-plate is covered with characteristic pierced ornament in gilt brass, chiselled with a cherub's head, terminal figures and scrollwork. The pan-cover draws back with a downward motion, the gap which is left when it is in the closed position being covered by a plate of gilt brass engraved with foliage and pierced with tracery. The release button of the pan-cover catch is formed as a cherub's head of gilt brass and a bridge of similar material, formed as a bear or monkey, joins the pivot of the cock to the screw of its spring. Cock engraved with monsters (compare the locks of A1088-9).

Walnut stock of German fashion, profusely inlaid with engraved antler in the form of strapwork cartouches, human heads, monsters, birds, animals and terminal figures, with occasional inlays of mother-of-pearl and green stained ivory. On the cheek-piece of the butt is a representation of Neptune seated on a shell drawn by sea horses. On the underside in front of the trigger-guard is a warrior in classical dress. The sliding cover of the butt-trap is formed of a single plaque of antler engraved with a figure of Justice, inscribed ‘IVSTICIA’. Antler heel-plate engraved en suite and furnished with a steel knob chiselled with acanthus foliage. Trigger-guard of gilt steel with finger indentations. Hair trigger. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

German (probably Saxon), about 1620.

L'Art Ancien, IV, 564, 565, 566; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Diefenthal, 'Typical Firearms Forgeries . . .', American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28,1973, fig. 17.

Exhibited: ? Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1978 (F. Spitzer).

J. F. Hayward in 1963 pointed out that the barrel was originally from a match-lock musket and was decorated in the 19th century. The deep cutting of the scene of Horatius Codes on the Bridge, immediately over the chamber, must have dangerously weakened the barrel.

In 1972 C. Blair pointed out that the inlay of the stock is 19th-century, and that the rotary pan-cover is of a type much favoured in the Spitzer workshop (personal communication). A1094|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel decorated along its entire length with heavy incrustations of floral ornament and cherubs' heads, the ground stippled and blackened (see also A1091, 1164). Near the breech is the figure of Justice, and at a point midway along the barrel, the Imperial eagle. The backsight is missing. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with partly sunken wheel covered by a steel case. Both this and the lock-plate are ornamented with silver incrustations of foliage with feathery leaves en suite with the barrel. The cock has a pyrites-guard pierced and roughly engraved with a monster, and a cocking spur terminating in a disc-shaped button.

Stock of German fashion, made of Italian walnut, heavily inlaid with engraved antler. On the forward part are hunting scenes, and the plaque covering the ramrod socket is engraved with a figure of Truth. On the cheek-piece of the butt is a representation of the Triumph of Bacchus, and on the opposite side amorini jousting from the backs of sea horses. On the underside is an armoured figure and scenes of Temptation and Fall. On the base of the butt is a female figure (? Fortitude) and the engraved date 1563. Steel protective knob and butt-trap with sliding cover. Indented steel trigger-guard incrusted with silver decoration. Wooden ramrod, the antler tip missing.

German: stock, dated 1563; barrel and lock, about 1620.

L'Art Ancien, IV, 574; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Barrels of this type, incrusted with silver decoration, belong to the group described under A1164.

The barrel and fore-stock each appear to be joined near their outer ends.

Diefenthal, 'Typical firearms forgeries. . .' American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28, 1973, fig. 16, but wrongly captioned.

Exhibited: although Spitzer is credited in the caption in L'art ancien with the ownership of this rifle, it cannot be identified among the pieces he exhibited in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

This weapon was examined on a number of occasions by F. Hayward and C. Blair. They concluded that the encrusting of the barrel was slightly dubious, while the inlay of the stock was probably 19th-century; the cock and the lock were probably 18th-century, the latter cut to fit; the encrusting of the lock-plate was certainly 19th-century; and a new bridle had been fitted to the axle-tree.

N. di Carpegna has compared the decoration of the barrel with that on four others, three at Vienna (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. nos. D98, D99, and Dll) and one in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 1527; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 19, n. 4 on p. 84). A1095|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel. At the breech a maker's stamp inlaid in silver. The backsight has a peepsight beneath the notch. Rifling of six wide grooves.

Lock with external wheel, the bearing-plate pierced and engraved with interlacing ornament, including two horsemen with lances. The cock has a pyrites-guard which is engraved with a monster, and the border pierced with patterns of a horseman and animals. There is similar pierced decoration covering the spring of the cock, and the release button of the pan-cover spring. The lock-plate is engraved with a scene of Orpheus charming the beasts, and two scrolls inscribed, respectively:

OVID. METAM. ORPHEUS. LIV.4.I.B.

and

ANNO DOMINI 1624.

Stock of German fashion, inlaid with engraved antler, with ornamental scrolls and cartouches containing male busts; that on the cheek-piece of the butt is in Polish, and another on the heel in Turkish costume. On the underside a large antler plaque is engraved with a soldier in the costume of c. 1600. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Wooden ramrod with engraved antler tip. Steel trigger-guard indented for the fingers.

Possibly Polish or Lithuanian, dated 1624.

There are two detached locks of similar workmanship in the Victoria and Albert Museum (nos. 534-1869 and M 535-1924), the second of which is signed with an engraver's monogram H.L. Compare also that on a wheel-lock rifle (ibid. no. 802-1877); a detached wheel-lock, in the Musée de l' Armée, no. M 1996; and a wheel-lock rifle at Emden (Potier, no. 1129; Führer, no. 640).
There was a very similar lock in the collection of the late M. Charles Buttin (cat. 1933, no. 465), dated on the scroll 1621.

Compare the lock of a rifle in the Royal Armouries, no. XII.1688.

Hoff, 'En polsk-litavisk hjullåstype', Livrustkammaren, IX, pp. 205-32.

A. Hoff (loc. cit.) discussed a large group of closely related firearms which he believed had Polish or Lithuanian connections. A comparable lock in possession of Prince Esterhazy is inscribed 'CORONA 1632' (Szendrei, 1896, no. 2790, illus.). A rifle dated 1637, very like no. A1095, is in Launceston Museum, Cornwall (Carpenter, J.A.A.S., V, pp. 328-9, pls. LXXXV-LXXXVII). A comparable spanner from the Scheremetew gunroom, in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, is dated 1640 (Z.O. no. 433).

The mark on the barrel of no. A1095 is not in N. Støckel. A1096|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with an octagonal barrel chiselled for its entire length with an intricate pattern of garlands of fruit, gilt and relieved with silver piqué dots. The design is broken at intervals by oval panels containing on the top, full-length figures in classical dress, and on the planes on either side, conventional terminal grotesques. The panels are accompanied by minute arabesque ornament overlaid in gold. The chiselled decoration is all on a small scale in low relief. It is gilt, on a darkened ground.

Lock with external wheel enclosed in a steel case chiselled with winged female terminal figures. The upper jaw of the cock, which has a looped cocking-spur decorated with a female herm gilt, is chiselled to represent a monster's head; to its lower edge is pivoted a satyr's head chiselled in high relief (possibly a modern addition). The lock-plate is overlaid en suite with the barrel with gold arabesques enclosing panels containing in low relief classical figures and grotesques. The release button of the pan-cover catch is missing.

Stock of pear-wood of German fashion, inlaid with hunting scenes, human figures, monkeys, grotesques, bunches of fruit and scrolls, all in engraved antler. The antler heel-plate is engraved with a figure of Cupid and on the near-side opposite the lock is a musician. The sliding cover of the butt-trap is without the usual external catch. Wooden ramrod with engraved antler tip. The trigger-guard of gilt steel is indented for the fingers.

German (decoration of lock and barrel Italian in character), about 1620.

L'Art Ancien, IV, 564, 565, 566; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Exhibited: although Spitzer is credited in the captions in L'art ancien with the ownership of this gun, it cannot be identified among the pieces he exhibited at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Peterson, Encyclopaedia of firearms, 1964, illus. on p. 351; Diefenthal, 'Typical firearm forgeries . . .', American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28, 1973, fig. 11; Blair, Waddesdon catalogue, 1974, p. 297.

The decoration of both the lock and the barrel are 19th-century. C. Blair (loc. cit.) identified the maker of the stock with an anonymous craftsman whom he styled 'Spitzer Stocker No. I'. A1097|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel, blued and overlaid in silver at the ends and in the centre with intricate scrollwork containing birds, animals and continued by engraving and patterns punched in dots, the engraving being gilt. Backsight with single folding leaf. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with external wheel and ring-shaped bearing-plate. The lock-plate is decorated en suite with the barrel with overlaid silver ornament and engraving. Cock engraved and pierced to represent monsters. Upper jaw with large finger ring for cocking. The screws securing the spring of the cock, and the cock itself pass through a small covering plate pierced with a heart-shaped opening.

Stock of German fashion, inlaid in engraved antler and mother-of-pearl with hunting scenes, birds and animals, the intervening spaces filled with scrollwork. On the cheek-piece of the butt are St. George and the Dragon. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Indented trigger-guard of gilt steel, and hair-trigger. Solid brass ramrod. The heel of the butt is furnished with a steel knob to prevent damage.

Silesian (Teschen), about 1640.

The decoration of this rifle is very similar to A1092, and (as regards the stock) to A1105, and is of a kind frequently found upon Tschinkes.

There is a very thin, straight hair-trigger and a screw for adjusting its pull. The heel of the butt is covered with a plate of white cow-horn.

In the Brahe-BieIke armoury at Skokloster Slott, Sweden, is a pair of guns by the same stockmaker (L. Rangstrom, personal communication). A1099|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with a long, slender, octagonal barrel, slightly engraved with scrollwork at breech and muzzle. Brass fore- and backsights. A sighting groove runs along the top facet from the breech-strap to a point one-and-a-half inches in front of the backsight. At the end of this groove a maker's stamp is inlaid in brass, and beyond it is engraved the date 1645. Exceptionally small bore with multiple grooved rifling.

Lock with external wheel secured by a bearing-plate formed of a ring and two recurved arms. The lock-plate is engraved in places with bunches of fruit and foliage and a bird on a twig.

Stock with butt of German fashion of Italian walnut, shaped to the lock and inlaid in engraved antler with scenes of the chase among flowers and foliage, separated by intervals which are filled with ornament inlaid in brass wire. There is a thumb-notch on the upper portion of the butt. There are two ramrods, one of wood tipped with antler and furnished at the opposite end with a steel ferrule threaded internally, which serves as a cleaning rod, the other, which is of brass, is the ramrod proper and terminates in a worm. Butt-trap with sliding cover entirely covered with an antler plaque engraved with a stag hunt. The butt-trap contains a steel worm intended for use with the cleaning rod and a small steel powder measure. Hair-trigger, and steel trigger-guard indented for the fingers.

Stock by J.C. Tornier of Massevaux (Alsace), dated 1645.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, pp. 141-2 and 291, pI. 41c; Schedelmann, Die grossen Büchsenmacher, 1972, pp. 110-11, with a list of the works of Tornier; De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 12; Burlington Magazine, LXXVII (October, 1944), p. 127; H. Schedelmann, Journal of the Arms and Armour Society, II (December, 1958), pl. LXXI.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A similar mark is found in the barrel of a gun dated 165-, formerly in the Estruch Collection (no. 1126), now in the Musée de l'Armee, Paris (no. M.Po.758). The final digit of the date is not legible.

The ornament of the stock, both in the style of the engraved antler and the use of brass wire, closely resembles that on the coffer A1345, which is signed by Jean Conrad Tornier of Massevaux, and may reasonably be ascribed to him. Other stocks recently identified by Mr. A. N. Kennard as his work were in the Bourgeois sale, Cologne, 1904, lot 1006, and Hearst Collection, and now in the Royal Armouries, inv. no. XII.1549 (dated on the barrel 1646), to which can be added another wheel-lock rifle, also dated 1646, in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer at Vienna (D 144), described by Schedelmann, op. cit. above.

The work of this craftsman has recently attracted imitators (Schedelmann, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1974, p. 141). Another example is in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z.O. no. 5390). Hayward (loc. cit.) pointed out that the inlay on the butt of A1099 is based on an engraving by Michel Ie Blon (1587-1656).

The mark on the barrel is N. Støckel, III, p. 1338, no. a 4557, where it is described as German about 1650. A1100|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel, engraved with cherubs' heads, a lion rampant, a griffin rampant and the figure of Fortune on a globe, enhanced with overlaid gold and silver on a hatched and blued ground; the intervening spaces are filled with floral ornaments and running foliage. Brass foresight and backsight with single folding leaf. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with internal wheel, the lock-plate engraved with a man walking, a hound and a stag in a landscape, the engraved parts gilt, the background blued. The wheel-case is engraved with a hunting scene. The flash-guard of the pan is missing. The cock has a long cocking spur ending in a knob.

Stock of German fashion of Italian walnut, carved in low relief with running foliage, hounds and deer, and inlaid at intervals with silver ornament pierced and engraved; on the near side is the representation of a camel in the same metal. In the centre of the cheek-piece of the butt is an elaborate silver cartouche engraved with the monogram F.M.A. surmounted by a crown. This is the cypher of Ferdinand as Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain (d. 1647), whom he married in 1631. Wooden ramrod tipped at both ends with steel, the lower tip being threaded internally for the attachment of a cleaning implement. Trigger-guard of gilt steel with finger indentations. Hair-trigger.

Austrian (Salzburg), about 1645; stock formerly attributed to the master 'H.N.' However it is no longer considered to be by that craftsman, but is attributed to the so-called 'Meister der Tierkopfranke' ('Master of the animal headed scrolls'), active from about 1620-60.

Provenance: the Emperor Ferdinand III (1608-57).

The pair to A1100 was in the W. R. Hearst collection, and is now in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 647, pI. CXLV).

The stock belongs to a group of carved gun-stocks classified by Hans Schedelmann as the work of the Meister der Tierkopfranke. This group is discussed by R. H. Randall in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, XII (1949), pp. 54 ff., where he lists 26 further examples of this craftsman's work in the Walters Art Gallery, at Vienna, Munich, Paris, Musée de l' Armée, New York, Metropolitan Museum, and a number of private collections. One of those at Vienna has the stock signed with the initials: H.N. (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. D104; Schedelmann, 1972, p. 103, figs. 171-2). The barrels are by various makers, including Paul and Sigmund Klett of Salzburg-Elenau. Dated specimens range from 1531 to 1648.
L'art ancien, I, 26 (Nieuwerkerke); Randall, 'Firearms carved by the Master H.N', Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, XII, 1949, pp. 54-63; Schedelmann, 'Der Meister der Tierkopfranke', Waffen-und Kostümkunde, 1962, pp. 1-7 (A1100 is his no. 9 and its pair his no. 8); Schedelmann, Die grossen Büchsenmacher, 1972, pp. 98-9; Schedelmann, 'The Master of the animal-headed scrolls', Arms and Armor Annual, I, 1975, pp. 180-95, no. 28, and its pair no. 6; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, nos. 18 and 19, all giving further examples of the master's works.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif , 1865, no. 1972 (Nieuwerkerke).

Provenance: comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Dated specimens of this stockmaker's work range from 1624 to 1648. He worked for the Imperial court and several of his stocks were mounted by the Viennese gunmaker Hans Faschung (Schedelmann, 1972, p. 102, figs. 165-7 and pI. XV).

To Schedelmann's latest list of the works of this stockmaker can be added two further wheel-lock rifles from the Medicean gunroom now in the Bargello, Florence (nos. M229 and 230; Boccia, L'illustrazione italiana, 1974, pp. 84-110, figs. 19, 22 and 27-30, and 18 and 22-26 respectively), and a magazine carbine dated 1653 by Cornelius Klett in an Austrian private gunroom. A1101|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel widening slightly towards the muzzle and decorated at breech and muzzle with ornament chiselled in low relief, the ground formerly gilt. It takes the form of strapwork, fruit and foliage interspersed with satyrs and caryatid figures, and on the upper plane near the breech is a small oval panel containing a classical warrior. The angles of the planes of the barrel between the two groups of ornament are enhanced by engraved lines, and the planes on either side of the top one are slightly concave. Rifling of eight grooves. There are no sights.

Lock. External wheel with gilt brass case decorated with conventional ornament in relief. Lock-plate engraved with floral scrolls, and in an oval panel, Orpheus charming the beasts. The engraving is overlaid with tracery in gilt brass, chased and pierced with the usual cherub's head and scrollwork (compare the ornament on the lock of A1093). A small bridge of gilt brass which joins the pivot of the cock to the screw securing its spring takes the form of a harpy. The arm of the cock is decorated with flutes, the jaws engraved with a monster and the angle filled with a pierced design of a harpy. There is a large cocking ring on the back of the upper jaw.

Stock of walnut, inlaid throughout with a design of fine, interlacing, floral scrolls interspersed with birds, squirrels and grotesque terminal figures, all of engraved antler. Butt-plate of antler with steel knob. The spring catch of the sliding butt-trap cover is turned over and shaped as a scallop shell. Stamped on the stock beneath the end of the butt-trap cover is the number 22 and a small mark. Steel trigger-guard with finger indentations. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

German (possibly Saxon), about 1650.

The decoration of the stock, which is of fine quality, closely resembles the work of Elias Becker of Augsburg (d. 1679). Among the examples of Becker's work are a rifle in the collection of Prince Liechtenstein, Vienna, and another formerly in the same collection is now in the Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Metropolitan Museum (Kienbusch and Grancsay, no. 190).

The absence of sights on a rifle is highly suspicious. The chiselling of the barrel appears to be 19th-century. The gilt brass overlay to the lock, the decorative bridle and the wheel-case are all probably 19th-century. The engraving of the cover of the butt-trap is also 19th-century. The trigger, which is of later type, emerges from a simple hole in the stock instead of via a trigger-plate.

Elias I. Becker (N. Støckel, I, p. 74) was an Augsburg gunmaker active from 1633 to 1674. He married the widow of the gunmaker Georg Hagmann. She was dead before 1635 when he married again. After the death of Hieronymus Borstorffer, Becker, although working in Augsburg, seems to have become the principal supplier of gun-stocks to Caspar Spät at Munich (Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, pp. 178-9). A stock signed E.B., with Spät decoration on its metalwork, is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, no. 04.3.180. A comparable but unsigned stock, mounted with a barrel signed C.S for Spät and dated 1668, is also in the Metropolitan Museum (no. 29.158.668; Kienbusch and Granscay, no. 190, pIs. LX-LXI). A1102|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with an octagonal barrel of bright steel, stamped at the breech with two maker's marks, and those of Henneberg and Suhl. The backsight is missing. Blade fore-sight. The fore-end is a restoration.

Lock with external wheel held in position by a semi-circular bearing-plate. The only decoration is a monster's head engraved on the jaws of the cock, which has a long cocking spur to the top jaw. Release button to the pan-cover spring. The workmanship is of the finest quality.

Stock of German fashion, of dark Italian walnut, carved in low relief with military scenes. On the cheek-piece is the figure of Mars in his chariot, on the near side between the screws securing the lock is a coat of arms bearing a mason's set-square above a bird, and further forward a small panel showing a duel with swords in a wood. This last composition is balanced on the opposite side by a cannon with gunner and breast-works. The cover of the butt-trap shows two soldiers among trees, and above is a narrow frieze with an agricultural scene. In front of the trigger-guard is a large grotesque mask, while the front and rear ramrod pipes are carved with masks in one piece with the stock; the centre pipe is of plain steel. On the bottom edge of the butt is the date 1550, which has probably been altered from 1650 or 1660. At a point where the breech-strap of the barrel joins the stock are the initials I.S. There is the usual knob on the heel-plate to prevent damage to the butt. The trigger-guard is indented for the fingers, and there is a hair-trigger. The ramrod is a restoration.

German (Suhl), about 1660.

Compare the stock of A1103, which is by the same hand. For a note on the manufacture of Suhl, see A1163.

The first mark is the hen of Suhl (compare N. Støckel, III, pp. 1706-7); the second mark is illegible; the third, apparently a bunch of flowers, resembles N. Støckel, II, p. 1022, no. a8123, attributed to Christian Reich (or Reichs) working at Osterwick (now Rosendahl) in Westphalia, active 1661 to about 1680. If this is the same as Støckel, no. a 6242, it is recorded on another Suhl barrel. The fourth mark is the word SVL for Suhl. A1103|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel, the top plane near the breech engraved with the name of the maker:

Adam Schnepf

and bearing his silver stamp of a snipe (Schnepfe). Backsight with two folding leaves and a finial pierced and chiselled with scrolls; brass blade foresight. Rifling of nine grooves.

Lock. The face of the external wheel has a turned concentric moulding. Large, ring-shaped bearing-plate. The finial of the cock-spring is chiselled in the form of an urn and the left screw pipe of the wheel bearing-plate is flanked by a similar finial. The arm of the cock is chiselled with fine facets and mouldings, and the upper jaw ends in a cocking spur. Release button for the pan-cover catch, shaped and pierced in a form of shell ornament.

Stock of walnut, of German fashion. The butt is carved with ornament in low relief: on the cheek-piece a representation of St. Hubert (?) with his hounds, by the lock-screws a hound in pursuit of a stag. Below the breech-strap is a finely-carved cherub's head and in front of the trigger-guard finial a grotesque mask. The butt-trap cover is carved with two greyhounds pursuing a hare, which is engraved on an oval plaque of antler. The free spaces filled with acanthus scrollwork. The fore-end has mouldings only. Antler fore-end cap, ramrod pipe and heel-plate, this last having a large, steel, protective knob ornamented with turned mouldings.

On the top of the stock by the cherub's head are carved in relief the stockmaker's initials I. S. Indented steel trigger-guard with pierced finials. Hair-trigger. Wooden ramrod with horn tip.

Austrian, about 1680.

The workmanship throughout is of a high order. Compare A1102, the stock of which is by the same hand.

Adam Schnepf, the maker of the barrel of A1103, was born in Brünn (Brno in Czechoslovakia) and trained in Vienna from 1677; he later worked in Moravia, and is last recorded in 1710 (Schedelmann, 1944, p. 41; N. Støckel, II, p. 1135, but with no record of this mark). The stockmaker's mark is not recorded in N. Støckel. A1104|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel, the top plane incised at the breech with a sighting groove, on either side of which two initials have been stamped, now illegible, and at the end of the groove a mark resembling a halberd. Backsight with single folding leaf, blade fore-sight. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with internal wheel. Lock-plate chased with flower and foliage over its entire surface. The ring-neck of the cock is engraved as a monster and the upper jaw with a similar reptile; cocking lever ending with a knob. The plate covering the end of the spring of the cock is engraved with a flower.

Stock of dark snake-wood inlaid with ivory, showing on the butt hunting scenes with classical figures, boldly designed and unusually well executed; the background is occupied with foliated scrolls and tendrils, on the fore-end is a running design of hounds in pursuit of boar, bear and deer. Some of the subsidiary decoration is of antler. On the underside, by the rear trigger-guard finial, is an oval, ivory plaque inscribed in Gothic characters:

VD. N 17

Butt-trap with a cover of antler engraved with strapwork and a figure of Eve.
The steel protective knob is missing from the butt-plate. Steel trigger-guard etched and engraved with scrollwork. A small, semi-circular plate has been riveted in front of the finger indentations. Trigger lacking. Wooden ramrod with antler tip and steel ferrule threaded to take a worm.

German, possibly Munich, about 1680, the associated lock possibly either Bohemian or Bavarian.

The lock is probably not the one originally fitted, as the stock shows signs of extensive alteration to accommodate it.

The touch-hole, which is placed unusually low, is lined with white metal. The inlay of the stock is made of antler. Only the first two letters of the inscription are in Gothic characters, the remainder are in script.

The mark on the barrel resembles N. Støckel, II, p. 1452, no. a 5047, which is tentatively identified as Munich. The same mark occurs on a wheel-lock rifle by Georg Müller with a stock by Hieronymus Borstorffer in the Pauilhac collection in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. M.Po.789; Reverseau, Musée de l'Armée, 1982, p. 101, pls. 18 and 19, and p. 172 numbered in error M.787).
The decoration of the lock resembles that on guns made by Hans Keiner at Eger in Bohemia, but similar work was also done at Regensburg and in neighbouring Bavarian towns (Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, pp. 127-8).

B. Thomas considered that all the inlay was 19th-century (personal communication), but the extensive patching of the stock in order to fit the present lock suggests that the stock itself at least must be old. A1105|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle or Tschinke, with an octagonal barrel chiselled in low relief for its entire length with a formal design of vases on a gilt ground. Rifling of eight grooves.

Lock with external wheel and mainspring. There is a release button for the pan-cover spring and a button cocking-lever characteristic of these locks. A plate covers the spring of the cock, and a similar plate the hind end of the mainspring. These are engraved with a mask and scrollwork, respectively, while the flat surface of the cock, which carries a short cocking spur, is chiselled with a marine monster gilt. The lock-plate is entirely gilt.

Walnut stock of the form usual on Tschinkes, inlaid with birds, animals and grotesque figures of engraved antler with circular plaques of mother-of-pearl at intervals. On the cheek-piece of the butt is a representation of St. George and the Dragon. An oval plaque of mother-of-pearl on the butt is engraved with a coat of arms (a hound leaping above a star and crescent, with crest of a hound upon the mantled helm). The heel-plate of antler engraved with a mounted figure of a king is a restoration. There is a butt-trap with sliding cover.

Trigger-guard indented for the fingers and partly chiselled with acanthus ornament, gilt.

Silesia (Teschen), about 1630.

This type of light wheel-lock gun was common in the north of Germany and the Baltic provinces. They are known in German as Tschinke or Teschings, and became popular early in the 17th century for bustard and black game shooting. The decoration of these guns is usually of a standard pattern, in this instance that on the metal parts is of a better quality than usual. A representation of St. George is frequently found on the cheek-piece of the stock. There are many Tschinkes in the K. Livrustkammer at Stockholm, and the Musée de l' Armée, Paris. Other Tschinkes in this collection are A1106-7.
Compare the decoration of A1092 and 1097, and the powder-flask, A1288.

V. Karger; 'Neue Teschner Beiträge zur Herkunftsfrage der Teschinken', Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1964, pp. 29-42; Peterson, Encyclopaedia of Firearms, 1964, illus. on p. 351; Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 88. Rifles of this sort were made in the town of Teschen in Silesia, now divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, the two parts being called respectively Cieszyn and Gesky Tesin. The alternative names given to these guns in German, Tschinke and Teschings, both come from the town name. Rifles of this sort were intended mainly for shooting black-cock at the lek (on the display ground), or bustard and woodcock at rest. J. F. Hayward examined A1105 on a number of occasions and concluded that the chiselling of the barrel was 19th-century, as probably was that of the lock. A1106|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle (Tschinke), with an octagonal barrel inlaid at either end in the middle with brass, roughly engraved with guilloche and flower ornament. At the breech are engraved the initials M K. Rifling of six grooves.

Lock with external wheel and mainspring. There is a heavy, curved bridle though which projects the extension for the winding key. All parts of the lock, including lock-plate, cock and bridle are covered on their exterior surfaces with plates of brass, elaborately engraved and pierced in the forms of birds, monsters, animals and human heads. The spring of the cock and the bend of the mainspring are covered with similar plates, which are detachable. The long cocking spur ends in a bird, pierced and engraved. There is a release button for the pan-cover spring and a press-in cocking lever as is usual with locks of this type.

Stock of light coloured wood, decorated with strips and panels of brass engraved with foliage, running ornament and animals, while the free spaces are closely filled with small inlays of mother-of-pearl and green stained ivory. Underneath is a brass plaque engraved with a stag. There is a sliding butt-trap cover, and at the top of the heel-plate a faceted brass knob to save the edge of the butt from damage when in contact with the ground. Near the fore-end is a brass loop for a sling. Wooden ramrod tipped with engraved mother-of-pearl and inlaid with small, circular ornaments in the same material. Brass trigger-guard indented for the fingers.

Hungarian (Transylvania), about 1630.

There is a Tschinke with similar decoration in the German Historical Museum, Berlin, and another comes from the Pauilhac collection, now Musée de l'Armée, Paris (inv. no. M.Po.576). For an account of the Tschinke, see under A1105.

Two of the screws of the lock-plate have composite heads of brass and what is probably antler. One is stained green. The inlay of the stock may be of antler rather than of ivory.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, pp. 167 and 290, pI. 39a, as Polish or East German.

The barrel-maker's mark is not in N. Støckel. It occurs also on a Tschinke in the Odescalchi collection (inv. no. 1; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 20, illus., where a similarly marked Tschinke is mentioned, formerly in the Thun-Hohenstein gunroom, sold at Fischer's, Lucerne, 17 June 1964, lot 233, repr. in cat.). Another example is in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (no. W4828; Hoff, Feuerwaffen, II, 1969, fig. 69), and another, also with comparable brass inlay to its stock, is in the Polish Army Museum, Warsaw (inv. no. 33643X; Zygulski, 1982, pI. 65). The initials do not unfortunately coincide with any of the names of Teschen gun-makers published by Karger, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1964, pp. 29-42. A1107|1|1|Light wheel-lock rifle (Tschinke), with an octagonal barrel widening slightly towards the muzzle, and engraved at breech, muzzle, and a point midway between, with much worn arabesques. Brass blade foresight, the backsight missing. The rifling is octagonal without grooves or lands.

Lock with lock-plate shaped to the curve of the stock, external wheel and safety-catch. The borders of wheel and lock-plate are engraved with feathered ornament. This lock is modern, and not of the type associated with Tschinkes.

Walnut stock inlaid with plaques and ornamental compositions of hares and hounds of engraved antler, and circular inlays of mother-of-pearl. The cheek-piece is decorated with a hawk attacking a hare. A circular panel displays a device of a star above clouds, possibly a rebus. The antler heel-plate, which carries a steel protective knob, is engraved with a hare and the initials F.P. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

Silesian, about 1630.

The lock, which has no works, is probably made in part from old pieces. The circular panel on the stock engraved with a star is actually an apple-like fruit, the star being the remains of the flower, and is found elsewhere on the butt. The initials are probably those of the owner rather than of the stockmaker. A1108|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle (Tschinke), with an octagonal barrel of small hexagonal bore engraved at breech, muzzle and midway between with floral ornament, now much worn; stamped at the breech with a maker's mark. Backsight and brass foresight.

Lock of the usual Tschinke pattern with external mainspring. This type of lock is sometimes known in Germany as a Kurlandische Schloss. Press-in release for the pan-cover catch; the cocking button is missing. The lock is engraved with much worn floral ornament similar to that on the barrel, except on the cock where the engraving is of slightly better quality.

Stock of walnut, inlaid with scrolls and dots of antler and mother-of-pearl. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Indented trigger-guard of steel. The trigger is missing. Steel ramrod.

Silesian, about 1630. A1109|1|1|Wheel-lock rifle (Tschinke), with an octagonal barrel flaring slightly at the muzzle, the surface blued and engraved, or punched with three groups of scrollwork. At the breech are stamped the initials PK. Tubular peepsight. There are traces of gilding by the foresight. Small hexagonal bore.

Lock of usual form. Lock-plate, cock, fence and pan-cover engraved with a pattern of flowers and foliage, and formerly blued. Brass plates over the mainspring and cock-spring are crudely engraved with flowers and birds. Cocking button and pan-cover catch button capped with brass. The outer face of the bridle for the wheel-spindle has a brass covering.

Stock inlaid with oval and circular plaques of antler and panels of strapwork, and on the butt of mother-of-pearl also. On the left of the butt is a representation of a hawk attacking a hare, on the right, two deer affrontés. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Antler heel-plate with protective knob. Indented steel trigger-guard. Steel ramrod.

Silesia, probably by P. Kaliwoda of Teschen, third quarter of the seventeenth century.

The same maker's initials as those on the barrel of A1109 are frequently found on Tschinke barrels; there is one in the Royal Armouries (inv. no. XII. 47) and there are three in the Musée de l' Armée (nos. M 359, M 361, M 363).

The peep-sight is probably either a modern replacement, or for close-range target work, since the aperture is too fine to be used for game on the ground.

The mark on the barrel, which is N. Støckel, I, p. 609, no. a 4295, has been identified by V. Karger as probably being that of Pawel Kaliwoda, gunsmith and burgher of Teschen, recorded in 1650 (Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1964, p. 38). The decoration of the stock is very similar indeed to that of a Tschinke by the same maker in the collection of J. Haynes in 1974. Other examples of his work were in the collection of Friedrich Rudolph von Berthold, sold Heberle, Cologne, 25-6 May 1898, lot 427, repr. in cat.; another was sold at Christie's 19 February 1975, lot 175, pI. 19; another is in Vienna (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, inv. no. D126; Schedelmann, 1972, p. 119); and yet another at Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. A1110|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with a barrel which is round in section save for a flattened plane along the line of sight. The surface is darkened and overlaid with arabesques in gold at breech and muzzle. Fore- and backsights. At the breech is stamped a maker's mark which resembles that on A1176.
Lock of French type with external wheel. Release button for the pan-cover catch. The outer edge of the wheel and the bevelled edges of the lock-plate have finely-notched borders. The retaining stud for the wheel is gilt. There is no further decoration.

Slightly combed stock of walnut, inlaid with scrolls in brass and silver wire, and with small plaques of mother-of-pearl, shaped and engraved as buds and flowers. Behind the breech-strap is a sunk ivory medallion carved in relief with a bust of a Roman warrior. At the base of the fore-end is stamped the number 61, and on the left of the breech-strap 200. The screw-plate, which also acts as a bearing-plate for the wheel-spindle, is engraved with foliage and gilt. The mounts are of plain steel, save for two brass ramrod pipes. Whalebone ramrod with ivory tip and steel ferrule threaded for a worm.

French (by Pierre Le Bourgeois of Lisieux), about 1615-25.

Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pls. 13, 3 and 4. Dr. Lenk attributes this gun to the hand of Jean Le Bourgeois of Lisieux, though the initials incorporated in the mark appear in this case to be P.B. rather than I.B.

The decoration of the stock is in the same style as that of pistol A1176. As the inventory number stamped upon it shows, this gun, like the latter and A1111, was originally in the possession of the Royal House of France. Under no. 61 the Inventaire du Mobilier de la Couronne reads: Une arquebuse de 3 pieds 4 pouces, le canon rond, un petit pam tout au long doré en couleur d'eau, le rouet tout uny, montée sur un bois rouge orne de quelques fleurons d'argent, de cuivre et de nacre de perle; il y a aux deux costez de la crosse deux L couronnées. The crowned L's are no longer visible on the stock. They were perhaps engraved on the two oval plaques of mother-of-pearl on either side of the butt.

Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 19; Hayward, 'Further notes on the invention of the flintlock', in Held, Art, Arms and Armour, 1979, pp. 238-51, no. 8, figs. 23-5, attributed to Pierre Le Bourgeois, but accidentally captioned as being by Jean Le Bourgeois.

The mark on the barrel is N. Støckel, I, p. 132, no. b 7135, ascribed to Pierre Le Bourgeois of Lisieux, brother of the better known Jean (see under A1176 here) and Marin. He is described in the Archives of Lisieux as an 'armurier' and was reported to be dead in 1627 (C. Blair, letter of 2 July 1962, attributing A1110 to him). Louis XIII owned at least two other pieces by him, a wheel-lock gun, no. 93 in the Royal Inventory, and a flint-lock gun, no. 134 in the Inventory, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 1972.233; Hayward, op. cit., respectively no. 9, figs. 26-8, and no. 7, figs. 18-22). A pair of pistols with barrels marked in this way are also in the Metropolitan Museum, no. 19.53.13-14 (Hayward, op. cit.. no. 10. figs. 29 and 30). A1111|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, with a barrel of round section, the surface divided longitudinally by three fine ridges, that in the centre continuing to the muzzle, those on either side ending 14 inches from the breech. Back and foresights. At the breech is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock of French type, with external wheel. Release button for pan-cover catch. Lock-plate with bevelled edges. There is slight engraving on the upper jaw of the cock.

Walnut stock with comb, gracefully proportioned. At the base of the fore-end is stamped the number 4, and under the lock-plate is VX. Plain steel mounts. The trigger is secured by a pin, the head of which protrudes from the stock above the lock-plate to facilitate removal.

Wooden ramrod with horn tip and steel ferrule threaded to take a cleaning implement.

French, about 1620.

This gun was originally in the possession of the Royal House of France, the number on the stock being that under which it appears in the Inventaire du Mobilier de la Couronne of Louis XIV. The entry reads: 'Quarante-neuf arquebuses touttes simples, de 4 pieds de long ou environ.' Three other guns of the set, bearing the number 4, are in the Musée de l' Armée, nos. M 100, M 104, M 132. Another of these French royal guns, bearing the number 5, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M 603-1864), and is very similar to A1111, but of slightly smaller proportions. Another of the no. 5 set is in the Musée de l' Armée (no. M 102). This bears the same barrel mark as A1111.
Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 19.

The mark on the barrel is N. Støckel, I, p. 568, no. a 4580, described as French about 1615-20. Another of the guns numbered 4 in the French Royal Inventory is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 1523; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 16, with a list of other examples). The Musée de l' Armée, Paris, has three additional guns with this Royal Inventory number, from the Pauilhac collection (nos. M.Po.2840, 2841 and 2842; J.-P. Reverseau letter of 23 May 1984). Another is in the Musée Municipal de Chartres (inv. no. 2807; Duchartre, 1955, fig. 118). A1112|1|1|Large wheel-lock gun, the octagonal barrel flaring slightly at the muzzle, the upper plane bearing the date 1624 and the fire-steel motto of the Order of the Golden Fleece:

ANTE FERIT QVAM FLAMMA MICET

('It strikes before the flash is seen')

The planes on either side of the inscription are engraved with running scrollwork. Backsight and large scroll-shaped foresight pierced with two lateral holes. A mark is stamped on the underside.

Lock with interior wheel, the lock-plate being bossed out to receive it. The cock and the plate covering the ends of the cock spring are pierced and chiselled with dolphins. Lock-plate with engraved borders inscribed:

ERTTEL A DRESDEN

Stock with combed butt, profusely inlaid with oval plaques of mother-of-pearl, those on the butt being engraved with horsemen and architectural subjects, those on the fore-end with architectural subjects, hares and hounds. The intervening spaces are filled with small mother-of-pearl inlays engraved as fruit and flowers, and ending with scrolls of brass wire. Brass heel-plate, steel trigger-guard engraved with foliage. Wooden ramrod, the tip inlaid en suite with brass and mother-of-pearl.

Stock and barrel, Dutch, dated 1624; lock, German (Dresden), about 1680.

The brass heel-plate is 19th-century.

The motto occurs on a coin of Philip IV, dated 1626, and this gun may possibly have been used in the Spanish Netherlands.

The lock does not belong, the gun having probably originally been fitted with a match-lock. Match-lock guns of this type are not uncommon and examples (unconverted) with the same shape of stock and decoration are in the Musée de l' Armée; the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (Henderson Bequest and Stead Loan); and another, converted to flint-lock, is in the Royal Armouries, inv. no. XII. 46. Two others of the same type, both match-locks, are in the Royal Armouries (from Norton Hall, with merchant's mark) and in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

For a note on the Ertel family, see A1201-2.

A comparable musket, also dated 1624 and also converted, but with a wheel-lock made in Haarlem, is in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen (cat., no. B319; Kist, Puype and van der Sloot, 1974, figs. 9-10). A similar barrel dated 1611, also with the same motto, but fitted with an Amsterdam match-lock, is in the K. Livrustkammar, Stockholm (no. 11673; Kist, Puype and van der Sloot, op. cit.. figs. 14-16). G. M. Wilson described a comparable musket in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, giving a list of further examples (MacGregor, 1983, p. 194, no. 87, n. 20).

It is not clear whether the upper corner of the stock has been rounded off and reinforced to compensate for damage done by grounding arms too violently, or, as Wilson suggested, to give a somewhat old-fashioned stock a more up-to-date profile (op. cit., p. 195). In the Duchess of Kingston's sale, at Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire, Christie's, 16 -23 June 1789, lot 70 on the 6th day was 'One ditto (i.e. pair of rifled barrel short guns) by Ektell (sic) of Dresden'. A1113|1|1|Wheel-lock gun, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then polygonal, the former section chiselled in low relief with acanthus and guilloche ornament. A ridge at the base of the breech is incised with a sighting notch, steel foresight.

Lock. External wheel with ring-shaped bearing-plate chiselled with acanthus foliage, the wheel lightly engraved with floral ornament. Duplicate cocks with baluster-shaped arms, the necks chiselled with acanthus foliage, the jaws similarly engraved. The lower jaw of the rear cock does not exactly match that of the front, as it is not engraved, and has different mouldings. Both pan and cover chiselled with acanthus ornament. Lock-plate quite plain and free from decoration. On the inner side is a maker's mark.

Stock of Italian walnut, richly carved in relief. Slender butt, on either side of which is an oblong cartouche, one showing a combat and the other a siege with an artilleryman in the foreground; another between the lock-screws is circular in shape, and contains a duel of two armed warriors. In front of the trigger-guard are two putti carved in high relief, and at the ramrod socket a dragon assailed by two lions. The single ramrod pipe is in one piece with the stock, and is carved and pierced with flowers and foliage springing from a vase. The rest of the carving consists of flowing scrolls, foliage and acanthus decoration. Steel heel-plate chiselled with a grotesque mask, and furnished with a small steel protective knob. Trigger-guard chiselled with two masks and bordered with leaves, the centre being filled with a panel minutely chiselled with a terminal figure and interlaced foliage in very low relief.

Wooden ramrod with steel, baluster-shaped tip.

Italian (probably Brescian), about 1640.

L'Art Ancien, III, 368, IV, 574; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, pl. 31; Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 103; Diefenthal, 'Typical firearm forgeries . . .', American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28, 1973, fig. 15.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, possibly no. 1980.

The mark on the lock is not in N. Støckel. A. Gaibi attributed it to Luca Belli (1595-1637), a Gardonese gunmaker with a workshop in the Piazza del Duomo, Brescia, near the shop of the Cominazzi (letter of 13 January 1968).

A1113 was examined by J. F.Hayward in 1963 when he concluded that the chiselling of the barrel was 19th-century, and that the carving of the stock, which is quite out of keeping with the period and with Brescia, was also 19th-century. A1114|1|1|Light wheel-lock gun or petronel, the barrel octagonal at the breech, and moulded at the muzzle where a groove is cut for a missing foresight. Brass backsight. Near the breech is stamped the mark of Augsburg. The pan-cover has a thumb-piece to assist in opening it.

Lock with external wheel contained in a casing of steel pierced at the base with heart-shaped openings and with a covering plate of brass pierced and engraved with scrolls. Press-in release for the pan-cover catch, and safety-catch.

Stock of walnut, with small combed butt, curved on the underside to fit the hand, and inlaid with engraved antler in a design of strapwork, monsters and tendrils. At the ramrod socket is a plaque of antler engraved with a male figure in contemporary costume. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

German (Augsburg), about 1600. A1115|1|1|Wheel-lock petronel, the barrel of round section, the surface darkened and coarsely chiselled with conventional flowers and foliage encrusted with silver. The barrel has probably been shortened and adapted.

Lock with external wheel, the surface of the lock-plate decorated en suite with the barrel, and the lower edge is rounded to the shape of the wheel. The release button for the pan-cover catch passes through the screw of the cock which is drilled to accommodate it.

Stock decorated with inlays of antler and mother-of-pearl in the manner employed on the stocks of Tschinkes. On the butt is a representation of a stag lodged, on the sliding butt-trap cover is a lion, elsewhere are hounds, rabbits, a squirrel and grotesques. The mother-of-pearl inlays take the form of fruit and flowers scattered at regular intervals throughout the decoration. On the left side opposite the wheel is a mermaid playing a lute among fine, floral scrolls, and is a modern insertion. The heel-plate is of antler engraved with a mermaid playing a viola is also modern. Indented steel trigger-guard. Wooden ramrod with engraved antler tip.

German, about 1630; stock, Silesian.

This weapon appears to have been assembled from parts of several different pistols.

The encrusting on the barrel is a 19th-century addition. There are a petronel and a pair of pistols by the same stockmaker in the Brahe-BieIke armoury at Skokloster Slott, Sweden (L. Rangstrom, personal communication). A1116|1|1|Wheel-lock petronel. The barrel, octagonal at the breech, transitions to a round section. At the breech are three longitudinal panels, separated by ribs, chiselled in relief for a distance of four inches, with masks and caryatid figures on a matt ground, the decoration beyond this point being engraved. On the round part are lightly-engraved figures of classical warriors and foliage along the rest of the surface. The muzzle is finished with a small moulding.

The lock incorporates an external wheel with a retaining stud at the lower edge. Release button for the pan-cover catch. Both wheel and lock-plate decorated with a simple engraved design of floral scrolls. On the lower edge of the lock-plate, which is rounded to the shape of the wheel, are slight traces of gold overlay. The lock is not the original one of this piece.

Stock of walnut; on the left side of the butt an oval panel of mother-of-pearl is engraved with a coat-of-arms, quarterly: (1) a saltire, (2) three swans, (3) bendy sinister, (4) bendy. This is surrounded by a pattern of scrolls and terminal monsters in antler, and eight small flower-shaped inlays of mother-of-pearl. Other inlaid decoration consists of entwined monsters and terminal figures, always surrounded by fine scrolls and dots. Between the lock-screws is an eagle displayed. The stock shows signs of alterations to accommodate the present lock. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Heel-plate of antler, with steel protective knob. Steel trigger-guard with finger indentations.

Barrel, probably French; stock, Silesian, about 1630.

The chiselling of the barrel is 19th-century. The coat of arms engraved on the stock is probably also a 19th-century addition. A1117|1|1|Double-feed wheel-lock, furnished with two cocks and an external wheel. The lock-plate is plain, except at the rear where it is engraved with floral scrolls, and terminates in a grotesque mask, finely chiselled in high relief. The cocks have baluster arms chiselled with foliage, and at the necks is a trilobate decoration, pierced and chiselled as flowers. Cock springs chiselled with floral scrolls and cut to form a grotesque female figure in profile. Semi-circular, ring-shaped bearing-plate, the ends pierced and chiselled with fruit and foliage. A plate pierced with floral ornament is in the centre of the wheel, fitting around the key spindle. Sliding pan-cover chiselled with foliage reminiscent of a dolphin's head. All screws used on the exterior have double turn-screw cuts. The interior mechanism is beautifully finished, the bridle and sear arm being chiselled and engraved with foliage like the front. The entire surface was originally blued, but has suffered considerably from oxidization.

Italian, about 1640.

A similar detached specimen is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. M 495-1927.

Carpegna, Firearms, 1978, discusses locks of this type under no. 105, and attributes them tentatively to Brescia. A1118|1|1|Wheel-lock, with an internal wheel, the lock-plate being slightly bossed out to accommodate it. The lock has a self-winding mechanism effected by the action of bringing the cock over to make contact with the wheel, thus winding the spring by means of a ratchet. Alternatively, the lock can be wound by a key in the usual manner, in which case the cock may be disconnected by withdrawing a hinged staple on the pivot of the cock (see also A1081). Part of the ratchet mechanism is now missing. The lock-plate is engraved with a landscape with a mounted huntsman in the foreground. Around the key spindle the surface is engraved with a swag of acanthus foliage and flowers. Near the bottom edge of the lock-plate is the signature:

B. Zöffel sculp.

The cock is furnished with a flat pyrites guard, engraved and pierces with St. George and the Dragon. The end of the cocking lever is chiselled in the round as a monster's head. Cock-spring covered by a plate engraved and pierced with a seated satyr, a fanciful animal and a bird. Pan chiselled in low relief with a grotesque mask, and sliding pan-cover with another head in high relief. The interior mechanism is well finished and retains some of the original blued surface. The bridle is engraved with foliage.

German (Saxon), about 1685.

Benjamin Zöffel, or Zeffel, worked at Wiesenthal in Saxony. His 'masterpiece', a wheel-lock rifle dated 1684, is in the Historisches Museum at Dresden, no. 373. This also has a self-winding lock. Benjamin Zeffel is listed in N. Støckel, II, p. 1430, but with no additional information. A1119|1|1|Flint-lock gun, with a barrel of round section, the surface deeply blued and decorated at the breech and muzzle with panels of chiselled ornament. That at the breech has in the centre a cartouche containing deer, the whole surrounded by an elaborate design of rococo scrolls and foliage. At the muzzle is foliated scrollwork only. In each case the chiselling is blued and the ground of matt gold. Between the two panels of ornament runs a flattened top rib. Silver foresight. The vent is faced with a gold disk. The screw securing the breech-strap is introduced beneath the trigger-plate and consequently completely concealed. On the underside is stamped a maker's mark.

The flintlock mechanism has a stop both on the cock and on the tumbler. There is a detent set in a groove in the face of the tumbler. There is no bridle for the pan-cover. The lock-plate chiselled in low relief with a landscape in which are the figures of a sportsman and a stag, the cock with rococo scrollwork, the steel with a mask of Pan. The chiselling is bright, and on the lock-plate the effect is heightened with gold inlay. Only the screw-heads and steel-spring being blued. The ground throughout is of matt gold.

Stock of walnut, carved with shell ornament at the ends of the lock and screw-plate and at the comb of the butt. It is inlaid with elaborate panels of silver gilt chased with rococo scrolls and foliage, and rows of buttons of ivory alternating with small studs of gold with quatrefoil heads. Steel mounts finely chiselled and gilt, the butt-plate is covered with rich rococo scrollwork in the midst of which is an applied gold shield bearing the arms of Saxony. The finial on top of the butt is chiselled with a sportsman resting on a bank. The screw-plate has a rococo cartouche with a similar composition. The ecutcheon-plate is of silver gilt and bears on an oval shield applied in red gold the cypher A E, probably that of Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.

The trigger-guard is chiselled on the bow with a figure of Diana and on the finial with a female bust among strapwork ornament. The ramrod socket is decorated with scrollwork and foliage. Fore-end cap and ramrod pipes ornamented en suite. The chiselling of the mounts throughout is bright upon a ground of matt gold, certain points being further enriched with gold inlay. Wooden ramrod with steel tip.

German, possibly Suhl, c. 1730-50.

Provenance: the Elector of Saxony; Demidoff, Prince of San Donato (sold Paris, April, 1870, lot 658, 1,750 fr.)

This very fine and rich gun is closely similar to the pistols A1203-4, and also to the rifle, A1120. All of these firearms therefore are probably the work of the same maker. The maker has previously been identified as Johann Christoph Stockmar, court engraver to the Electors of Saxony. However the attribution to Stockmar is by no means certain since other craftsmen, or perhaps combinations of craftsmen, were working in this style, for instance, Johann Georg Weiss of Goldlauter über Suhl who signed a garniture at Windsor Castle (1904 cat., nos. 405, 423, 485 and 486).

The initials on the escutcheon are in script under a crown and are those of either Ernst-Augustus I or II of Saxe-Weimar, who died in 1748 and 1758 respectively (E. Henniger, letter of 6 September 1963).

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, pp. 236-9 and 343, pI. 73a.

Provenance: Dukes of Saxe-Weimar.

The mark on the barrel is probably the letters F G (N. Støckel, I, p. 476, no. a 2480). A1120|1|1|Flint-lock rifle. The upper half of the barrel is rounded, the underside five-sided. The surface of the barrel has been blued and richly chiselled at the breech with rococo scrollwork and a sportsman in hunting dress. The ground is of matt gold, details of the chiselling being picked out with gold inlay. There is a panel of similar chiselled scrollwork at the muzzle, the free surface between being longitudinally ribbed and grooved. On the side of the barrel, by the vent, is engraved:

I. C. STOCKMAR

Backsight and silver foresight. Rifling of eight grooves. Small gold disk at the vent. The screw securing the breech-strap is entirely concealed. Even the end of the barrel around the bore is chiselled.

The lock-plate is chiselled in low relief with a horseman and a hound pulling down a stag, the cock and steel with scrollwork. The decoration is of bright steel on a gilt ground, the steel-spring and its screw-heads being blued. The head of the pin securing the cock is inlaid with ivory. The lock has an internal bridle but no external one. The detent is placed in a groove in the centre of the tumbler. The hair trigger has been broken off and only the setting lever remains.

Stock of pale walnut, finely carved with fluted shell ornament at the ends of lock and screw-plates and of the cheek-piece. All the mounts are bordered with a row of buttons of ivory alternating with stars of gilt silver. The stock is profusely inlaid with panels of silver scrollwork and silver wire, on the cheek-piece is a plaque chiselled in relief with a deer in a landscape. All the mounts are of silver, richly chiselled with rococo ornament, the groundwork gilt. On the finial of the heel-plate on top of the butt and on the screw-plate are deer, on the bow of the trigger-guard a sportsman and his dog. The trigger-guard has an extension for the fingers. The trigger has been broken off, and only the hair-trigger level remains. There is a butt-trap with sliding cover. The fore-end is finished with a steel cap chiselled with rusticated scrolls, the steel tip of the ramrod being similarly ornamented. The two ramrod-pipes are probably replacements.

German (Saxon), about 1750; by J. C. Stockmar.

Provenance: the Elector of Saxony; Demidoff, Prince of San Donato (sold Paris, April, 1870, lot 659, 1,600 fr.)

Johann Christoph Stockmar (fl. 1731-50) was a member of a family of engravers working chiefly at Heidersbach, near Suhl, for the Saxon court, who were famous for the high quality of their work. There is a flint-lock fowling piece attributed to J. C. Stockmar in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. M. 54-1949), although it is not signed (Hayward, Connoisseur, CXXIV, 1949, pp. 122-9; and European Firearms, 1955, no. 77, pl. XXVIII). A comparible garniture at Windsor Castle, is signed by J. G. Weiss, possibly one of Stockmar's followers (see A1119).

D. Schael, Suhler Feuerwaffen, 1981, pI. 52, illustrates a garniture of exceptional richness delivered to the Saxon Electoral gunroom between 1741 and 1742, signed I.C.STOCKMAR A SUHL (inv. no. G892). A pair of pistols made for Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia (1698-1740) in the Halwyl Museum, Stockholm (no. A26), is signed Stockmar a Vinariensis, that is Wienermark near Göbel, east of Magdeburg (Blair, Pistols of the World, 1968, p. 99 and figs. 194-5).

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, pp. 236-9 and 343, pI. 73b.

Johann Christoph Stockmar's dates are 1719 to 1747 (N. Støckel, II, p. 1225). He was the son of Johann Nikolaus Stockmar, the Saxon Court engraver (active 1719-45), and brother of Johann, Wolf, Heinrich, and possibly Johann Georg. A1121|1|1|Flint-lock gun, one of a pair with A1122, the barrel of round section with flattened sides for a distance of 6 inches from the breech, then for 1 1/2 inches polygonal, the round, broken by two mouldings 3 inches apart, for the remaining length round with a raised flat sighting rib. The surface is of a deep russet colour. Engraved and overlaid at the breech with trophies of arms in gold on a matt, silvered ground, and incorporating the arms of Hohenzollern inlaid in gold on a plain, blued ground surmounted by the letters L.F.E.F.V.Z. (? Ludwig Friedrich Eitel Fürst von Zollern) and a portrait bust in a laurel wreath. Between the two mouldings is a figure of Fortune. The sighting rib is engraved and inlaid at its commencement with a hunting frieze and for the rest of its length with scrolls and foliage. At the muzzle is a trophy of arms in gold. The breech-strap carries a backsight with a wide, shallow notch. Foresight of gilt brass. A brass disk at the vent.

The lock-plate and pan are of gilt brass, the lock-plate chased with hunting scenes in very low relief. The cock is chiselled with foliage, also in low relief, the background being hatched with fine lines. The upper jaw and steel are engraved with foliage. The lock has no external bridle.

Stock of walnut carved round the breech-strap and on the short fore-end. Mounts of gilt brass ornamented with engraved and chiselled decoration. The heel-plate finial on top of the butt is chased in relief with a boar hunt, and the screw-plate is chiselled with a stag hunt, the ornament in this last instance being pierced á jour. The scutcheon-plate has a crown above and double eagle below, the panel for initials being engraved with leaf ornament. The trigger-guard has an extension for the fingers engraved with a dog and cattle. On the bow is chased the figures of a sportsman, the background being cut away to leave the figure in relief. The ramrod pipes are faceted, the top pipe being carried on the barrel. Horn fore-end cap and wooden ramrod with horn tip.

German, Karlsbad, about 1750.

Provenance: (?) Prince Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

A small piece of paper, used to pack the flint, was found in the jaw of the cock in 1938, and is inscribed: 'Mr le Mis de Herfort 2 rue Lafitte lundi mattin á 8 hre'. This suggests that the guns entered the Collection in the 4th Marquess's time, before it was inherited by Sir Richard Wallace in 1870.

The attribution to Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary in Czechoslovakia) was made by F. Hayward in 1963 (personal communication). A1122|1|1|Flint-lock gun, one of a pair with A1121, the barrel of round section with flattened sides for a distance of 6 inches from the breech, then for 1 1/2 inches polygonal, the round, broken by two mouldings 3 inches apart, for the remaining length round with a raised flat sighting rib. The surface is of a deep russet colour. Engraved and overlaid at the breech with trophies of arms in gold on a matt, silvered ground, and incorporating the arms of Hohenzollern inlaid in gold on a plain, blued ground surmounted by the letters L.F.E.F.V.Z. (? Ludwig Friedrich Eitel Fürst von Zollern) and a portrait bust in a laurel wreath. Between the two mouldings is a figure of Fortune. The sighting rib is engraved and inlaid at its commencement with a hunting frieze and for the rest of its length with scrolls and foliage. At the muzzle is a trophy of arms in gold. The breech-strap carries a backsight with a wide, shallow notch. Foresight of gilt brass. A brass disk at the vent.

The lock-plate and pan are of gilt brass, the lock-plate chased with hunting scenes in very low relief. The cock is chiselled with foliage, also in low relief, the background being hatched with fine lines. The upper jaw and steel are engraved with foliage. The lock has no external bridle.

Stock of walnut carved round the breech-strap and on the short fore-end. Mounts of gilt brass ornamented with engraved and chiselled decoration. The heel-plate finial on top of the butt is chased in relief with a boar hunt, and the screw-plate is chiselled with a stag hunt, the ornament in this last instance being pierced á jour. The scutcheon-plate has a crown above and double eagle below, the panel for initials being engraved with leaf ornament. The trigger-guard has an extension for the fingers engraved with a dog and cattle. On the bow is chased the figures of a sportsman, the background being cut away to leave the figure in relief. The ramrod pipes are faceted, the top pipe being carried on the barrel. Horn fore-end cap and wooden ramrod with horn tip.

A1122 exactly resembles its companion weapon A1121. The end of the ramrod is damaged, possibly through becoming jammed in the top ramrod-pipe. A1122 is marked '2' on the stock under the barrel.

German, Karlsbad, about 1750.

Provenance: (?) Prince Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

A small piece of paper, used to pack the flint, was found, in the jaw of the cock of A1121 in 1938, and is inscribed: 'Mr le Mis de Herfort 2 rue Lafitte lundi mattin á 8 hre'. This suggests that the guns entered the Collection in the 4th Marquess's time, before it was inherited by Sir Richard Wallace in 1870.

The attribution to Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary in Czechoslovakia) was made by F. Hayward in 1963 (personal communication). A1123|1|1|Flint-lock gun, with a barrel of round section, the sides flattened for a distance of 9 inches from the breech to a moulding. At the base of the barrel is a short sighting rib, and from the torus a narrow plane runs as far as the foresight. The surface is deeply blued, and at the breech inlaid in gold with a trophy, garlands and the name of the maker:

TOUPRIANT A PARIS

Large, shallow, silver backsight, fitting round the barrel and engraved with a sun in splendour; foresight also of silver. A thunder-cloud and rays inlaid in gold surround both back and foresights. At the breech are stamped a maker's mark and two proof marks, and on the underside the number 11, which is repeated on the breech-plug. The false breech of bright steel is engraved with a bursting grenade.

Lock of bright steel, with only the steel-spring being blued. The lock-plate is engraved at the end with a lion, and in the centre with scrollwork and the inscription:

TOUPRIANT ARQUEBUSIER DE S.A.S. MGR LE DUC DE CHARTRES

The final word in the inscription is apparently covered by the end of the battery-spring.

The cock, which is engraved with a dragon, has been broken and repaired by brazing. Upper jaw engraved with a lion's mask, the steel engraved and chiselled with three flaming grenades. Gold-lined pan. There is an external bridle for the pan-cover.

Stock, of walnut carved near the false breech and ramrod socket with scroll foliage in low relief. On the upper edge of the butt is a cheek-pad covered with dark blue leather edged with silver galoon. Mounts of silver chiselled in low relief with scrollwork, flowers and hunting trophies. The trigger-guard has a curved support for the fingers which is engraved with the arms of France differenced with an engrailed border, and surrounded by the collar of the Saint-Esprit, the whole surmounted by the coronet of a prince du sang.
The silver marks consist of, on the trigger guard, a) the charge-mark for medium-sized works in silver, un chiffre des cinq lettres de PARIS, for the period 1775-8, and b) the discharge mark for medium-sized works in silver, me tête de singe, for the same period; and on the butt-plate, c) the charge-mark for large works in silver, un A fleuronné et couronné, for the same period, d) the discharge mark for large works in silver, une tête de boeuf, for the same period, and e) the letter N crowned, the mark of the Maison Commune for the year July 1776 to July 1777 (Nocq, Le poinçon de Paris, IV, 1968, pp. 238-9). There is no maker's mark but it may have been obliterated by a repair to the trigger-guard close to the other marks. Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 43.

The centre mark of the three on the barrel is that of Jean-Baptiste Le Clerk and is the one that he used from 1771 until his death in 1781 (Magne de Marolles, La chasse au fusil, Paris 1788, to face p. 82). According to N. Støckel, I, p. 224, no. a 180, he was the son of Jean Le Clerk and brother of Jean Nicholas, both barrel-makers, and in 1770/1 and 1775/6 was Jurand of the Paris Gunmakers' Guild. P. Jarlier states that a man of the same name was received as master in the Paris Guild as the son of a master, on 19 February 1773. In the following year he was established in the rue Tourraine (2e Supplement, col. 166).

Whalebone ramrod with ivory tip and threaded steel ferrule.

French, 1776.

Provenance: (?) Comte d'Artois, later King Charles X (1757-1836).
There is a gun by Toupriant in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (collection J. J. Reubell) which is very similar to A1123 and bears the same escutcheon, which is there ascribed to the Comte d'Artois. A pair of double-barrelled guns signed Soupriant R du Roy et de Monsieur A Paris are at Windsor (nos. 135-6). A double-barrelled gun by Soupriant is in the Bavarian National Museum, Munich (J 15).
The maker's mark on the barrel is given by Støckel to Jean Baptiste Leclerc.

The number engraved on the stock is actually in script.

According to Jarlier, the forename of the gunmaker Toupriant is unknown, but he apparently worked in the rue des Grands Augustins in Paris, and made a gun for the comte de Provence, (Répertoire, col. 262). The gun by him in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is also of the year 1776/7. A1124|1|1|Flint-lock blunderbuss, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then round, flaring to a flattened trumpet-shaped muzzle. The surface has been deeply blued and inlaid in gold at the breech with the inscription:

JOHAN ADOLPH GRECKE A St. PETERSBURG ANNO 1780

Gold foresight surrounded by gold inlaid scrolls. The false breech of bright steel has a sighting notch and is inlaid in gold floral ornament. Gold disk at the vent.

Lock of bright steel inlaid in gold with scrollwork and foliage, with the name of the maker on the lock-plate:

GRECKE

The screw-heads and springs are blued. The steel is so arranged as a pivot to one side against a spring as a safety precaution, a survival of a 17th-century device. Gold-lined pan. When the steel is turned to the side, its lower part remains in position to cover the priming. There is no external bridle for the pan-cover. The whole lock is very finely finished, even the bridle of the inner mechanism being engraved and gilt.

Walnut stock delicately carved on the butt and by the breech-strap with rococo scrolls and foliage. Silver mounts chased with acanthus scrolls and trophies, the ground gilt. The oval scutcheon-plate of blued steel, inlaid in gold with the crowned cypher of the Empress Catherine II, surrounded by a silver wreath. The butt has a cheek-piece, under the overhanging edge of which is screwed a silver plate carrying a narrow tube, which probably carried a pricker for cleaning the touch-hole. A sling loop by the ramrod socket is pivoted, and on the underside of the butt is a large, blued, steel stud for the opposite end of the sling. Butt-trap with sliding cover. Silver fore-end cap. Wooden ramrod with silver tip.

Russian (St. Petersburg), dated 1780.

Provenance: Empress Catherine II of Russia; possibly lot 88 in the sale of the collection of Prince G* * *, Escribe, Paris, 25 January 1869.

Johan Adolf Grecke (b. 1755) was one of his distinguished family of Swedish gunmakers. For a considerable period he worked in St. Petersburg, where he was a court gunmaker. He is recorded from 1755 to 1790, and then again in St. Petersburg in 1779. He was the son of Johann Joachim Grecke of Stockholm, court pistol-maker to Adolf Fredrik, King of Sweden (N. Støckel, I, p. 456).

A very beautiful gun which belonged to Stanislas Poniatowski, King of Poland, and later in the Army Museum, Warsaw, is inscribed: Fait á St. Petersburg l'année 1786 par Jean Adolph Grecke Maître des Armes de la Vénerie de S. M. Impériale. A pair of pistols lent by Mr. G. Diderrich to the Loan Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, 1933 (no. 260), were inscribed Grecke á St. Petersburg, and bore the same monogram as A1124.

There are many pieces by J. A. Grecke in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, including a pair of pistols bearing the Empress's monogram, and signed and dated 1780, which appear to be en suite with A1124 (Z.O. nos. 146 and 818). Z.O. no. 5634 is a rifle signed and dated in the same year almost matching A1124, but with a brown rather than blue barrel. (See Tarassuk, 1971, pls. 291-3.) A1125|1|1|Flint-lock blunderbuss, with a barrel of watered steel, octagonal at the breech, then round, flaring towards the muzzle to a flattened trumpet shape. Browned surface inlaid with gold at the breech with ornament in the Empire style, with clouds and rays at the end of the octagonal section, and at the muzzle with garlands. Gold-faced vent. The false breech is chiselled in low relief with foliage, bright on a gilt ground.

Lock of bright steel, finely chiselled with ornament in relief; at the end of the lock-plate is a pair of lovers, in the middle a putto riding a dolphin, on the cock is a terminal figure and acanthus foliage, and on the comb a grotesque mask. The curve of the neck and tail of the cock is filled with tracery pierced to form the letter M. On the upper jaw is chiselled a mermaid, and on the head of the securing-pin a grotesque mask, another mask is on the steel, and the toe of the pan-cover is formed as a dolphin. The entire pan is of copper gilt, the underside chiselled with a mask and ending in a dolphin. The steel-spring is fitted with a wheel and the finial is shaped as a half-moon. There is an external bridle for the pan-cover.

Folding stock of walnut, carved round the mounts with foliage. Silver mounts chiselled in high relief with grotesque masks and foliage. The screw-plate is pierced and chiselled with a mask supported by a mermaid and merman, and the decoration of the ramrod socket is also pierced. The stock is made in two pieces, hinged behind the trigger-guard and secured by a catch with a release button, which occupies the place of a scutcheon-plate. The fore-end finishes some 3 inches short of the muzzle. A steel belt-hook is attached to the screw-plate. The belt-hook is fitted with a loose-ring so that the weapon can be hung from the swivel of a carbine belt.
Wooden ramrod with turned steel tip and worm.

North Italian, about 1800.

Probably Brescian work under French influence, possibly produced during the French occupation of Northern Italy (1801-14); the lock possibly Tuscan.

Compare the locks on A1197-8. A1127|1|1|Double-barrelled flint-lock gun, the barrels placed side by side and joined by a rib. The surface is blued and at the breech inlaid in gold with a foliated plant issuing from the head of an Assyrian winged lion. The foresight is surrounded by gold foliage and there is a band of gold round the muzzles. Along the side of the left barrel is engraved:

Manufre à Versailles

Along the right:

Boutet Directr Artiste

With the number 37 and a small star-shaped mark. Both barrels are stamped at the breech with a maker's or proof mark. Gold disks are inlaid at the vents (which are funnel-shaped, being wider at the outer edge). The false breech of bright steel has a wide sighting notch and is engraved with foliage.

Locks of bright polished steel, except the wheels of the steel-springs which are blued. The lock-plates are chiselled towards their ends with a sunk palmette ornament and are engraved:

BOUTET A Versailles

The necks of the cocks are engraved with cornucopias, and the upper jaws are chiselled with a palmette or fan ornament in relief. Similar chiselled ornament on the steels.

The locks are retained by a single screw, the head of which is revealed when the left-hand lock is cocked. The forward end of each lock has a hook inside fitting into a hole in the stock. There is an external bridle for the pan-cover. The false-breech is secured by the tang-screw and a transverse pin.
Stock of finely-figured walnut delicately carved in certain places, under the ramrod socket with laurel branches, by the trigger-guard, at the ends of the lock-plates and by the comb of the butt with formal foliage and honeysuckle. The side borders of the fore-end are carved with a band of semi-circular rosettes, and similar decoration surrounds the false breech. The chequering on the fore-end and at the small of the stock is studded with rows of small studs with heads of cut-steel, and similar studs, alternately round and oblong, border the heel-plate and the locks.

The mounts are of silver gilt, chiselled with ornament in bold relief. The finial and sides of the heel-plate have similar decoration to A1126, namely, a grotesque merman, and winged monsters drinking at the sides. There is an oval gold scutcheon-plate engraved with a crowned Gothic N, similar to that on A1126. On the bow of the trigger-guard are chased the heads of two wolves and an owl, while the finial takes the form of a winged terminal figure with a satyr's head and single lion's foot supporting a basket of fruit. The heel-plate and trigger-guard are stamped with maker's excise and 2nd standard silver marks. On the underside of the butt is a large, winged head of a monster, not carved in wood as is usually the case, but chiselled in silver gilt like the other mounts. The mask on the pistol-grip is secured by a long pin with a threaded end accessible under the trigger-guard.

The ramrod socket is chiselled with a displayed eagle surrounded by rays. The two ramrod pipes are of ungilt silver, and are carried on the under rib. Attached to the lower pipe is a silver loop for a sling. A similar loop of steel is screwed into the underside of the butt. Whale-bone ramrod with ivory tip, the end reinforced with a gold disk. The ferrule is missing.

French (Versailles), about 1805.

Provenance: the Emperor Nicholas I of Russia (?); the 3rd Marquess of Hertford.

The silver marks are the same as those on A1128-9, A1131. The maker's mark on the barrel is not that of Boutet but is probably that of a member of the Leclerc family, possibly Nicholas, who was working until about 1830. It is not unusual to find Boutet using a barrel by another maker; compare A1131. It is probable in this case that the decoration was added at Versailles. See note on A1126.

The marks consist of a) an unidentified maker's mark consisting of a diamond-shaped punch, its long axis vertical, containing the letters JM with a five-pointed star in chief and a indeterminate object, apparently a bunch of grapes, in base; b) the second standard mark (poinçon de litre) for silver made in the Departments for the period 1798-1809, and c) the poinçon de garantie for silver made in the Departments, in this case, since it includes the number 88, Seine Inférieure, for the same period (see S. Pyhrr, Arms and Armor Annual, I, pp. 266-74, fig. 9).

Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 124.

According to G. F. Magne de Marolles, the mark on the barrel was used by a succession of members of the Parisian barrel-making family of Le Clerk; by Jean (died 1739), by Henri (died 1756), and by Jean-Baptiste until about 1771 (see also under A1123).

Provenance: This might well be the piece described in: M. de Lescure, Le chateau de La Malmaison, Paris n.d. (1867), ed. H. Plon, Catalogue descriptif, critique et anecdotique des objets exposés sous les auspices de sa Majesté Is Impératrice, et provenant de la collection privée de leurs Majestés, des magazins du Mobilier de la Couronne, ou des communications faites par des particuliers, p. 225, no. 79– Fusil de chasse ayant appartenu à Napoleon ler. Collection du Marquis d'Hertford.

The 3rd Marquess was Envoy Extraordinary to Tzar Nicholas I in 1827, and might have been given the gun then. A1128|1|1|Flint-lock gun, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then round, with a narrow plane on top running to the foresight. Surface blued and inlaid at the breech in gold; on the top plane is an obelisk wreathed in garlands and a trophy of arms, on the facets on either side are smoking urns and trophies. In front of this is applied a large, shallow, silver backsight, beyond which the gold inlay ends in a splay of clouds and rays of light. The silver foresight is also surrounded by gold ornament, and at the muzzle are acanthus leaves and a crossed club and quiver. At the breech are stamped the marks of the maker, Boutet, and along the left side of the barrel, partly covered by the stock in engraved:

Boutet Directeur Artiste Manufre, a Versailles

The false breech of bright steel is engraved with scrolls and the mask of a satyr.

The entire lock is of bright polished steel, save for the steel-spring and safety-catch button, which are blued. Lock-plate encrusted in gold with a hound and a fox standing over a dead pheasant. On the cock, also in gold, a terminal figure blowing a horn, on the steel a fox caught in a trap, and there is further gold decoration in the form of scrolls on the top jaw of the cock and pan-cover. The lock-plate on either side of the steel-spring is engraved:

Boutet Directeur Artiste Manufre. a Versailles

Stock of walnut delicately carved in relief with foliage and floral ornament. The mounts of silver are chiselled with ornament in relief, the groundwork matt and gilt. The heel-plate finial along the top of the butt is chased with a classical trophy of arms and two broad, silver bands bordering the heel-plate are ornamented with an animated frieze of hunting scenes with figures in classical dress. The plate on the left side which takes the place of a screw-plate (the lockscrews are concealed) is chased with similar hunting scenes in low relief. The underside of the grip is of ebony carved in bold relief with an owl with its tail continued in acanthus scrolls. The trigger-guard is ornamented in relief with a Medusa head and a globe, and instruments emblematic of Science and Art below, and on the finial is a standing figure of Diana. Inside the bow are stamped marks denoting 1st standard silver, medium excise, and the maker, who is the same as that of A1127. The scutcheon-plate has the initial C surmounted by a crown in blue and black enamel. At the ramrod socket is a medallion with a portrait bust of Kind Charles IV of Spain, supported by amorini. The ramrod pipes are formed as bundles of fasces. A small mark which is probably the Paris restricted warranty mark (petite garantie) is stamped on the heel-plate (twice), trigger-guard and ramrod socket. Whale-bone ramrod with silver tip and threaded brass ferrule.

French (Versailles), about 1805.

Provenance: King Charles IV of Spain; : this, or A1129, was presumably lot 989 in the sale of the collection of Charles Spencer Ricketts, Christie's, 13-20 June 1867, bought by Wallace for £41 (marked catalogue in the archives of the Wallace Collection).

This gun bears a very close resemblance to A1129, and they might be regarded as a pair, but for the fact that the scutcheon-plates and ramrod sockets of A1128 bear the cypher of Charles IV of Spain and his portrait medallion, whereas A1129 has the arms of Spain as borne by Charles's supplanter, Joseph Bonaparte with his monogram. The Versailles manufactory produced large quantities of armes de luxe, the decoration of which was under the personal control of Boutet, who, in the course of time, evolved a certain number of stock patterns, some of which were repeated many times. The mounts of A1128 and A1129 are, for example, similar to those of a Boutet rifle in the possession of Prince Osten-Sacken, which, together with two pistols, was exhibited in the Pavillon de la Chasse at the Exposition Universelle at Paris in 1900. It is therefore possible that the similarity of these two weapons may be merely a coincidence. A1128 may have formed part of the gift of weapons from the Versailles manufactory sent to Charles by the French government in 1803. This included six guns mounted in silver (besides several gold-mounted pieces). In respect of A1129 it is perhaps permissible to conjecture that on Joseph's elevation to the throne, he took one of Charles's guns and had his own cyphers substituted.

A very similar gun, apparently part of the same set as A1128, is in the Royal Armouries, inv. no. XII. 1278; it also bears the cypher of Charles IV in enamel.
Kennard, 'Un cadeau pour I'Espagne', Gazette des armes, no. 29, July-August 1975, pp. 36-9.

The set to which A1128 and 1129 belong originally contained three guns and a pair of pistols all mounted in gold, and six 'fusils simples garnis en argent, fond damasquiné, composition de la plus grande richesse, sujet et attributs analogues à cette puissance', the whole costing 130, 000 fr. (MS. in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris, published in 'Manufacture Impériale d' Armes de Versailles année 1800', Bulletin de la Sociéte Amis du Musée de l' Armee, no. 25, 1927, pp. 28-57, specifically on p. 46). They are among armes de luxe made by order of Bonaparte as 1st Consul, An X (September 1802-September 1803). The gold-mounted arms of this garniture may be those referred to by A. L. F. Schaumann, a War Commissary of Hanoverian birth serving in Wellington's army in the Peninsula. Describing the booty taken from the French after Vittoria he wrote, 'Some infantry showed me some priceless sporting guns inlaid with gold which had belonged to King Joseph …' (Schaumann, On the road with Wellington, 1924, p. 383).

The matching gun in the Royal Armouries is numbered 1 on all its parts (Exhibited Treasures of the Tower, 1982-3, no. 80, repr. in cat.). A1129|1|1|Flint-lock gun, almost an exact replica of A1128, with only slight differences in the decoration.

Barrel of watered steel.

Lock: The gold decoration on the lock-plate shows a fight between a dog and a wolf, and other dog pursuing a pheasant; on the cock is a bird on a branch, on the steel a wolf, as well as other minor differences from A1128.

Mounts: on the scutcheon are engraved the Royal Arms of Spain, with, on an oval shield in pretence, the eagle of the French Empire. The medallion on the ramrod socket is chiselled with the interlaced initials J N surmounted by a crown. There is no poinçon de garantie. The ramrod has a large, horn tip mounted on a silver collar.

French (Versailles), 1805-10.

Provenance: Joseph Bonaparte; this or a very similar gun was illustrated in L' art ancien, no. 613, as the property of Ch. Maillet de Boulay. Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, fig. 253; Kennard, 'Un cadeau pour l' Espagne' Gazette des armes, no. 29, July-August 1975, pp. 34-9. For the history of this gun see under A1128.

The arms and monogram are those of Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain, 1808-13. See note under A1128.

There is a gun in the Royal Collection at Windsor (no. 672) which closely resembles A1129, and bears the same arms, monogram and marks. In the Carlton House inventory it is stated to have been sold with the effects of Jerome Bonaparte (sic) on his retirement from the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1814, bought by Lord Percy in Vienna and presented by the latter to the Prince Regent in March 1815. This gun may very well have formed part of the same set as A1128.

A double-barrelled gun by Boutet, also believed to have been Joseph Bonaparte's is in the regimental museum of the Rifle Brigade at Winchester. A1130|1|1|Flint-lock gun, the barrel of twisted steel, octagonal at the breech, then round, the surface browned and the octagonal portion inlaid in gold with foliage in the Empire style. In an oval panel on the top plane is the inscription in gold letters:

BOUTET ET FILS À VERSAILLES

The body of the spur-necked cock is engraved with a monster, the upper jaw with a dog's head, and the steel with two monsters affrontés. The surface of the metal, which is case-hardened, is a greyish colour, save for the steel-spring which is brilliantly blued. Gold-lined pan. The cock has no step cut on its inner face, and therefore comes to rest with its neck resting on the flash-deflector of the pan. The lock has internal and external bridles.

Stock of walnut, finely carved with scrolled foliage, the underside of the grip with a boar's head in relief. Butt with cheek-piece. Mounts of chiselled silver. The sides of the heel-plate are chased with dragons and masks. The screw-plate is ornamented with a lion attacking two deer, the trigger-guard bow with a bust of Diana and a stag's head, the finial with a hooded falcon, and the ramrod socket with a boar's head, all chiselled in low relief. The hunt scene on the centre of the lock-plate is based on an engraving of a painting by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, from the Recueil de divers animaux de chasse par M. Oudri, published in Paris by P. La Bas, Graveur du Roy (see Norman, Country Life, CXL, pp. 692-4, fig. 7).

The trigger-guard and heel-plate are stamped with marks denoting 1st standard silver and excise, as used in the Départements, in this case probably Seine-et-Oise, and the special maker's mark used by Boutet; all mounts have a poinçon de petite garantie, except the screw-plate which has the excise mark only. On the top of the grip is a plain oval gold scutcheon-plate. The trigger is curved to the right for greater ease of manipulation, and roughened by hatching. Whale-bone ramrod with silver tip and steel worm.
Of the silver marks, the top one is the poinçon de litre départmental, 1st Standard, for the period 1809-19, and the third one is the moyenne garantie for the Departments. All the pieces bear the hare's head, the petite garantie for Paris for the period 1819-38, indicating that A1130 was on the market during that period.

The petite garantie appears to be that for Paris use between 1819 and 1838, and may have been stamped later than the date of manufacture (see also A1219). Most of the petite garantie stamps on these silver mounts belong to this late period.

French (Versailles), about 1815.

This gun is a fine example of Boutet's later work, after his son, Nicholas Pierre, had been taken into partnership.

Kennard, French Pistols and Sporting Guns, 1972, p. 45.

Nicolas-Pierre Boutet died about 1816. A1131|1|1|Flint-lock rifle, with an octagonal barrel, the surface matt blue. At the breech the three upper facets are inlaid with gold with festoons incorporating globes, palettes and other symbols of the arts and sciences. The muzzle is decorated with a band of gold ornament. The rest of the surface is powdered with gold stars. A panel on the top plane is engraved:

Boutet Directeur Artiste Manufacture à Versailles

The backsight has four folding, blued leaves. At the breech are stamped the proof marks of the Versailles factory. Multi-grooved rifling. The vent is faced with a large, oval, gold plaque. False breech of bright steel engraved with flowers and fruit.

Underneath the barrel near the breech are stamped the letters DB, point between, within a laurel wreath, all in an oval punch its longer axis horizontal, as on A1219 and 1220 here (Støckel, no. a 2630).

Lock of bright polished steel, the bevelled edges ornamented with alternately oval and circular depressions; this motif is repeated on the barrel pegs and ramrod pipes. Lock-plate inlaid in gold near the upper edge with a thunder cloud, and at the rear end with foliage, and engraved:

Boutet Directeur Artiste

Cock inlaid with gold foliage and the upper jaw with a thunder cloud and lightning, the steel with scroll foliage. Immediately behind the cock is a safety-catch button. Gold-lined pan. The lock has a central detent on the tumbler, and internal and external bridles.

Stock of walnut with delicately carved borders. On the underside behind the grip is a female caryatid figure of ebony carved in full relief. The whole surface of the stock is finely inlaid with scroll foliage in red gold, incorporating two volutes with large circular scrolls on either side of the butt, that on the right engraved with acanthus foliage and stars, that on the cheek-piece with an altar on which burns a sacrificial fire. An oval plaque beneath the fore-end is engraved with a cock. Mounts of silver, gilt and oxidized, chiselled with wreaths and foliage in relief; on the trigger-guard is an urn and on the ramrod socket a lion's mask. On the underside of the heel-plate are stamped 1st standard and medium excise marks and the same maker's mark as appears on A1127-9. The standard and excise marks are those for the period 1790 to 1809, while the petite garantie is the head of a hare used in Paris during the period 1819 to 1838, indicating that A1131 was on the market during that period.

All mounts stamped with a petite garantie or census mark. Walnut ramrod with ivory tip capped with gold and threaded brass ferrule. Hair-trigger.
French (Versailles), about 1805.

The gold inlay on the right side of the butt is twice stamped with a small mark which resembles the petite garantie for gold in use between 1819 and 1838 (see also A1219-20).

Provenance: this is probably the carbine sold in a box with a complete set of tools, deux pistolets de tir et deux pistolets de poche, at the Demidoff sale, Paris, Pillet, 5-8 April 1870, lot 661, bought by Lord Hertford for 5,000fr. (marked catalogue in the archives of the Collection). The pistols are presumably A1219-22.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 220; Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 46. A1132|1|1|Double-barrelled flint-lock gun, the barrels of finely-watered steel joined by a central rib. The surface is browned, the breeches gilt and engraved with masonry supporting two mortars at the moment of discharge, with the shell bursting above them. The foresight is surrounded by a cloud-burst inlaid in gold. The central rib is inscribed in gold letters:

ARMAND A PARIS – CANON DE HENRI DOMBRET

On the underside is stamped a maker's mark and the inscription:

A. RUBAN

The false breech is gilt, with shallow sighting groove engraved with a head of Phoebus Apollo surrounded by rays, the finial engraved as a pineapple.

Locks of bright steel, the lock-plates engraved with the maker's name:

ARMAND À PARIS

The cocks have spur necks and are slightly engraved with foliage. The steel and upper jaw of the cock are chiselled in relief with a pair of volutes supporting two balls and surmounted by a spike. There is no wheel in the steel-spring. Gold-lined pans. The lock has both internal and external bridles.

Stock of walnut finely carved with conventional foliage on the fore-end, by the false-breech cornucopias, on the underside of the butt is a stag's head, and at the end of the cheek-piece a foliated volute. On the right side of the butt is stamped the name:

ALPHONSE

This is probably the name of the stock-maker. In place of the usual chequering the small of the stock and fore-end are carved with a scale-pattern of laurel leaves. The mounts are of silver finely chiselled in relief, the borders of the heel-plate have on the right side a dog putting up a duck, on the left a dog pointing at a partridge. On the top finial is a nude huntsman spearing a boar, on the bottom a dog attacking a fox; see also the design on left side of heel-plate of A1134. The design on the bow of the trigger-guard is the same as that on the trigger-guard of A1134, but in this case the workmanship is superior; the finial has a figure of Diana. On the ramrod socket is a displayed eagle and a satyr's mask. The two ramrod pipes are carried on the lower barrel rib. The heel-plate is stamped with the Paris excise mark, the mark for 1st standard silver and two maker's marks, one of which gives the maker's name as Coudray; the trigger-guard with excise and standard marks only. All mounts stamped with the petite garantie mark. The pipe at the ramrod socket carries a small steel loop for a sling and another is screwed into the underside of the butt. Whalebone ramrod with horn tip and silver ferrule, which has a curiously tapered thread. The horn tip has originally had a cap of metal, probably silver, which is now missing.

French (Paris), about 1805-10.

This gun is of the finest quality and bears comparison with the work of Boutet himself. It is particularly interesting to find a gun of this date with locks, stock and barrels all signed by their respective makers. Little is known, however, of the three craftsmen who collaborated in the production of A1132, which is the more remarkable in consideration of their obvious skill. Coudray, the silversmith, may be Etienne Hippolyte Nicolas Coudray, son of Etienne Pierre Coudray, or his younger brother, Pierre Denis Coudray (H. Nocq, Le Poinçon de Paris).

The scene involving a dog attacking a fox is based on a painting by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, now in the Musée Conde, Chantilly, engraved by the painter himself in the same year, 1725. It subsequently became a favourite source for French decorative craftsmen (see Norman, Country Life, GXL, pp. 692-4, figs. 1 and 3). The figures on the trigger-guard are based on the frontispiece of the Cayers de trophées of Jacques Juillet, of 1768 (Norman, op. cit., p. 693).
The figure of Diana is an addition dove-tailed into the trigger-guard.
Of the silver marks, the first is the poinçon de titre, for the period 1798-1809; the second, which appears on the butt-plate and, much more clearly, inside the trigger-guard, is the maker's mark of Etienne- Hippolyte-Nicolas Coudray (his four initials around his family name); the third is the so-called mark of the Association des Orfèvres, for 1793-4 (see under A1126); and the fourth is the poinçon de garantie for Paris for the period 1798 to 1809. All parts except the butt-plate bear in addition the hare's head, the petite garantie for Paris for the period 1819 to 1838, indicating that A1132 was on the market during that period.

Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 123.

Armand is recorded in N. Støckel, I, p. 29, as being active from about 1780 to 1798, for the last three years in the Manufacture de Versailles. P. Jarlier gives his dates as 1814 to 1840, at first at 268 rue du Roule, and later at no. 19 (Repertoire, col. 5). A working life of sixty years is unusually long; no doubt more than one man is involved.

The barrel-maker's mark is not recorded by N. Støckel, but of course could belong to a member of the Dombret family. There is a double-barrelled fowling piece by this maker in the National Museum at Cracow (no. V1461; Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 193, figs. 60a and b). It is signed 'ARMAND RUE DU ROULE A PARIS, no. 19' to which address he moved after 1804 and before 1807 (J. de la Tynna, Almanach du commerce de Paris, 1804 and 1807). The Dombret family may have been Belgian: the Royal Armouries sold a gun in Belgian style from the Ranken collection signed on the barrel B. Dombret (N. A. Kennard, personal communication).

The Coudray family are referred to by Nocq, Le poinçon de Paris, I, p. 301. The father, Etienne-Pierre, described as Joaillier-orfèvre, was established at 267 (?) rue du Roule. A1134|1|1|Double-barrelled flint-lock gun, the barrels of twisted steel joined by a rib in the centre, the surface deeply browned. The breeches are gilt for a length of 2.5 inches, the borders engraved, and are each stamped with a maker's mark. The silver foresight is surrounded by clouds and rays inlaid in gold. The false breech of bright steel carries a shallow sighting groove and is engraved with three small ovals, two containing architectural views and one a sportsman and dog. The right barrel is stamped on the underside 1822 (probably the date), the left 28.

Locks of bright steel. Both lock-plates are engraved in the centre with a cartouche enclosing the inscription:

Dehèque Rue St. Honoré No. 215 A PARIS

The end of the right lock-plate is engraved with a stag pursued by hounds, and the left with a boar. Cocks engraved with female terminal figures, the upper jaws with eagles, while on the steel are winged grenades. There is no wheel to ease the friction between the toe of the pan-cover and the spring, which has instead a curved projection that serves to give a positive action. The cocks and lock-plates have rounded surfaces. Pans lined with platinum. The locks are retained by a single screw on the left-hand lock passing through both. The head of the screw is only revealed when the left cock is drawn back fully. There is a bridle on the pan-cover.

Stock of dark walnut, finely carved with conventional scroll foliage and on the underside of the butt with a stag's head in relief. Butt with cheek-piece, the grips chequered. The fore-end is short, the two ramrod pipes being carried on the rib of the barrels. Mounts of silver chiselled in relief and partly oxidized. On the heel-plate are hounds pulling down game, on the trigger-guard a hunting trophy suspended from a ring held by a lion's mask (resembling that on the trigger-guard of A1132), and on the ramrod socket a hawk attacking a swan. The trigger-guard and heel-plate are stamped with excise and 1st standard silver marks; there is no maker's mark. A steel sling-loop is attached to the ramrod socket and another is screwed into the underpart of the butt. Ebony ramrod with brass tip and brass-threaded ferrule, the end of which unscrews to reveal a worm.

French (Paris), about 1815.

The maker's mark on the barrels may be that of A. Renette of Paris, forebear of the existing firm of Gastine Renette, specialists in duelling pistols.
The stock is marked in both of the barrel-grooves with the number 13. For the barrel-maker's mark see Støckel no. a 1955 and I, p. 254, no. 921, attributed to A. Renette; and H. L. Blackmore, Royal sporting guns at Windsor, 1968, p. 30, no. L137, where he identifies this mark on a gun of about 1812 as that of Albert Renette. N. Støckel, II, p. 1028, no. a 8127, ascribes this mark to Albert (Albin ?)-Henry-Marie Renette, arquebusier du roi, active in Paris from 1809 to 1834, established in 1825 at 50 rue Popincourt, and later at no. 96; P. Jarlier calls him Albin, without other fore-names, and records that his work was commended at the Exposition of 1823, and received silver medals at the Expositions of 1827 and 1834 (Repertoire, Col. 236). According to Jarlier (op. cit. col. 77) there were two gunmakers called Dehèque, distinguished by the suffixes L' ainé and le jeune. The first of these was established at 29 rue Dauphine from 1798 to 1815. N. Støckel, I, p. 279 gives his fore-names as Louis-Nicholas. The second, the maker of A1134, who is described as arquebusier-fourbisseur, was established at 29 rue Thionville, Theatre Fr., from 1798. His first name is apparently unknown. In the Almanach Bottin du commerce for 1821 his address is given as 'quaie de la Mégisserie 4'. In the 1809 and 1810 Directories his address is given as on A1114. N. Støckel, loc. cit., gives the dates he was at 215 rue St Honoré as 1809 to 1816. His last date is there given as 1835. The marks outside the trigger-guard consist of, a) the premier titre de l' argent used at Paris during the period 1809-19, and b) the garantie de l' argent used at Paris during the same period. The marks on the inside consist of the so-called mark of the Association des Orfèvres of 1793-4 (see under A1126), and d) an unidentified maker's mark, the letters JJ over D all under a closed crown and within a diamond-shaped punch, its longer axis vertical.

H. L. Blackmore, in a personal communication, pointed out that the decoration on the right side of the butt-plate appears to be based on a design by Renesson published in his Ornements– sujets de Chasse, n.p. (1807-8), pI. II (see Grancsay, Master French gunsmiths' designs, 1970, p. 108). This, in turn, is based on a print by J. B. Oudry, with whose work Renesson was clearly familiar at either first or second hand, since he reproduces the wolf in a trap in pI. IV, and the death of the fox in pI. V (see under A1132). A1135|1|1|Double-barrelled wheel-lock pistol, the barrels octagonal to a distance two and a quarter inches from the muzzle, where they are decorated with a succession of mouldings. They are arranged on the 'over and under' principle. Both barrels are stamped near the breech with a maker's mark: a shield charged with a man's head in a tall cap between the letters H and S, and dated 1554 on both pan-covers.

The two locks both have external wheels, covered by plates of gilt copper engraved with the Imperial eagle. Safety-catches and release buttons for the pan-cover springs. The locks are placed on opposite sides of the stock., so that after one charge is fired, the user then spun the grip 180 degrees in the hand to ready the second for shooting.

Stock of dark wood inlaid with bands and insertions of antler, engraved with designs of fruit, flowers and human heads. The butt is oviform and is terminated in an antler button. Wooden ramrod with steel tip.

German, dated 1554

This pistol belongs to an interesting group. The same mark occurs on two pistols, dated 1555, of the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol at Vienna (G. & T. VIII 6/7; Böheim, Album, II, Pl. 19th) and another, with the same date, of Heinrich VII zu Meissen (G. & T. VIII, 8).

The locks are of an unusual type, apparently typologically earlier than the conventional wheel-lock. The trigger acts directly on a lug on the rear end of the sear. A peg on the other side passes through the lock-plate and can be prevented from moving by closing the hole in the lock-plate by means of a safety-catch. On both locks when un-spanned, the end of the sear fits into a hole on the inner face of the wheel, indicating that the locks are at present wrongly assembled. The point of the sear, which is not tapered, fits further into the wheel than on conventional wheel-locks. An exceptionally heavy pull is therefore required to release the sear from the wheel against the sideways pressure exerted by the wheel. The normal sear-release was a great improvement on this method (G. Espig, personal communication). One lock is marked X on the spindle. The other lock is possibly a later replacement.

Provenance: possibly from the collection of W. S. Sanders, sold Christie's, 25-28 February 1867, lot 451, 'A double-barrel wheel-lock pistol, the stock inlaid with engraved ivory, the barrels dated 1554. £12' (marked catalogue in the archives of the Collection).

The mark and initials which N. Støckel, II, p. 1248, no. a 3094, ascribes tentatively to an unidentified man working at Wasungen, Saxony, 1566, have recently been attributed by W. Glage to Hans Schomann of Goslar in Brunswick (1983, pp. 45 and 110). The pistols at Vienna referred to above all have very similar silver stocks, that of Heinrich VII, Burggraf of Meissen, bearing Leipzig silver marks. The two pistols of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol are of different sizes. The larger one is dated 1555 (Schedelmann, 1972, pp. 5-7, figs. 9-11). A smooth-bore gun barrel in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen, dated 1566, also bears this mark and initials (cat., no. B104; A. Orloff, letter of 13 July 1983). A1136|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1137, the barrel octagonal at the breech, and widening slightly at the muzzle, the surface blued and overlaid in silver with fine running foliage.

Lock with external wheel entirely enclosed in a steel casing. The spring for the cock is on the inside of the lock-plate. Safety-catch and release button for the pan-cover spring. Surface of the lock-plate blued and bordered with a band of silver. Wheel-case overlaid with foliage like the barrel. Pan-cover engraved with a lion's mask, and the cock with foliage. The heads of the two screws retaining the lock are on the right side.

Stock of ebony, with flattened onion-shaped, octagonal butt, profusely inlaid with biblical and mythological subjects in engraved antler. Three panels on the underside of the fore-end show Joshua receiving the submission of the kings, a group of three warriors, and David and Goliath. Along the sides of the fore-end are scenes of combat. Round the collar immediately above the butt is the story of Esther and Ahasuerus, and above this the judgement of Paris.

The rest of the decoration consists of foliage interspersed with figures of children and animals, terminal figures, etc. On the left side of the stock is a belt hook of blued steel overlaid with silver, the trigger-guard being of the same material. Wooden ramrod with antler ferrule and steel tip, blued, hatched and overlaid with arabesques in silver, and internally threaded to take a cleaning implement.

German, possibly Brunswick, about 1560-70.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, p. 281, pI. 10a; Glage, Das Kunsthandwerk der Büchsenmacher im Land Braunschweig, 1983, pp. 34-5, pI. 28; Skelton (details), pls. CXX and CXXI; J. F. Hayward, The Connoisseur, CXXIII (1949), 17.

Exhibited: S. Kensington, 1869, nos. 370-1.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédérick Spitzer.

Sir S. R. Meyrick recorded a tradition that these pistols had belonged to Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Città di Penna, who was murdered in 1537, a date which is too early for this attribution to be correct. A1138|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, round in the forward part and flaring at the muzzle. A very long breech-strap reaches nearly to the butt. The surface is richly decorated with a forma design of foliage, arabesques, masks and terminal figures incrusted in gold and lightly chiselled, the ground blued.

Lock with external wheel. The gold decoration is en suite with that of the barrel, and is almost certainly of 19th-century date. There is a safety-catch and a release button for the pan-cover catch.

Stock of walnut with flattened spherical butt, closely inlaid with foliage and grotesques of engraved antler. On the near-side are two sea-monsters. A band of antler, engraved with a fox hunt, encircles the neck of the butt. A steel belt-hook with traces of gilding is fixed to the left side.

Wooden ramrod with an antler tip.

German, about 1570.

Lièvre. Collections célèbres, 1866, pl. 46; Musées et Collections, 2nd Series; Musée Graphique, pl. II; De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 12.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The lock has a decoratively pierced bridle. The cock is of North Italian type.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1986 (Nieuwerkerke).
L'art ancien, 1, no. 26 (Nieuwerkerke); Lièvre, Musées et collections, pI. 20, with the spanner no. A1326; Diefenthal, 'Typical firearms forgeries…', American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, 28, 1973, fig. 14. J. F. Hayward examined this gun on a number of occasions and concluded that the decoration of both lock and barrel were 19th-century. The quality of the inlay on the stock is in any case quite inconsistent with the decoration of the metal parts in gold. A1139|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of an exact pair with A1140, the barrel octagonal at the breech and swelling slightly at the muzzle. On the upper facet of the octagonal portion is engraved the date 1577 and no. 53.

Lock with wheel sunk into the lock-plate and covered with a solid steel casing. The pan-cover is fitted with a knob. Release button for the pan-cover spring and safety-catch. The spring of the cock is on the inside of the lock-plate.

Stock with large ball butt, closely inlaid with engraved antler in the form of interlacing foliage and arabesques interspersed with small figures of amorini, birds and animals. On a tablet near the forward end of the lock-plate are engraved the initials H.S.V.Z. and the date 1578. On the base of the pommel is a circular plaque engraved with an eagle and the number 78. Wooden ramrod tipped with antler. Steel belt hook.

North German, probably Brunswick, dated 1577 and 1578.

L'Art Ancien, III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The pan-cover release-spring is mounted to the rear of its usual position. The screws securing the lock have their heads on the right side, and screw into the belt-hook.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, possibly no. 2002 (Spitzer).

Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, n. 5 on p. 31, giving a list of comparable pieces dated between 1577 and 1593; Glage, Das Kunsthandwerk der Büchsenmacher im Land Braunschweig, 1983, n. on p. 35. A similar pistol with the same initials and date is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. M.05007), another is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (no. 16.672; Gilchrist, 1924, no. F3, pI. XXXIV). Another with the initials VZ and the date 1573 was sold at Sotheby's, 3 May 1948, lot 24, repr. in cat., and again 13 June 1952, lot 151. This type of lock is found on the pistols of the type made for Duke Julius of Brunswick in 1579 (Blair, Pistols of the World, 1968, fig. 16). W. Glage, describing yet another comparable pair of pistols, also dated 1578, in the Jagdschloss Grünewald, Berlin, has suggested that the group of firearms to which nos. A1139-40 belong was made in Brunswick (op. cit., p. 44, figs. 37-8). A1140|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of an exact pair with A1139, the barrel octagonal at the breech and swelling slightly at the muzzle. On the upper facet of the octagonal portion is engraved the date 1577 and no. 53.

Lock with wheel sunk into the lock-plate and covered with a solid steel casing. The pan-cover is fitted with a knob. Release button for the pan-cover spring and safety-catch. The spring of the cock is on the inside of the lock-plate.

Stock with large ball butt, closely inlaid with engraved antler in the form of interlacing foliage and arabesques interspersed with small figures of amorini, birds and animals. On a tablet near the forward end of the lock-plate are engraved the initials H.S.V.Z. and the date 1578. On the base of the pommel is a circular plaque engraved with an eagle and the number 78. Wooden ramrod, originally tipped with antler, the tip now lost. Steel belt hook.

North German, probably Brunswick, dated 1577 and 1578.

L'Art Ancien, III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

The pan-cover release-spring is mounted to the rear of its usual position. The screws securing the lock have their heads on the right side, and screw into the belt-hook.

A1140 differs from A1139 only in that the eagle on the butt faces in the opposite direction.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, possibly no. 2002 (Spitzer).

Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, n. 5 on p. 31, giving a list of comparable pieces dated between 1577 and 1593; Glage, Das Kunsthandwerk der Büchsenmacher im Land Braunschweig, 1983, n. on p. 35. A similar pistol with the same initials and date is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (no. M.05007), another is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (no. 16.672; Gilchrist, 1924, no. F3, pI. XXXIV). Another with the initials VZ and the date 1573 was sold at Sotheby's, 3 May 1948, lot 24, repr. in cat., and again 13 June 1952, lot 151. This type of lock is found on the pistols of the type made for Duke Julius of Brunswick in 1579 (Blair, Pistols of the World, 1968, fig. 16). W. Glage, describing yet another comparable pair of pistols, also dated 1578, in the Jagdschloss Grünewald, Berlin, has suggested that the group of firearms to which nos. A1139-40 belong was made in Brunswick (op. cit., p. 44, figs. 37-8). A1141|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel of blued steel, octagonal at the breech and swelling at the muzzle. On the top near the breech is stamped an indistinct maker's mark.

Lock with wheel partly sunk into the lock-plate and covered with a steel casing. The lock-plate and wheel case are blued and overlaid with arabesques in gold and silver. There is a release button for the pan-cover spring and a safety-catch.

Stock with ball butt, inlaid with spirals and foliage of antler and stained ivory (green and yellow). It carries a belt hook overlaid in similar style to the lock.

German, about 1580.

The pan-cover release-spring is mounted further to the rear than is usual. The screws securing the lock have their heads on the right side and screw into the belt-hook.

The decoration of the metalwork resembles that of the 'Landsknecht' daggers nos. A758 and 759. A pistol very similar indeed to no. A1141, formerly in a Rothschild collection, and later in the H. Kindig collection, was in 1972 in the collection of H. Ratner Jr., Pennsylvania. It is said to have come from the old Imperial Armoury at Vienna.

W. Glage considers that the domed wheel-cover indicates Brunswick manufacture (personal communication, 1983). A1142|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech and expanding slightly at the muzzle, overlaid with arabesques in gold and silver, the ground formerly blued.

Lock with external wheel enclosed in a dome-shaped steel cover. This, together with the whole surface of the lock-plate, is overlaid with gold and silver arabesques, the flat surface of the cock is engraved with a monster and a human face. The release button for the pan-cover spring and the lever of the safety-catch are missing.

Stock profusely inlaid with engraved antler, the decoration including hares and hounds, lions' masks, lions, and on the nearside a representation of Leda and the Swan.

The globular butt is capped with a lion's mask of copper, embossed and gilt. This is pierced with two holes which probably once held a ring.

Wooden ramrod tipped with antler.

German, about 1580.

This piece closely resembles A1143, and but for the minor differences they might be regarded as a pair. The antler to the rear of the lockplate is a replacement.

The mechanism of the lock resembles in some features the type recently ascribed to Brunswick, for instance the internal bridge for the inner end of the axle-tree shaped like an inverted letter U (W. Glage, 1983, fig. 45). Glage, in fact, considers A1142 to be of Brunswick manufacture (personal communication, 1983). A1143|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech and expanding slightly towards the muzzle, with similar decoration to A1142.

Lock with external wheel secured by a ring-shaped bearing-plate in place of a dome-shaped cover. The decoration is similar in style to A1142. The dog-head arm which differs in form from A1142 is modern. It is roughly engraved. There is a spring pan-cover catch and a safety-catch. The arrangement of the safety-catch is however quite unlike that of A1142.

The stock is similar in shape and almost identical in decoration to that of A1142, but the lion's mask on the butt is not pierced for a ring. The bone overlay of the fore-end is damaged.

German, about 1580.

W. Glage considers it likely that A1143 was made either at Brunswick or at Wolfenbüttel (personal communication, 1983). A1144|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel chiselled with ornament in low relief for its entire length, including four pairs of symbolical female figures (possibly representing the Muses), the intervening spaces being filled with conventional foliage interspersed with birds and animals. At the breech is a maker's mark and another mark is stamped on the underside.

Lock with wheel enclosed in a steel casing. At the forward end an extension to the lock-plate carries the spring of the cock. The wheel-case is chiselled in relief with animals and the lock-plate with foliage en suite with the barrel. The pan-cover is engraved with a lion's mask. Safety-catch. The lock is secured to the stock by four screws.

Stock with large spherical butt, the whole surface so thickly inlaid with engraved antler plates that the wood is almost completely covered. The design consists of interlacing scrolls and annular ornament freely interspersed with scenes of bear hunting, animals and birds, the last appearing only on the butt (see also A1078 and A1091). The underside of the forward part is shod with a strip of antler engraved with animals, lions' masks and strapwork, at the side is a pair of lovers, and prominently displayed near the trigger-guard is the portrait of a man with flowing moustaches. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

The bridle of the cock and belt-hook are missing.

German (Suhl), about 1570-80.

There was a very similar pistol in the Whawell sale, Sotheby's, 4 May 1927, lot 300, and there is another in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden. Compare also the barrel and lock of A1082. There is a pistol with a similar stock in the Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. 612-1893. A gun in the Musée de l' Armée, no. M 107, has a stock with similar decoration and the same mark on its lock as that on the barrel of A1144.

Spencer, 'An archaic wheellock?', J.A.A.S., X, no. 5, 1982, pp. 176-81. A pair of pistols with very similarly inlaid stocks appear in a portrait of Herwart VIII, Freiherr von Auersperg, dated 1573 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv. no. 3800).

The first mark resembles N. Støckel, I, p. 174, nos. a 2778 or 2767, the device of which is a bear, attributed tentatively to Wasungen, Saxony, about 1580-1610. The second mark, apparently a horse-shoe, does not correspond precisely with any of those in N. Støckel.

The same mark occurs on the barrel of a wheel-lock pistol chiselled in the same style, apparently by the same hand, and probably by the same stock-maker, inscribed on the barrel PODOR.ERASMUS.MARCOW (?). M.D.CX., in the Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm (no. A22). The mark is there attributed to Hans Beyer of Dresden. The same mark on a pair of pistols in the Electoral armoury at Dresden was tentatively identified by M. Ehrenthal to a man called Bär (1899 cat., no. F216). D. Schaal, Suhler Feuerwaffen, 1981, figs. 13 and 15-17, illustrates a pistol similar in every detail to A1144, which he attributes to 'Meister H.B., Suhl' (inv. no. H.M.D.J55). inv. no. H.M.D.J274/5 form a pair of pistols with barrels and locks chiselled in exactly the same style but marked with the letters WH over a star. A pistol very similar in every feature to A1144, and which could be its pair, was sold from what was then the Historisches Museum, Dresden, at Sotheby's, 23 March 1970, lot 66, repr. in cat. A very similar pair of pistols with the same mark on the barrels was on the London art market in 1967. A wheel-lock gun at Bern, with the same mark on the barrel and decorated on both barrel and stock in the same way as A1144, is signed on its stock KLAVS HIRT BVCHSEN SCHIFFTER ZV WASVNGEN 160 (Wegeli, Inventor, IV, no. 2223). Wasungen is a small town near Suhl, in Thuringia. A carbine in the W. G. Renwick collection with very similar decoration to both stock and metalwork, and bearing the arms of Saxony and of the Arch-Marshalship of the Empire, was sold at Sotheby's, 19 March 1973, lot 49, repr. in cat. It bore different marks on barrel and lock, while the chiselling of the barrel was signed with the letters H.W. Some of the barrels decorated in this way are in fact not marked at all; for example, a gun-barrel in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. M.491-1927. The association of one signed barrel with one signed stock is insufficient to prove that the Master H.B. actually worked at Wasungen.

Spencer (loc. cit.) suggested that the rather antiquated dog-spring fitted to the lock of A1144, which is of unequal length and overlaps the stock in front of the lock, is a deliberate piece of archaism. A1145|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the steel barrel formerly blued, octagonal at the breech and expanding slightly at the muzzle. It is lightly engraved at the breech and muzzle, and is stamped with four marks, including the letter A in a pearled oval. There is a very long breech-strap engraved with a pattern of flowers bearing traces of gilding.

Lock with external wheel and safety-catch. The original blueing remains. The turned and chiselled cock is of Italian make and some years later in date than the rest of the lock.

Walnut stock inlaid with a running design of hares and hounds and foliage in engraved antler and stained ivory; on the larger surfaces are engraved figures of satyrs, amorini, and monsters' heads. The lemon-shaped butt is turned from a single piece of antler divided into compartments and engraved with flowers. Wooden ramrod tipped with antler, engraved en suite.
The trigger-guard is missing.

German (Augsburg), about 1590.

For a discussion of the letter A within a pearled oval, see under A45.
The third mark on the barrel is either a letter G or a new moon in an oval with a pearled edge, and the fourth is an egg-shaped punch, with the smaller end upward, containing a beaker-shaped object. None of these marks can be identified with those in N. Støckel.

The cock is of Italian type.

L'art ancien, 118 (coll. M. Double).

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, possibly no. 2010 (Double).
Provenance: Leopold Double. A1146|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, chiselled with bands of acanthus ornament at the breech, muzzle and midway between; the decorated portions gilt, the rest formerly blued. Near the breech are stamped the mark of Augsburg and a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel in a pierced case. Safety-catch and release button for the pan-cover catch. The safety-catch and wheel-case are gilt. Cock roughly engraved with a monster's head may not be the original. On the lock-plate is stamped a maker's mark of a fleur-de-lys.

Stock of walnut, inlaid with engraved antler in a flowing pattern of conventional flowers. Large, spherical butt enhanced with a band and straps of gilt copper embossed with Renaissance ornament, and at the end is a cap of the same material embossed with a lion's mask and gilt. The barrel is secured to the stock at the muzzle by means of a screw instead of the more usual peg.

Wooden ramrod, the thicker end having a steel ferrule threaded internally, the opposite end being tipped with antler. Trigger-guard and trigger gilt.

German (Augsburg), about 1590.

A mark resembling that on the barrel above is found on the barrel of a flint-lock revolving gun, dated 1632, in the Porte de Hal at Brussels, IX, 71; also on the barrels of two wheel-lock pistols in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, nos. 189, 190, where it is attributed by Ehrenthal to one of the Herold family of Dresden, but in view of the Augsburg mark on A1146, this ascription must be accepted with reserve.

The two masks engraved on the antler plaques inlaid on either side of the barrel-tang are very similar to those on A1148 and A1149.

The barrel-maker's mark resembles N. Støckel, I, p. 563, no. a 2875 and a 2876, but in a differently shaped compartment. These are ascribed to Augsburg about 1590 to 1634. A comparable mark in a slightly differently shaped punch, Støckel, no. a 2897, occurs on the barrel of a wheel-lock rifle dated 1613 in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen (cat., no. B.I 76; A. Orloff, letter of 13 July 1983). The lock-maker's mark is not particularly like any of the fleur-de-lys marks in N. Støckel. A1147|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, and swelling outward at the muzzle. There is a very long breech-strap. At the breech are stamped the guild mark of Nuremberg and a maker's mark of a lion rampant.

Lock with external wheel covered by a steel plate pierced and engraved with monsters. The flat cock is roughly engraved with a monster's head. There is a release button for the pan-cover catch, but the safety-catch is missing. The lock-plate is deeply stamped with the mark of Nuremberg and a maker's mark.

Stock with fluted ball butt of pear-wood inlaid with animals, monsters and foliage. On the nearside a composition of four figures of engraved antler: a fool carrying off a man on his back pursued by a monk with a stick, while another fool kneels behind. Wooden ramrod with steel tip threaded internally for a cleaning implement.

German (Nuremberg), about 1590.

The same mark as that on the lock-plate is also found on the locks of wheel-lock pistols in the Royal Armouries, XII, 717 (also with Nuremberg mark); in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. M 629-1927; one formerly in the German Historical Museum, Berlin; at Schloss Dyck, no. 468 (with snake-mark and Nuremberg mark on barrel); and on a rifle in the Porte de Hal, Brussels, no. IX, 32. Compare also the mark on the lock of a pistol at Stockholm, no. 299.
The part of the barrel in front of the octagonal section is cylindrical. The breech-strap extends to the ball of the butt.

The maker's mark on the lock is N. Støckel, II, p. 1262, no. b4836, ascribed to Nuremberg about 1576-90. A1148|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, and widening slightly at the muzzle; some of the blued surface remains. At the breech is the Augsburg mark and a maker's mark similar to that of A1149.

Lock with external wheel, the steel case pierced with tracery and engraved. Cock roughly engraved with a monster. The end of the cocking spur is missing. Lock-plate blued and stamped with maker's mark consisting of a star surmounting a triangle between two initials, probably G.E. Safety-catch and release button for the pan-cover spring.

Stock of ebony, with spherical butt, inlaid with strips and panels of antler engraved with strapwork and masks. On the nearside by the lock-screws are two mermen, one armed with a club and bearing a shield, and at the ramrod socket an antique head similar to that on A1149. Ramrod missing.

German (possibly Brunswick), about 1590.

The barrel and stock of this pistol closely resemble those of A1149. There is a similar mark, with the letters G.E. on either side of the star, on the lock of a pistol at Emden (Potier, no. 1277; Führer, no. 636), together with another mark.

On the tail of the lock is a small mark consisting of a pair of axes crossed in saltire, the letter S in base, all in a shield-shaped punch. The two masks engraved on the antler plaques inlaid on either side of the barrel-tang are very similar to those of A1146 and 1149.

The mark on the lock is N. Støckel, I, p. 352, no. a 3773, tentatively ascribed to Brunswick about 1560-70. It is also said to occur on a combined match- and wheel-lock, dated 1563, in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen, but this is in fact a quite different mark, Støckel, no. a 5963 (cat., no. B.73; A. Orloff, letter of 13 July 1983). N. Støckel no. a 3773 does however occur on a wheel-lock pistol in the Zeughaus at Emden, dated 1560 (Potier, 1903, no. 1277). The smaller mark on the tail of the lock resembles N. Støckel, II, p. 1243, nos. b 4432 and b 5609, ascribed to Brunswick about 1570 to 1590. H.

Schedelmann describes the crossed tools as hammers and ascribes the mark to Nuremberg, possibly because it occurs on a wheel-lock pistol at Vienna with a Nuremberg mark on the barrel (inv. no. A 1012; Schedelmann, 1972, p. 57). It occurs on many locks at Graz both on pistols and long arms. A1149|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at breech, and widening slightly at the muzzle. At the breech are stamped the Augsburg mark and a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel contained in a steel casing, the top plate pierced with open tracery. Lock-plate stamped with the Nuremberg mark and the maker's mark, and engraved with a decorative border. Cock engraved with a monster. Release button for the spring of the pan-cover, which is engraved with a lion's mask. The safety-catch is placed on the left side of the stock, the sear having an exceptionally long arm, the end of which protrudes through the stock to be intercepted by the catch.

Stock of ebony with spherical butt, inlaid with strips and panels of antler engraved with masks, scrollwork and at the ramrod socket the head of an antique warrior. On the nearside opposite the lock is a seated lion. Wooden ramrod with steel tip threaded internally to take a cleaning implement.

German: barrel, Augsburg; lock, Nuremberg, about 1590.

The barrel and stock of this pistol closely resemble A1148, but the two do not form an exact pair.

The two masks engraved on antler plaques inlaid on either side of the barrel-tang are very similar to those of A1146 and 1148. The lock of A1149 is of quite different construction to that of A1148.

The barrel-maker's mark, which includes the letters AS, is not in N. Støckel but no.a 8218 (II, p. 1129) is identical except that the second letter is a Z. It is identified as that of Anton Schmidt of Augsburg, about 1567 to 1623. Examples of his work are at Vienna and Graz (Schedelmann, 1972, p. 25). A similar mark, but with the initials AW, is tentatively ascribed to Andreas Waseman of Augsburg, about 1570, by N. Støckel, II, p. 1369, no. a 1985.
The lock-maker's mark is N. Støckel, II, p. 1261, no. b 8352, ascribed to Nuremberg, about 1590.

A1151|1|1|Double-barrelled wheel-lock pistol, the barrels octagonal at the breech, the remainder round, and moulded at the muzzle. They are fixed in the 'over and under' position, and so placed that the muzzles converge, while the breech ends are widely separated to accommodate the locks. Both barrels are stamped near the breech with the Nuremberg mark and a mark of a snake.
Locks of plain steel, with external wheels reversed and placed on opposite sides of the stock. Both lock-plates bear the maker's mark, H.R. and a sun.
Stock of light-coloured wood, inlaid with strips of engraved antler, and at intervals rosettes and masks of the same material, partly stained green. Faceted oviform butt. Below one of the locks are stamped the letters M.G. under a heart. The whale-bone ramrod with engraved antler tip is inserted in a socket between the barrels. On the nearside of the stock is a long, steel saddle-hook.

German (Nuremberg), about 1600.

Skelton, vol. II, pl. CXXII, no. 10.

Provenance: Sir Samuel Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

The mark of a snake is frequently found on pistol barrels between the initials P.D., together with the Nuremberg mark (see also A1168-9), and has been ascribed to Peter Danner (Lenz, Hermitage, pp. 235, 267) or Peter Dauer (Støckel) of Nuremberg.

The mark H.R. and a sun occurs on the locks of the wheel-lock pistols A1152-3 below. It is also found on the locks of a double-barrelled, wheel-lock pistol in the Hermitage, G 224, and in the German Historical Museum, Berlin; on the lock of a pistol in the Leiden Sale, Cologne, 1934, lot 763; and on the lock of a pistol in the Mackay sale, 1939, lot 19.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, 1962, p. 283, pI. 14c.

Provenance: probably no. 18 in the list of arms and armour acquired by Meyrick from D. Colnaghi, about 1818, now in the Library of the Royal Armouries.

The second mark on the barrels does not appear to be listed by N. Støckel. The lock-maker's mark, which is similar to that on A1150 and A1152-3, resembles N. Støckel, II, p. 1089, nos. b 3064, b 8160, and b 8161, ascribed to Nuremberg, about 1580 to 1620. It also occurs on a wheel-lock gun in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 6; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 7, with a list of other pieces with this mark). A1152|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1153. The slender barrel is octagonal at the breech, and the muzzle terminates by a turned moulding. The surface formerly blued; decorated at breech, muzzle and at the junction of the octagonal and rounded sections with floral arabesques engraved and gilt. At the breech are stamped the Nuremberg mark and that of the maker.

Lock. External wheel, with ring-shaped bearing-plate. Lock-plate formerly blued, engraved with a running hound and a border of ribbon ornament, gilt, and stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark, a maker's mark, H.R. and a sun. The end of the sear is prolonged to project through a slot in a small steel plate on the left side of the stock, to which is pivoted a gilt safety-catch.

Stock of ebony, with faceted oviform butt; inlaid with bands of engraved antler between which are plaques of mother-of-pearl, horn and green-stained ivory, portraying animals of the chase, buildings, trees, etc. On the left side near the lock-screws is a representation of Pyramus and Thisbe in mother-of-pearl. An antler panel at the ramrod socket is engraved with Leda and the Swan, and panels by the breech-strap with a halberdier and musketeer. Trigger-guard of steel, gilt, as is the trigger. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

German, Nuremberg, early 17th century.

The maker's mark on the lock also occurs on the lock of A1151. The decoration of the stock is similar to that of a pistol in the Murray Bequest in the Victoria and Albert Museum; and a pair of pistols in the Musée de l' Armée, no. M 1560. Compare also a pistol in the H. Jackson Collection (European Hand Firearms, pl. III).

The outline of a small heart is struck under each barrel, and inside the tail of each lock-plate. The first mark on the barrel and the first mark on the lock-plate of A1153, are probably Nuremberg town marks over-struck with a punch consisting of a quarterly coat of arms; 1 and 4, a fesse dancetty, 2 and 3, five maces in pale, three and two. These are the family arms of Schenk von Limpurg of the Speckfeld line (H. Nickel, personal communication, and Rietstap, Armorial General, II, p. 695, 1 and 4 gules and argent, 2 and 3 azure and argent).

Provenance: ? Graf Eberhard Schenk von Limpurg (1596-1622). The stockmaker of A1152 and A1153 was first isolated and studied by L. G. Boccia, who named him 'The Master of the Castles' (Maestro dei castelli), because he includes representations of castles in his inlay. His materials are invariably mother-of-pearl and antler in ebony or ebonised wood frequently enriched with engraved, gilt scrolls and foliage. (Move secoli di armi da caccia, 1967, pls. 84-6, and n. on p. 166). C. Blair also gave a list of pieces from the workshop of this master, the surviving products of which are very numerous and include the powder flasks nos. A1287 and 1288 here (1974, nos. 104 and 130-2). N. di Carpegna also discusses the work of this stockmaker and lists examples of his work (Firearms, 1975, no. 11, n. 5 on p. 54, and no. 12). A small arquebus at Veste Coburg (no. IV. E.I 3) by this stockmaker also bears the same lock-maker's mark as nos. A1150, 1151 and 1153.

The small heart-shaped mark does not appear to be in N. Støckel, but occurs on three pistols at Waddesdon Manor closely comparable to A1152-3 (Blair 1974, nos. 130-2), the second of which also has the same lock-maker's mark as A1152.

The maker's mark on the barrel of A1153, which is clearer than that of A1152 but appears to be the same punch, resembles N. Støckel, I, p. 522, no. a 529, attributed to Lorenz Herl, Herold, or Hörelt of Nuremberg, who was active from 1572, and died in 1622 (but see under A1072 and 1073 for other marks which might be his). A1153|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1152. The slender barrel is octagonal at the breech, and the muzzle terminates by a turned moulding. The surface formerly blued; decorated at breech, muzzle and at the junction of the octagonal and rounded sections with floral arabesques engraved and gilt. At the breech are stamped the Nuremberg mark and that of the maker.

Lock. External wheel, with ring-shaped bearing-plate. Lock-plate formerly blued, engraved with a running hound and a border of ribbon ornament, gilt, and stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark, a maker's mark, H.R. and a sun. The end of the sear is prolonged to project through a slot in a small steel plate on the left side of the stock, to which is pivoted a gilt safety-catch.

Stock of ebony, with faceted oviform butt; inlaid with bands of engraved antler between which are plaques of mother-of-pearl, horn and green-stained ivory, portraying animals of the chase, buildings, trees, etc. On the left side near the lock-screws is a representation of Pyramus and Thisbe in mother-of-pearl. An antler panel at the ramrod socket is engraved with Leda and the Swan, and panels by the breech-strap with a halberdier and musketeer. Trigger-guard of steel, gilt, as is the trigger. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

A1153 differs from A1152 only in that the panel at the ramrod socket is engraved with a couchant deer and the lock-plate with a running fox.

German, Nuremberg, early 17th century.

The maker's mark on the lock also occurs on the lock of A1151. The decoration of the stock is similar to that of a pistol in the Murray Bequest in the Victoria and Albert Museum; and a pair of pistols in the Musée de l' Armée, no. M 1560. Compare also a pistol in the H. Jackson Collection (European Hand Firearms, pl. III).

The outline of a small heart is struck under each barrel, and inside the tail of each lock-plate. The first mark on the barrel and the first mark on the lock-plate of A1153, are probably Nuremberg town marks over-struck with a punch consisting of a quarterly coat of arms; 1 and 4, a fesse dancetty, 2 and 3, five maces in pale, three and two. These are the family arms of Schenk von Limpurg of the Speckfeld line (H. Nickel, personal communication, and Rietstap, Armorial General, II, p. 695, 1 and 4 gules and argent, 2 and 3 azure and argent).

Provenance: ? Graf Eberhard Schenk von Limpurg (1596-1622). The stockmaker of A1152 and A1153 was first isolated and studied by L. G. Boccia, who named him 'The Master of the Castles' (Maestro dei castelli), because he includes representations of castles in his inlay. His materials are invariably mother-of-pearl and antler in ebony or ebonised wood frequently enriched with engraved, gilt scrolls and foliage. (Move secoli di armi da caccia, 1967, pls. 84-6, and n. on p. 166). C. Blair also gave a list of pieces from the workshop of this master, the surviving products of which are very numerous and include the powder flasks nos. A1287 and 1288 here (1974, nos. 104 and 130-2). N. di Carpegna also discusses the work of this stockmaker and lists examples of his work (Firearms, 1975, no. 11, n. 5 on p. 54, and no. 12). A small arquebus at Veste Coburg (no. IV. E.I 3) by this stockmaker also bears the same lock-maker's mark as nos. A1150, 1151 and 1153.

The small heart-shaped mark does not appear to be in N. Støckel, but occurs on three pistols at Waddesdon Manor closely comparable to A1152-3 (Blair 1974, nos. 130-2), the second of which also has the same lock-maker's mark as A1152.

The maker's mark on the barrel of A1153, which is clearer than that of A1152 but appears to be the same punch, resembles N. Støckel, I, p. 522, no. a 529, attributed to Lorenz Heri, Herold, or Hörelt of Nuremberg, who was active from 1572, and died in 1622 (but see under nos. A1072 and 1073 for other marks which might be his). A1157|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1158, the octagonal barrel with blued surface decorated with engraved foliage, the lines gilt. Near the breech is stamped the Nuremberg guild mark.

Lock with external wheel held in place by a small bearing hook at the bottom with two arms dividing in the form of a cupid's bow. The cock and lock-plate are blued, the latter is lightly engraved with a bird amid foliage, and the engraved lines gilt. The lock-plate has bevelled edges, and follows the shape of the wheel. On the inner side is stamped a maker's mark.

Stock of snake-wood, shaped to the lock on the underside, and inlaid with narrow strips of antler engraved with running foliage. At the base of the barrel are two small plaques engraved with demi-figures in 17th-century costume. The ramrod pipes are strengthened with bands of engraved brass. Butt-cap of gilt brass, cast in relief with a lion's mask and trophies, with a border showing reclining human figures and deer in a landscape of flowers and foliage.
The trigger works against a light, curved spring, which is secured to the inside of the trigger-guard. By removing a small, steel pin which projects through the stock above the lock-plate, the trigger can be entirely withdrawn from the stock. Ramrod of snake-wood with steel tip.

The pair to this pistol, A1158, is exactly similar. The pointed finial of the trigger-guard is missing.

German (Nuremberg), about 1630.

A very similar pistol was in the Kuppelmayr sale, Munich, 1895, lot 547; another was in the Brett Collection; the Metropolitan Museum, New York, has a pair of comparable pistols (no. 14.25.1401 A and B).

The marks on the locks are in fact each topped by the letter N, as on the barrels of A1168-9. The butt-caps are cast rather than embossed.
Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 102. The Kuppelmeyr sale was on the 26-28 March 1895 and the pistol referred to above was illustrated in pI. 19.

A very similar pair of pistols with the same marks is in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (inv. nos. 1493-4, Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 48). The lock-maker's mark is N. Støckel, I, p.84, no. a 7093. A. Gaibi attributed this mark to the Brescian gunsmith Claudio Beretta, working at Gardone, in the Val Trompia, about 1580-1640 (Armi antiche, 1966, p.85). However, the same mark occurs alongside the Nuremberg town mark on the lock-plate of yet another pistol very similar to nos. A1157-8, in the Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm (no. A 19). A1156|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1155. The barrel is of round section, chiselled with scale ornament and with three reserves of arabesque decoration in low relief on a gilt ground. The panel at the breech contains a figure of Minerva, that in the centre Neptune, and that at the muzzle Ceres. The figures stand under canopies surrounded by foliage, fruit and trophies. The chiselled decoration is everywhere blued, the ground in the panels gilt, scale-work and other details being further enriched with gold piqué dots.

Lock. External wheel with flat steel case chiselled with a rich Renaissance design of dolphins, winged terminal figures and cornucopias, blued on a gilt ground like the barrel. Lock-plate chiselled with nymphs and Tritons and scrolls en suite. The lower part of the arm of the cock is baluster in form; the flat surface of the head and jaws is chiselled in low relief as a dragon's head; slender cocking spur.

Stock of ebony, richly inlaid with ornament in bone of ivory. The decoration of the fore-end consists of strapwork enclosing small panels in which are pairs of small figures in contemporary costume. On the left side, by the lock-screws the panels are larger and enclose the figures of a lady and gentleman mounted, and of two huntsman on foot and a dog pursuing an ibex or wild goat. Beneath the mounted figure of the lady is a rectangular cartouche, inlaid with yellow material, possibly amber or tortoiseshell, which was probably intended for an inscription. On the underside and at the grip the pattern is freer, the strapwork finer and in parts replaced by floral scrolls. Interspersed are small figures of soldiers and courtiers, and by the butt-cap, hounds and huntsmen. Free spaces are filled with bunches of fruit or trophies. The design in this part of the stock bears distinct affinities with the chiselled decoration of the steel work. The steel butt-cap is chiselled like the lock-plate and barrel with a trophy of arms and fruit within a scale pattern border, blued and gilt, and the steel ramrod pipes are decorated with foliage en suite. Fore-end cap formed of two small separate plates chiselled with scrollwork, blued and gilt. Trigger-guard blued and chiselled with similar ornament on a gilt ground. Snake-wood ramrod with moulded steel tip formerly gilt.

A1156 differs from its companion in that the panels on the barrel contain figures of Bacchus or Pomona, Diana and Mercury. The decoration of the lock is essentially similar to A1155, but this has the addition of a figure of Fortune (?).

The stock decoration shows minor differences as regards the position of the human figures. The fore-end cap is made in one piece instead of two separate plates.

By Daniel Sadeler of Munich, about 1610.

H. Stöcklein, Meister des Eisenschnittes, p. 68 (DS 30, 31); J. F. Hayward, Apollo, XLIV, 1946, p. 119-20, fig. XI

The chiselled decoration of these beautiful pistols is typical of the work of Daniel Sadeler of Munich; for a note on this family, see A1090. The decoration of the lock is repeated as regards certain details on A1154.

J. F. Hayward, in a lecture to the Arms and Armour Society given in the Tower of London on 3 June 1982, described the stocks of these pistols as 19th-century on the grounds of their shape and the style of their decoration. He attributed them to the Spitzer Workshop. A1157|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1156. The barrel is of round section, chiselled with scale ornament and with three reserves of arabesque decoration in low relief on a gilt ground. The panel at the breech contains a figure of Minerva, that in the centre Neptune, and that at the muzzle Ceres. The figures stand under canopies surrounded by foliage, fruit and trophies. The chiselled decoration is everywhere blued, the ground in the panels gilt, scale-work and other details being further enriched with gold piqué dots.

Lock. External wheel with flat steel case chiselled with a rich Renaissance design of dolphins, winged terminal figures and cornucopias, blued on a gilt ground like the barrel. Lock-plate chiselled with nymphs and Tritons and scrolls en suite. The lower part of the arm of the cock is baluster in form; the flat surface of the head and jaws is chiselled in low relief as a dragon's head; slender cocking spur.

Stock of ebony, richly inlaid with ornament in bone of ivory. The decoration of the fore-end consists of strapwork enclosing small panels in which are pairs of small figures in contemporary costume. On the left side, by the lock-screws the panels are larger and enclose the figures of a lady and gentleman mounted, and of two huntsman on foot and a dog pursuing an ibex or wild goat. Beneath the mounted figure of the lady is a rectangular cartouche, inlaid with yellow material, possibly amber or tortoiseshell, which was probably intended for an inscription. On the underside and at the grip the pattern is freer, the strapwork finer and in parts replaced by floral scrolls. Interspersed are small figures of soldiers and courtiers, and by the butt-cap, hounds and huntsmen. Free spaces are filled with bunches of fruit or trophies. The design in this part of the stock bears distinct affinities with the chiselled decoration of the steel work. The steel butt-cap is chiselled like the lock-plate and barrel with a trophy of arms and fruit within a scale pattern border, blued and gilt, and the steel ramrod pipes are decorated with foliage en suite. Fore-end cap formed of two small separate plates chiselled with scrollwork, blued and gilt. Trigger-guard blued and chiselled with similar ornament on a gilt ground. Snake-wood ramrod with moulded steel tip formerly gilt.

A1156 differs from its companion in that the panels on the barrel contain figures of Bacchus or Pomona, Diana and Mercury. The decoration of the lock is essentially similar to A1155, but this has the addition of a figure of Fortune (?).

The stock decoration shows minor differences as regards the position of the human figures. The fore-end cap is made in one piece instead of two separate plates.

By Daniel Sadeler of Munich, about 1610.

H. Stöcklein, Meister des Eisenschnittes, p. 68 (DS 30, 31); J. F. Hayward, Apollo, XLIV, 1946, p. 119-20, fig. XI

The chiselled decoration of these beautiful pistols is typical of the work of Daniel Sadeler of Munich; for a note on this family, see A1090. The decoration of the lock is repeated as regards certain details on A1154.

J. F. Hayward, in a lecture to the Arms and Armour Society given in the Tower of London on 3 June 1982, described the stocks of these pistols as 19th-century on the grounds of their shape and the style of their decoration. He attributed them to the Spitzer Workshop. A1158|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1157, the octagonal barrel with blued surface decorated with engraved foliage, the lines gilt. Near the breech is stamped the Nuremberg guild mark.

Lock with external wheel held in place by a small bearing hook at the bottom with two arms dividing in the form of a cupid's bow. The cock and lock-plate are blued, the latter is lightly engraved with a bird amid foliage, and the engraved lines gilt. The lock-plate has bevelled edges, and follows the shape of the wheel. On the inner side is stamped a maker's mark.

Stock of snake-wood, shaped to the lock on the underside, and inlaid with narrow strips of antler engraved with running foliage. At the base of the barrel are two small plaques engraved with demi-figures in 17th-century costume. The ramrod pipes are strengthened with bands of engraved brass. Butt-cap of gilt brass, cast in relief with a lion's mask and trophies, with a border showing reclining human figures and deer in a landscape of flowers and foliage.
The trigger works against a light, curved spring, which is secured to the inside of the trigger-guard. By removing a small, steel pin which projects through the stock above the lock-plate, the trigger can be entirely withdrawn from the stock. Ramrod of snake-wood with steel tip.

The pair to this pistol, A1157, is exactly similar.

German (Nuremberg), about 1630.

A very similar pistol was in the Kuppelmayr sale, Munich, 1895, lot 547; another was in the Brett Collection; the Metropolitan Museum, New York, has a pair of comparable pistols (no. 14.25.1401 A and B).

The marks on the locks are in fact each topped by the letter N, as on the barrels of A1168-9. The butt-caps are cast rather than embossed.
Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 102. The Kuppelmeyr sale was on the 26-28 March 1895 and the pistol referred to above was illustrated in pI. 19.

A very similar pair of pistols with the same marks is in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (inv. nos. 1493-4, Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 48). The lock-maker's mark is N. Støckel, I, p.84, no. a 7093. A. Gaibi attributed this mark to the Brescian gunsmith Claudio Beretta, working at Gardone, in the Val Trompia, about 1580-1640 (Armi antiche, 1966, p.85). However, the same mark occurs alongside the Nuremberg town mark on the lock-plate of yet another pistol very similar to nos. A1157-8, in the Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm (no. A 19). A1159|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1160, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then for an inch polygonal and the remainder of round section. Steel foresight. On the underside near the breech is a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel held in position by a hook at the bottom. Lock-plate with bevelled edges. The ends of the spring of the cock are covered by a trilobate steel plate engraved with an eight-petalled flower.

Stock, shaped to the lock on the underside, with hexagonal butt, slightly swelling at the end, richly inlaid with antler strapwork and scrolls, interspersed with human figures, animals, caryatid and terminal figures and annular ornament. On the end of the butt a small, rosette-shaped button of gilt brass. Steel trigger-guard roughly engraved with a floral design. Wooden ramrod with antler tip. The single ramrod pipe, which was probably of antler, is missing.
A1160 exactly resembles its companion.

German, about 1630.

L' Art Ancien, III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

There was a similar pair of pistols in the later Spitzer Collection, sale cat., 1895 (lot 368).

The fore-stocks have been shortened.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2004 (Spitzer).

The barrel-maker's mark does not appear to be recorded in N. Støckel. J. F. Hayward examined these pistols in 1963 and expressed reservations about the authenticity of the inlay of their stocks. A1160|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1159, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then for an inch polygonal and the remainder of round section. Steel foresight. On the underside near the breech is a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel held in position by a hook at the bottom. Lock-plate with bevelled edges. The ends of the spring of the cock are covered by a trilobate steel plate engraved with an eight-petalled flower.

Stock, shaped to the lock on the underside, with hexagonal butt, slightly swelling at the end, richly inlaid with antler strapwork and scrolls, interspersed with human figures, animals, caryatid and terminal figures and annular ornament. On the end of the butt a small, rosette-shaped button of gilt brass. Steel trigger-guard roughly engraved with a floral design. Wooden ramrod with antler tip. The single ramrod pipe, which was probably of antler, is missing.
A1159 exactly resembles its companion.

German, about 1630.

L' Art Ancien, III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

There was a similar pair of pistols in the later Spitzer Collection, sale cat., 1895 (lot 368).

The fore-stocks have been shortened.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2004 (Spitzer).

The barrel-maker's mark does not appear to be recorded in N. Støckel. J. F. Hayward examined these pistols in 1963 and expressed reservations about the authenticity of the inlay of their stocks. A1161|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1162, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then for a short distance polygonal, the rest of round section. Surface originally blued. On the underside at the breech is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel, held in position at the bottom by a hook and at the top by a projection of the pan, pierced with a simple floral design. The mechanism includes an automatic safety-catch, actuated by a long slender lever, which is pivoted to the top of the bridle. One end engages with the sear, the other bears against a cam which forms part of the pin, on which the cock is pivoted, and to which it is kept in contact by an S-shaped spring also mounted on the bridle. When the lock is spanned and the cock pushed back, the lever engages with the trigger arm of the sear and prevents any movement. When the cock is brought over, the cam moves the lever, which rises and allows the trigger to act. The lock-plate has bevelled edges and is curved to the shape of the wheel. On the inner side of the lock-plate are stamped a maker's mark and the guild mark of Nuremberg.

Stock of walnut with gilt brass mounts, shaped to the lock on the underside. Butt-cap embossed with a figure of Minerva and a border of hounds and lions in relief. Trigger-guard pierced á jour with a running floral pattern. Fore-end cap, ramrod tip and single ramrod pipe pierced with similar decoration. The trigger is held in position by a pin, the end of which projects from the stock on the right side to facilitate removal.

A1162 only differs from its companion in that the butt-cap bears a figure of Mars.

Lock, German (Nuremberg), about 1910-20; barrel, Dutch (?), about 1660.

The same marks are found on the locks and barrels, respectively, of a pair of pistols in the German Historical Museum at Berlin. The barrel-mark is found on two pairs of pistols in the Rüstkammer at Emden (Potier, nos. 1321-24), and the lock mark on a combined pistol and mace at Stockholm, dated 1603, ex-Willbrand Collection.

Compare the marks on the Dutch pistols, nos. A1173-4, 1231-2 below.
The stock has no side-plate. The stock and fore-stock have had a lug and pin link under the fore-end cap, perhaps suggesting that the barrels have been shortened.

Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 102.
The barrel-maker's mark resembles Støckel, no. a 2259-2 which Kist, Puype and van der Sloot suggests is possibly a Maestricht mark (1974, p. 162, diag. 6, mark K).

The lock-maker's mark is a variant of N. Støckel, 11, p. 1418, no. b3171, ascribed to Nuremberg about 1600. Butt-caps with similar edges occur on a pair of pistols ascribed to Dresden in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, but the ends are formed as lions' masks (Z.O. nos. 6608 and 6609; Tarassuk, 1971, nos. 115 and 116). A1162|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1162, the barrel octagonal at the breech, then for a short distance polygonal, the rest of round section. Surface originally blued. On the underside at the breech is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel, held in position at the bottom by a hook and at the top by a projection of the pan, pierced with a simple floral design. The mechanism includes an automatic safety-catch, actuated by a long slender lever, which is pivoted to the top of the bridle. One end engages with the sear, the other bears against a cam which forms part of the pin, on which the cock is pivoted, and to which it is kept in contact by an S-shaped spring also mounted on the bridle. When the lock is spanned and the cock pushed back, the lever engages with the trigger arm of the sear and prevents any movement. When the cock is brought over, the cam moves the lever, which rises and allows the trigger to act. The lock-plate has bevelled edges and is curved to the shape of the wheel. On the inner side of the lock-plate are stamped a maker's mark and the guild mark of Nuremberg.

Stock of walnut with gilt brass mounts, shaped to the lock on the underside. Butt-cap embossed with a figure of Minerva and a border of hounds and lions in relief. Trigger-guard pierced á jour with a running floral pattern. Fore-end cap, ramrod tip and single ramrod pipe pierced with similar decoration. The trigger is held in position by a pin, the end of which projects from the stock on the right side to facilitate removal.

A1162 only differs from its companion in that the butt-cap bears a figure of Mars.

Lock, German (Nuremberg), about 1910-20; barrel, Dutch (?), about 1660.
The same marks are found on the locks and barrels, respectively, of a pair of pistols in the German Historical Museum at Berlin. The barrel-mark is found on two pairs of pistols in the Rüstkammer at Emden (Potier, nos. 1321-24), and the lock mark on a combined pistol and mace at Stockholm, dated 1603, ex-Willbrand Collection.

Compare the marks on the Dutch pistols, nos. A1173-4, 1231-2 below.
The stock has no side-plate. The stock and fore-stock have had a lug and pin link under the fore-end cap, perhaps suggesting that the barrels have been shortened.

Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 102.
The barrel-maker's mark resembles Støckel, no. a 2259-2 which Kist, Puype and van der Sloot suggests is possibly a Maestricht mark (1974, p. 162, diag. 6, mark K).

The lock-maker's mark is a variant of N. Støckel, 11, p. 1418, no. b3171, ascribed to Nuremberg about 1600. Butt-caps with similar edges occur on a pair of pistols ascribed to Dresden in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, but the ends are formed as lions' masks (Z.O. nos. 6608 and 6609; Tarassuk, 1971, nos. 115 and 116). A1164|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, and in the forward part divided into a number of planes. The surface is decorated with silver incrustations, the octagonal portion with a Renaissance pattern of cherubs' heads, fruit and flowers, and the forward section studded with small rosettes. The groundwork is roughened and shows traces of gilding. There is a backsight on the tang, but the foresight has been removed. The barrel may not originally belong, and has been shortened and adapted to the stock.

Lock with external wheel secured by a ring-shaped bearing-plate, the ends shaped as monsters' heads. The wheel shows traces of engraved foliage. The entire surface of the lock-plate is decorated with silver incrustations of foliage, and the arm of the cock with silver rosettes added in the 19th century to be en suite with the barrel.

Walnut stock inlaid with rather coarse ornament of engraved antler, including representation of the Creation and Fall. Flattened, spherical butt inlaid with birds and animals. Wooden ramrod with antler tip.

Stock, German, about 1570; barrel, about 1620; lock, probably Italian, about 1620, but with German decoration of the 19th century.

L' Art Ancien, I, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 12.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A pair of pistol barrels with similar decoration is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Farquharson Bequest, M 690, 691-1927); and another pair is in the Musée de l' Armée (M 1990). Compare also the decoration of A1091 and 1094 above. The same kind of silver-encrusted decoration of varying quality is also found on sword-hilts (e.g. A554-5 and A597) in this Collection.

The cock is of Italian type.

Exhibited: ? Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1989.

Peterson, Encyclopaedia of firearms, 1964, illus. on p. 351.

Provenance: A. Uboldo (illustrated among the Dassi drawings 'Armi da fuoco. no. 36' in the Castello Sforzesco, with the barrel still undecorated, but already apparently with the present cock). A1167|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, etched for its entire length with arabesques and conventional foliage. The ground in the octagonal section is entirely gilt, in the circular section a panel containing an owl and another panel near the muzzle are gilt, the rest of the ground being blackened. Foresight and backsight. At the breech is stamped a maker's mark similar to that on the lock.

Lock, with wheel enclosed in a convex steel cover etched with the Imperial eagle on a gilt, granulated ground. The lock-plate is etched with birds and foliage, on a blackened, granulated ground, within a border of foliage with a gilt ground (see also A1075). The flat surface of the cock is engraved with a monster. Safety-catch and press-in release for the pan-cover spring. Near the bottom edge of the lock-plate is a maker's mark, P.B., and an angel.

Stock entirely of steel with small spherical butt, finished with a button. Surface entirely covered with etched arabesques of foliage and animals of the chase, all on a blackened granulated ground, relieved by reserves containing foliage on a gilt ground. On the back of the stock below the screw securing the breech-strap is etched a coat of arms: three fleurs-de-lys, on a chief, a lion passant, surmounted by a helm crested with a demi-lion rampant between two probosces, above which are the letters g. m. o. oh. b., and below is inscribed the name Michael Veldreiger. On the left side, secured by one of the lock-screws, is a steel belt hook. Wooden ramrod with steel tip etched en suite.

German, possibly Dresden, about 1560.

The decoration of the steel stock resembles the pistols of Erik XIV (1560-68) at Stockholm (cat. no. 294).

The wheel-cover is hammered up out of the lock-plate rather than being made separately. The fore-end of the stock is broken away. The trigger is an 18th-century replacement. A very similar pistol at Vienna is dated 1556 (inv. no. A580; Schedelmann, 1972, p. 12, Fig. 20). The mark is not in N. Støckel, but its two components, the initials PB and the kneeling angel, occur separately, as nos. a 4228 and a 4928 respectively. These were tentatively attributed to Paul Buchner of Nuremberg and Dresden, recorded from 1559 to 1595 in the Saxon Electoral service. The same mark occurs on the lock and barrel of a pistol in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 14.25.1411). A1168|1|1|Double-barrelled wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1169. The barrels are placed one above the other in what is known as the 'over and under' position, and joined together by brazing. The upper barrel is octagonal at the breech, the lower octagonal throughout its length. Both expand slightly at the muzzle. In order to accommodate the lock, the lower barrel is shortened at the breech end. The upper barrel is etched with strapwork and conventional foliage, the lower with a simple cable pattern, the ground granulated and formerly gilt. Both barrels are stamped at the breech with the Nuremberg guild mark, the mark of a snake and the initials P.D.

Lock. There is a separate mechanism for each barrel mounted on a common lock-plate, that for the lower barrel being in front. Both are actuated by a single trigger, the two sears being connected by a sliding bar with a projection on its rear end to engage with the trigger. Initial pressure on the latter releases the forward mechanism, and further pressure the rearward. The wheels are externally mounted and held by ring-shaped bearing-plates. The arms of the cocks are of baluster shape. Lock-plate etched with scrolls and strapwork on granular ground, formerly gilt, and stamped with a maker's mark, the Nuremberg guild mark repeated, and the number 76. The safety-catch is missing.

Stock entirely of steel with fish-tail butt. The surface is covered with etched ornament consisting of floral scrolls; on the left side are oval panels containing hares and hounds. The base of the butt is etched with a landsknecht holding a banner. The ground was formerly gilt, except in the panels, where it may have been blackened. Part of the grip immediately above the butt is round in section and free from circular holes, now filled with wooden plugs, have held studs to retain the binding. On the right side is stamped the number 76. Wooden ramrod, the tip missing.

A1169 only differs from A1168 in certain minor details of the etched decoration. The ramrod retains its antler tip.

German (Nuremberg), about 1570.

The initials P.D. are ascribed by Støckel to Peter Dauer, and by Lenz to Peter Danner. They are commonly found on pistols with steel stocks.
There are two single all-steel pistols with the same barrel mark in the Victoria and Albert Museum (nos. M 629-1927 and M 174-1928). Very similar pistols with the same mark are in the Musée de l' Armée (M 1634 and 1636). A pair is in the Armeria Reale at Turin (nos. N 47-8), and another pair in the Hermitage, Leningrad (Lenz, 1908, p. 260, N 41), also a wheel-lock rifle in the Tøjhus at Copenhagen (no. B 302). There was a pair of single-barrel, all-steel pistols, the barrels of which bore the same marks, in the collection of H. B. Keasbey (sold American Art Association, New York, 1924, lot 265), possibly the same as that exhibited by Mr. Litchfield at the Metropolitan Museum in 1931. An all-steel pistol with the same mark is in the collection of the late Sir Edward Barry, Bt. It also occurs on the barrel of a pistol formerly in the Stead Collection, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

The mark of a snake is also found with the initials H.D. at Stockholm, nos. 297, 399 (pistols) and 531 (hunting compass, dated 1601, ascribed to Hans Ducker?), and with W.D. (Dresden, no. 171) and see also A1151.
Provenance: F. Spitzer exhibited a pair of comparable pistols in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2001. The mark on the barrel is probably N. Støckel, I, p. 267, no. a 7298, attributed to Peter Daner, recorded from 1583, died 1602. The attribution in Støckel of the mark on the barrel to Peter Dauer instead of Daner or Danner was presumably due to a misprint. For the work of Daner see Blair, Waddesdon cat., 1974, sub no. 121. He was first recorded in Nuremberg in 1583, when he was ordered to difference his mark from that used by the widow of his brother Hans by adding to it his initials. Peter and Hans may have been the sons of Wolf Danner (died 1552), who had used the mark of a snake flanked by his initials. The pistol from the Barry collection was sold at Sotheby's, 5 July 1965, lot 86, repr. in cat. The Stead pistol; formerly on loan to the Fitwilliam Museum, was sold at Sotheby's, 4 December 1947, lot 44, bought by R. Bartel, presumably for W. R. Hearst (R. Chrichton, letter of 4 January 1983). See also Schedelmann, 1972, p. 29, with a long list of marked pieces.

The mark on the lock is N. Støckel, I, p. 103, no. b 2552, attributed to Gregor Birckholzer (or Birckholtz), recorded 1579-1616. He was a maker of gun-locks and a locksmith from Arnswalde (today Choszczno) in Poland. He was in, Nuremberg in 1579, when he married the daughter of the gunmaker Hans Possenhammer. He had two sons who were also gunmakers, Christoph and Hans Gregor. A very similar pistol with the same mark on the lock is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 1517; Carpegna, 1975, no. 3, referring to yet another comparable pistol in Budapest). A1169|1|1|Double-barrelled wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1169. The barrels are placed one above the other in what is known as the 'over and under' position, and joined together by brazing. The upper barrel is octagonal at the breech, the lower octagonal throughout its length. Both expand slightly at the muzzle. In order to accommodate the lock, the lower barrel is shortened at the breech end. The upper barrel is etched with strapwork and conventional foliage, the lower with a simple cable pattern, the ground granulated and formerly gilt. Both barrels are stamped at the breech with the Nuremberg guild mark, the mark of a snake and the initials P.D.

Lock. There is a separate mechanism for each barrel mounted on a common lock-plate, that for the lower barrel being in front. Both are actuated by a single trigger, the two sears being connected by a sliding bar with a projection on its rear end to engage with the trigger. Initial pressure on the latter releases the forward mechanism, and further pressure the rearward. The wheels are externally mounted and held by ring-shaped bearing-plates. The arms of the cocks are of baluster shape. Lock-plate etched with scrolls and strapwork on granular ground, formerly gilt, and stamped with a maker's mark, the Nuremberg guild mark repeated, and the number 76. The safety-catch is missing.

Stock entirely of steel with fish-tail butt. The surface is covered with etched ornament consisting of floral scrolls; on the left side are oval panels containing hares and hounds. The base of the butt is etched with a landsknecht holding a banner. The ground was formerly gilt, except in the panels, where it may have been blackened. Part of the grip immediately above the butt is round in section and free from circular holes, now filled with wooden plugs, have held studs to retain the binding. On the right side is stamped the number 76. Wooden ramrod, the tip missing.

A1169 only differs from A1168 in certain minor details of the etched decoration. The ramrod retains its antler tip.

German (Nuremberg), about 1570.

The initials P.D. are ascribed by Støckel to Peter Dauer, and by Lenz to Peter Danner. They are commonly found on pistols with steel stocks.
There are two single all-steel pistols with the same barrel mark in the Victoria and Albert Museum (nos. M 629-1927 and M 174-1928). Very similar pistols with the same mark are in the Musée de l' Armée (M 1634 and 1636). A pair is in the Armeria Reale at Turin (nos. N 47-8), and another pair in the Hermitage, Leningrad (Lenz, 1908, p. 260, N 41), also a wheel-lock rifle in the Tøjhus at Copenhagen (no. B 302). There was a pair of single-barrel, all-steel pistols, the barrels of which bore the same marks, in the collection of H. B. Keasbey (sold American Art Association, New York, 1924, lot 265), possibly the same as that exhibited by Mr. Litchfield at the Metropolitan Museum in 1931. An all-steel pistol with the same mark is in the collection of the late Sir Edward Barry, Bt. It also occurs on the barrel of a pistol formerly in the Stead Collection, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

The mark of a snake is also found with the initials H.D. at Stockholm, nos. 297, 399 (pistols) and 531 (hunting compass, dated 1601, ascribed to Hans Ducker?), and with W.D. (Dresden, no. 171) and see also A1151.
Provenance: F. Spitzer exhibited a pair of comparable pistols in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2001. The mark on the barrel is probably N. Støckel, I, p. 267, no. a 7298, attributed to Peter Daner, recorded from 1583, died 1602. The attribution in Støckel of the mark on the barrel to Peter Dauer instead of Daner or Danner was presumably due to a misprint. For the work of Daner see Blair, Waddesdon cat., 1974, sub no. 121. He was first recorded in Nuremberg in 1583, when he was ordered to difference his mark from that used by the widow of his brother Hans by adding to it his initials. Peter and Hans may have been the sons of Wolf Danner (died 1552), who had used the mark of a snake flanked by his initials. The pistol from the Barry collection was sold at Sotheby's, 5 July 1965, lot 86, repr. in cat. The Stead pistol; formerly on loan to the Fitwilliam Museum, was sold at Sotheby's, 4 December 1947, lot 44, bought by R. Bartel, presumably for W. R. Hearst (R. Chrichton, letter of 4 January 1983). See also Schedelmann, 1972, p. 29, with a long list of marked pieces.

The mark on the lock is N. Støckel, I, p. 103, no. b 2552, attributed to Gregor Birckholzer (or Birckholtz), recorded 1579-1616. He was a maker of gun-locks and a locksmith from Arnswalde (today Choszczno) in Poland. He was in, Nuremberg in 1579, when he married the daughter of the gunmaker Hans Possenhammer. He had two sons who were also gunmakers, Christoph and Hans Gregor. A very similar pistol with the same mark on the lock is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 1517; Carpegna, 1975, no. 3, referring to yet another comparable pistol in Budapest). A1170|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, with an octagonal barrel, expanding slightly at the muzzle, and etched with alternate bands of scrollwork and foliage. There is a groove for a missing backsight, but no foresight. The breech-plug is missing. The barrel is not that originally made for the stock, but is too long. The decoration was probably added in the 19th century.

Lock with external wheel covered with a plate of pierced steel etched with foliage on a gilt, granulated ground. There is a release button for the pan-cover catch and a safety-catch. The shank of the cock is elaborately turned. The lock-plate is stamped with the Nuremberg guild mark and the maker's mark, and is bordered with a much worn band of foliage etched on a granulated ground and showing traces of gilding.

Stock entirely of steel, the surface covered with a shallow etched design, formerly gilt, of arabesque foliage enclosing panels containing animals of the chase and human heads. The butt of petronel type is etched on the base-plate with a standard-bearer in the costume of about 1580. The stock just above the butt is rounded and free from decoration showing that is was formerly bound with cord or wire.

The trigger-guard and ramrod are missing.

German (Nuremberg), about 1580.

The lock-maker's mark is not recorded in N. Støckel. A1171|1|1|Small wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech, and widening slightly towards the muzzle. At the breech are stamped the Augsburg guild mark and a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel and ring-shaped bearing-plate. Safety-catch. The guard over the sear extension for the safety-catch is missing.

Stock entirely of steel with ball butt. The rear lock-screw also serves to secure a steel belt hook.

German (Augsburg), about 1580.

Provenance: Baur (?) (receipted bill, 20 November, 1865, un petit pistolet du XVIe siècle, together with a mace, 200 fr.); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The top-jaw of the cock, rather than the bottom one, is movable. An extension arm on the trigger acts on the sear.

A comparable pistol, but with a brass stock, is in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (no. W1564; Shalkhausser, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1971, pp. 71-2, no. 98. A1173|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1174. The barrel is of round section, with a fine ridge running along the line of sight. On the breech-strap is engraved:

A Maestrech

On the underside is a maker's mark.

The lock has an external wheel with a single retaining hook at the bottom of the lock-plate, and a press-in release for the pan-cover spring.

Pear-wood stock shaped to the lock in the French manner. Steel trigger-guard. The trigger is provided with a spring to prevent unnecessary movement.

Single, silver ramrod-pipe, slightly engraved. Ramrod, possibly rosewood, with silver tip engraved like the ramrod-pipe.

The pair, A1174, is engraved on the breech-strap with the name of the maker:

De Lapierre

On the end of the ramrod tip are roughly scratched the initials A.S.

Dutch (Maastricht), about 1640-1660.

There are two flint-lock guns by De Lapierre in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen (Smith, Kongelige Partikulaere Rüstkammer, nos. B638, B639).

There is a pair of pistols in the Rüstkammer, Emden (Potier, nos. 1303-4), with the same barrel mark as A1173, and another pair in the Kungl. Livrustkammaren at Stockholm (nos. 1762, 1763); see Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, p. 70. Compare the marks of A1231-2 and A1161-2.

The barrel mark is recorded by Støckel, a 2261 and 2262, ascribed to Holland. Lenk describes the first character as a horse-shoe (Flintlåset, 1939, p. 70 and n. 6). Kist, Puype and van der Sloot, ascribe this mark tentatively to Maestricht (1974, p. 162, diag. 6, mark J). A1174|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1173. The barrel is of round section, with a fine ridge running along the line of sight. On the breech-strap is engraved:

A Maestrech

On the underside is a maker's mark.

The lock has an external wheel with a single retaining hook at the bottom of the lock-plate, and a press-in release for the pan-cover spring.

Pear-wood stock shaped to the lock in the French manner. Steel trigger-guard. The trigger is provided with a spring to prevent unnecessary movement.

Single, silver ramrod-pipe, slightly engraved. Ramrod, possibly rosewood, with silver tip engraved like the ramrod-pipe.

Engraved on the breech-strap with the name of the maker:

De Lapierre

On the end of the ramrod tip are roughly scratched the initials A.S.

Dutch (Maastricht), about 1640-1660.

There are two flint-lock guns by De Lapierre in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen (Smith, Kongelige Partikulaere Rüstkammer, nos. B638, B639).

There is a pair of pistols in the Rüstkammer, Emden (Potier, nos. 1303-4), with the same barrel mark as A1173, and another pair in the Kungl. Livrustkammaren at Stockholm (nos. 1762, 1763); see Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, p. 70. Compare the marks of A1231-2 and A1161-2.

The barrel mark is recorded by Støckel, a 2261 and 2262, ascribed to Holland. Lenk describes the first character as a horse-shoe (Flintlåset, 1939, p. 70 and n. 6). Kist, Puype and van der Sloot, ascribe this mark tentatively to Maestricht (1974, p. 162, diag. 6, mark J). A1176|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, with a long, slender barrel, octagonal at the breech, except for a circular gilt collar, four-fifths of an inch deep at the breech end; a similar collar is at the muzzle. The octagonal portion is inlaid in gold and silver with minute arabesque ornament. This decoration recurs at the muzzle, which is finished with a turned moulding. The rest of the surface is blued. Near the breech is stamped a maker's mark, I B, and a crossbow, attributed to Jean le Bourgeois of Lisieux. The flange at the base of the breech is incised with two sighting notches. Long breech-strap reaching to the butt, also inlaid with scrolls.

The lock has an external wheel held in position by a single small bearing-plate formed as a pair of leaves terminating in an urn-shaped finial. This bearing-plate and a small, baluster-shaped bridle connecting the screw and spring of the cock are gilt, while the rest of the lock was formerly blued. Press-in pan cover release. The mechanism of the lock is of the French fashion with the mainspring secured inside the stock (see also A1179).

Walnut stock of French form, inlaid with delicate interlacing ornamentation of brass and silver wire. On either side of the breech-strap in silver wire is the monogram D.C. In front of the trigger-guard is stamped the number 211. Oviform butt of steel terminated with gilt button, inlaid with arabesques in gold and silver, the ground blued. A narrow steel plate on the underside of the stock runs from the butt to a point in front of the trigger-guard which is attached to it; this and the trigger-guard are inlaid en suite with the rest. The shaped steel screw-plate, which also acts as a bearing for the wheel-pivot, typical of these French pieces, is similarly inlaid. Single ramrod pipe of gilt steel. Wooden ramrod with antler tip and gilt ferrule.

French (Lisieux), about 1610.

Lièvre, Musées et Collections, 2nd Series; Musée Graphique, pl. III.

Provenance: from the Armoury of King Louis XIII.

The pair to this pistol is in the German Historial Museum at Berlin. The number 211 stamped on the stock is that of the Inventaire Général du Mobilier de la Couronne (Guiffrey, 1886, II, p. 70) drawn up during the reign of Louis XIV, from 1663 onwards, where these pistols are described as: 'Une paire de pistolets à rouet de 26 puces, le canon de fort petit calibre couleur d'eau, rond sur le devant, à huit pans sur la derrière doré aux deux bouts; vis à vis la lumière il y a une petite arbaleste estampée entre un J et un B; le rouet tout uny sur un bois rouge enrichy de petits ornemens de marqueterie de cuivre et d' argent; le bout de la poignée de fer rond en forme d' oeuf'.
Jean le Bourgeois, watchmaker and gunsmith of Lisieux, was the brother of Marin le Bourgeois and died in 1615. The attribution is based by Dr. T. Lenk on the following evidence: (1) a flint-lock gun in the Hermitage, Leningrad, signed: M. le Bourgeois à Lisieul, but without a mark; (2) a gun in the collection of Mr. W. G. Renwick with similar decoration on stock and barrel, and the mark I. B. and a crossbow (as on A1176) which is described under the no. 134 in the Royal Inventory as 'fait à Lisieux'. There is also a double-barrelled pistol from the M. Pauilhac's collection (ex-Engel-Gros sale, 1921, lot 218), now in the Musée de l' Armee, Paris (no. M.Po.862), with the same decoration and mark, which Dr. Lenk has identified with no. 238 in the Inventory. The latter makes no reference to Lisieux in this instance. Neither does it in the case of A1176, though the mark is carefully described. Jean and Marin le Bourgeois were working at Lisieux about this time, otherwise one might have assumed from its form that the mark was that of a craftsman with a surname like 'Balestrier'. Compare also the mark on A1110 above, where the initials appear to be P. B. and a crossbow. This also bears the number of the Royal Inventory, as does A1111 (Lenk, Konsthistorisk Tidskrift, 1934, p. 128; and Flintlåset, 1939, Chap. III).

Compare the mark on a pair of pistols in the Royal Armouries (XII.722-3). For other examples of French firearms of this time, compare Stockholm (nos. 1576-7, dated 1603); Royal Armouries (XII. 1075 (1612)); Musée de l' Armée: M 95 (1613), M 102 (1616), M 131 (1627).

Hayward, 'Further notes on the invention of the flintlock', in Held, Art, arms and armour, 1979, pp. 238-51, no. 6, fig. 17, attributed in the text to Jean Le Bourgeois, but accidentally captioned as being by Pierre. The barrel-maker's mark is Støckel, no. a 3216-93, Vol. I, p. 47, but it has been omitted from N. Støckel. A pair of pistols, apparently with the same mark, is in the Harding Collection in the Art Institute of Chicago (no. 1953; H. Lutiger, personal communication, 1982). Their wheel-locks are of German type. A1177|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel of round section with long breech-strap reaching to the butt. Blued surface.

Lock with external wheel. There is no bearing-plate proper, but a small projection on the underside of the pan served this purpose. The pan, pan-cover, cock, cock-spring and the edges of the lock-plate show traces of gilding, the surface of the lock-plate and wheel being blued. The screw of the cock is shaped as a six-petalled flower, one petal being broken away. The lock is of the French type with the mainspring attached inside the stock (see also A1176, 1179). The lock-plate is very lightly engraved near the top in front of the wheel with two letters divided by a small star of five points. The second is certainly a P while the first could be read either as a T or an F.

Walnut stock of French form with hexagonal butt, the angles of the planes are outlined with silver wire inlay, with bands picked out with small annular inlays of steel and brass. Small grooved butt-cap of steel, gilt. The remainder of the stock is plain. The trigger-guard is ornamented with incised parallel grooves, and is blued and partly gilt. Two steel ramrod pipes formerly gilt, wooden ramrod with horn tip.

French, about 1615.

Provenance: possibly, like A1179, from the armoury of King Louis XIII.

A pair of very similar pistols is in the Royal Danish Collection at Rosenborg; they belonged to Queen Anna Catherine of Brandenburg (1575-1617), who married King Christian IV of Denmark in 1597; another pair, unsigned, is in the Odescalchi Collection in Rome; a gun signed by‘F. P.’on the lock-plate and dated 1613, is in the Musée de l' Armée at Paris (M 95). It comes from the collection of King Louis XIII.

J. F. Hayward tentatively attributed the mark on the pistols at Rosenborg, Copenhagen, to a French gun-maker Francois Poumerol (1956 Cat., nos. 5 and 6, pls. 48 and 46.4; Art of the Gunmaker, 1962, I, p. 139). These pistols must date from before 1612, when Queen Anna Catherine died. This attribution was followed by C. Blair, with reference to the pistols in the Royal Armouries which are also signed FP on the locks (no. XXI.1263-4; Pistols of the World, 1968, figs. 66-7).

The pistols in the Odescalchi collection are also signed in this way (inv. nos. 49 and 50; Carpegna, 1975, no. 17, with a list of further signed pieces). A signed pistol was sold at Sotheby's, 20 April 1982, lot 121, repr. in cat. The gun in Paris dated 1612, which was no. 40 in the royal inventory, is signed 'F.P.fait au Montel'. J.-P. Reverseau has suggested that this might refer to Monteille near Lisieux in Normandy (Musée de l' Armée, 1982, pp. 97-8, fig. 14 top). Also by the Master F.P. is a gun, no. 50 in the French royal inventory, now in Paris (Musée de l' Armée, no. M.I 44; Reverseau, op. cit., pp. 97-8, fig. 14 bottom). A pair of signed pistols for a youth have recently been reported in a Dutch private collection.

Francois Poumerol was born in the Auvergne, apparently about 1580. He never received a royal appointment, in spite of presenting a gun to Louis XIII in 1631 and accompanying it with a poem. He was, however, appointed gunmaker to Gaston, due d'Orleans, the King's brother. A1178|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, with an octagonal barrel profusely encrusted with small silver rosettes, the ground hatched and originally inlaid in silver with fine floral scrolls. All the decoration is now worn.

The lock, of French fashion, has an external wheel held in position by a small bearing-plate formed as a bearded human figure. The end of the extension for the winding key is chiselled as a human head, and other heads are chiselled on the pan, and on the bridge joining the pivot of the cock to the screw of its spring. Lock-plate engraved with fine foliage, and the wheel with foliage and birds. The lock-plate ends in a monster's head, and the pan-cover is chiselled with a lion's mask. The cock takes the form of a grotesque dog-like animal sitting on its haunches, its body forming the arm, its head the jaws. The mainspring is attached inside the stock in the French manner.

Stock of walnut with fluted oviform butt, the ridges outlined with silver wire. Small, steel terminal button. A strip of silver covers the breech-strap and continues as far as the butt. Silver fore-end cap and single silver ramrod pipe, all with slight scroll engraving, and engraved strap joining the lock-screws. Steel trigger-guard. Wooden ramrod, probably modern.

French (?), about 1610-20.

The decoration of the lock is in the Italian style, and it is possible that the pistol was made by an Italian working in France.

The barrel has probably been considerably shortened at the muzzle. There is no aperture under the stock for the end of the main-spring. This is a normal safety device on wheel-locks of French type so that it can be seen at a glance whether the lock is spanned. The strap joining the lock-screws on the left side also supports the end of the axle-tree. A1179|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, with a long, slender barrel ornamented at the breech with three shallow flutes, and finished at the muzzle with a sharp moulding. A small sighting slot is cut into the long breech-strap, and behind it is engraved the number 128.

Lock with external wheel held in position by a semi-circular bearing-plate shaped as a fish. The end of the lock-plate takes the shape of an acorn, and the underside of the pan is gadrooned. Release button for the pan-cover catch. The lock is of French type with the mainspring secured inside the stock. Trigger set over towards the right side. The sear is of exceptional length and protrudes through a slot on the left side of the stock, showing by its position if the lock is cocked. The pivoted safety-catch, which locked the end of the sear where it protrudes on the left side of the stock, is missing.

Stock of the French form, of dark wood with faceted, oviform butt. Surface richly inlaid with engraved mother-of-pearl and antler; on the butt are medallions of male and female heads, and on the rest of the stock monsters' and cherubs' heads, birds and animals; the background filled with floral ornament in brass wire, brass florets and small mother-of-pearl inlays. The plaques of antler engraved with flowers. On the end of the butt a small, star-shaped, copper ornament. Trigger-guard of pierced steel. Single brass ramrod pipe. Wooden ramrod with antler tip. Much of the mother-of-pearl inlay is replaced, as are the guard-plates for the rear-barrel pin.
The lock and stock are both marked 'III' inside.

Probably North-Eastern France, about 1620.

Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pl. 105, no. 2.

Provenance: Demidoff, Prince of San Donato, sold Paris, April, 1870, lot 657, 500 fr.

Similar pistols are in the Farquharson Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M 488-1927); in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (no. 5586); in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (M 643 and M 1649); in the museum at Berlin; in the Livrustkammer, Stockholm (several, e.g. nos. 323; 1, 325; 2, 326, 328); at Madrid (no. K 84). One was in the Spitzer Collection (L' Art Ancien, pl. 575, 1865). A gun of similar type is in the Scott Collection, Glasgow. These pistols belong to a well-defined group, examples of which are to be found in most large collections, and sometimes have fish-tail butts. They often have a mark on the lock in the form of I P over a star, or P P crowned.

The whole group is discussed by C. Blair with reference to a similarly decorated powder-flask at Waddesdon (1974, under no. 172 and also under no. 134). He cites many comparable pieces. A1179 is apparently illustrated as lot 656 in the catalogue of the Demidoff sale, Paris, Mannheim, 5-8 April 1870. It was in fact lot 657, and, according to a marked catalogue in the library of the Collection, was purchased by the dealer Maillet de Boullay for 500 fr. A1180|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the pair to A1181.

Plain steel barrel of round section with a silver foresight.

The lock incorporates an external wheel delicately engraved with simple flower ornament. An extension of the pan serves as a retaining-plate and is engraved and pierced with a mask and flowers. Faint traces of gilding remain. Similar floral ornament on the back of the arm of the cock. The edges of the lock-plate are bevelled, the upper edge engraved with the name and address of the maker:

A Figaec P. Cisteron

The lock is of French type, having the mainspring secured inside the stock and the end of the wheel spindle protruding through the screw-plate on the left side.

Walnut stock of French form, the butt carved as a dog's head with a silver collar around the neck ornamented in relief with birds and foliage. The relief decoration on the silver dog's collar is produced by means of a stamp. The dog's eyes are of coloured glass. At the ramrod socket is carved a trophy of armour and weapons. Steel trigger-guard with faint traces of engraved ornament. Wooden ramrod with steel tip. Ramrod pipe formed of a single narrow steel ring. The steel fore-end cap is attached by a screw to the barrel and is entirely separate from the stock.

French, about 1640.

A fine wheel-lock sporting gun (Mazzini, 1982, p. 96, pls. 8-12 and cat. no. 293) by the same maker, P. Cisteron, is in the Armeria Reale at Turin (no. M 38), and a pair by him were at one time in the Ressman Collection. Figeac is a town in the Auvergne.

The first two letters of the inscription are combined. The end of the main-spring is not visible through an aperture under the stock in the usual manner of French firearms. A small stud on the end of the main-spring projects through the trigger-guard to indicate that the lock is spanned.

Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 88.
Pierre Cisteron is listed in N. Støckel, I, p. 218, and dated about 1640-60.

A comparable pistol was reported in 1974 to be in the collection of C. Bedford. Its mainspring apparently bears a mark including the initials AG (N. Støckel, I, p. 475, no. 7631). A1181|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the pair to A1180.

Plain steel barrel of round section with a silver foresight.

The lock incorporates an external wheel delicately engraved with simple flower ornament. An extension of the pan serves as a retaining-plate and is engraved and pierced with a mask and flowers. Faint traces of gilding remain. Similar floral ornament on the back of the arm of the cock. The edges of the lock-plate are bevelled, the upper edge engraved with the name and address of the maker:

A Figaec P. Cisteron

The lock is of French type, having the mainspring secured inside the stock and the end of the wheel spindle protruding through the screw-plate on the left side.

Walnut stock of French form, the butt carved as a dog's head with a silver collar around the neck ornamented in relief with birds and foliage. The relief decoration on the silver dog's collar is produced by means of a stamp. The dog's eyes are of coloured glass. At the ramrod socket is carved a trophy of armour and weapons. Steel trigger-guard with faint traces of engraved ornament. Wooden ramrod with steel tip. Ramrod pipe formed of a single narrow steel ring. The steel fore-end cap is attached by a screw to the barrel and is entirely separate from the stock.

French, about 1640.

A fine wheel-lock sporting gun (Mazzini, 1982, p. 96, pls. 8-12 and cat. no. 293) by the same maker, P. Cisteron, is in the Armeria Reale at Turin (no. M 38), and a pair by him were at one time in the Ressman Collection. Figeac is a town in the Auvergne.

The first two letters of the inscription are combined. The end of the main-spring is not visible through an aperture under the stock in the usual manner of French firearms. A small stud on the end of the main-spring projects through the trigger-guard to indicate that the lock is spanned.

Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 88.

Pierre Cisteron is listed in N. Støckel, I, p. 218, and dated about 1640-60.
A comparable pistol was reported in 1974 to be in the collection of C. Bedford. Its mainspring apparently bears a mark including the initials AG (N. Støckel, I, p. 475, no. 7631). A1182|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, with an octagonal brass barrel, engraved throughout its length and gilt. Among the decoration of foliage and trophies are to be found small figures in the costume of about 1640. Here the background is cut away and the pattern stands out in low, flat relief. Midway along the barrel a silver plate in the form of a mask and drum, has been applied, and at the breech are applied three silver figures, possibly the representation of Christ in the Temple. The foresight is integral with the barrel. The barrel is attached to the stock by a screw underneath, situated in the ramrod groove. A threaded hole at the muzzle-end would seem to have been intended for a similar screw. This suggests that the present horn fore-end cap may be a replacement, as it is not pierced to correspond.

The mechanism of the lock is unusual. There is an external wheel secured in the centre by a round-headed screw. The main-spring takes the form of a coil-spring which is wound by a key inserted through an aperture in the left side of the stock immediately over the squared end of the wheel-spindle. There are sears of normal type, and the spring of the cock is mounted within. The lock-plate of brass decorated with a design of entwined flowers and foliage, cut in slight relief. On the wheel, the surface of which is slightly sunk to receive it, is a circular plate of thin brass pierced with a rosette-shaped pattern of budding flowers. The lock-plate has bevelled edges, and on the lower is engraved the inscription: Faict a Mourgues par La Fonteyne Inventeur, 1645. The cock is fashioned of copper-gilt in the form of a monster with open jaws, fitted with a steel ring-headed screw to secure the stone.

The stock is of French fashion, the grip carved with longitudinal panels containing small human figures piqué and outlined in silver wire. Other figures representing the Holy Family are inlaid in engraved antler. Inlaid scrollwork of silver wire on the underside of the stock. Behind the barrel is applied a male figure in gilt brass wearing a classical breastplate, and a plumed hat. There is a similar figure applied underneath the stock in front of the trigger-guard, and on the left side of the stock is a third figure, robed, also of gilt brass, into which is cut the hole for the winding key. The butt is shaped as a helmet with pierced barred visor. The upper portion opens at the back on a hinge, revealing a compass in the interior. When closed this lid is secured by a small hook-and-eye. There are two ramrod pipes formed as open scrolls in gilt copper. Trigger-guard also of gilt copper pierced and engraved with foliage. Immediately behind the trigger is pivoted a small lever of gilt brass, probably intended as a safety-catch. Wooden ramrod with dark horn tip, probably not the original.

French, probably Monaco, dated 1645.

L' Art Ancien, V, 587; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2008.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

A pistol with the same maker's name and date was exhibited by F. Spitzer in the Musée Rétrospectif, Paris, in 1865 (no. 2008), and is probably identical with no. A1182.

Instead of a barrel-tang there is a short spur which fits into the wood of the stock immediately behind the breech. A bar projects horizontally from the inner face of the lock-plate across the cavity in the stock. A vertical screw passing through the end of this bar secures the lock to the stock. The hole for the winding-key (spanner), cut in the brass plate on the left side of the stock, is presumably later, since this plate can be pivoted to reveal the key-hole. The small lever behind the trigger acts as a safety-catch by locking the trigger in the forward position. In addition to a compass there is a sundial, but its gnomon is missing.

Hayward, The art of the gunmaker, I, 1962, p. 137; Blair, Pollard's history of firearms, 1983, pl. 41.

According to J. F. Hayward (loc. cit.), Morgues is an old name for Monaco. The Christian name of La Fonteyne is not known. He signed a pair of pistols, bearing the Medici arms, now in the Army Museum, Prague, Fai a Mouges, par La Fonteyne 1642 (Hoff, 1969,1, fig. 91). N. Støckel, I, p. 72, dates him about 1640-60. P. Jarlier considers that 'Mourgues' refers to Morges, a small town in the Canton de Vaud on the lake of Geneva, about 7 miles west of Lausanne (Répertoire, col. 155). Hayward (loc. cit.) suggested that the figures on the stock might represent Christ presented to St. Simeon. This system of lock is the one invented probably in 1634 by Pierre Bergier, clock-maker and inventor of Grenoble (Hayward, op. cit. pp. 135-8). A1183|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, with a short, heavy barrel octagonal at the breech, where it is ornamented with longitudinal reeding, then polygonal. The breech-strap is reeded to within half an inch of the barrel, where a plain panel is interposed and stamped with a maker's mark.

Lock with external wheel, the ring-shaped bearing plate being pierced with a running pattern, the face of the wheel itself decorated with a turned concentric moulding. Plain, steel lock-plate stamped with a maker's mark similar to that on the breech-strap. The cock has a baluster-shaped arm.
Walnut stock of petronel form, ornamented with simple arabesques inlaid in steel. On the left side between the lock-screws there projects a steel ring or eye. The ramrod is missing. On the stock underneath the lock-plate is stamped: F. MARQUIS A PARIS, probably the name of a modern restorer. The stock shows traces of skilful repair.

Italian, about 1610-20.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 101, pI. 28; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 55.
The mark which is found on both lock and barrel is not recorded in N. Støckel. It is cited but not identified by A. Gaibi (1978, p. 46, no. 12). M. Morin has suggested that an external mark on a lock of Italian type may in fact indicate German manufacture. As he shows, many Brescian gunsmiths made use of locks imported from Germany (1979, pp. 80-99, caption to fig. 13). Gaibi ascribes no. A1183 either to Milan or to Brescia (loc. cit., 1962), and dates it 1610-20 (loc. cit., 1978). J. F. Hayward and C. Blair dated it slightly earlier (personal communication, 1963). The name on the stock is recorded by P. Jarlier and identified as a Parisian gun-maker, Francis Marquis, active from about 1835 to 1872, at first at no. 2, and later at no. 4, boulevard des Italiens (Répertoire, col. 186). A1184|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the pair to A1185, the barrel octagonal at the breech and incised with double longitudinal lines, towards the muzzle incised with a chevron pattern, the muzzle and breach finished with a narrow moulding. The upper plane at the breech is inscribed:

GIO . BATT . FRANCINO

Rifling of five grooves.

Lock with external wheel and ring-shaped bearing-plate, the ends chiselled as a bird's head and a female terminal figure. Lock-plate bordered with an engraved pattern of foliage and at the rear end a double-headed eagle. The arm of the gracefully shaped cock is chiselled with acanthus ornament, and its spring with a female terminal figure. On the inner side of the lock-plate are the initials G.A.G.

Stock of walnut, slightly carved at the end of the lock-plate and on the underside, and decorated with inlays of steel flush with the surface and pierced with delicate scrollwork, monsters, etc., in the Brescian manner, with as central motive a single-headed eagle displayed. Steel butt-cap decorated with foliage pierced à jour. Small button chiselled as a pomegranate. Steel trigger-guard chiselled with acanthus leaves and pierced with intricate scrollwork and an eagle. Steel belt hook. Wooden ramrod with steel, baluster-shaped tip. A small portion of the wooden fore-end is missing at the muzzle.
Italian (Brescian), about 1640.

The collection of R. T. Gwynn (dispersed 2001) formerly included a pair of pistols with barrels by Giovanni Battista Francino, which also bears the initials G.A.G. inside the locks, which are signed on the outside by Acqua Fresca. Captain Støckel ascribes them to Giovanni Antonio Gavaccioli, who worked at Brescia, c. 1635-50.

After Lazarino Cominazzo, Giovanni Battista Francino is the next most celebrated gunsmith of Brescia and Gardone. John Evelyn endorses this statement in his diary under the year 1646:

'We came this evening to Brescia which next morning we traverst according to our custom in search of antiquities and new sights. Here I purchased at old Lazarino Cominazzo my fine carbine, which cost me 9 pistoles, and that workman with Jo. Bap. Franco, the best esteemed.'

Mr. S. V. Grancsay, in an account of a pair of flint-lock pistols in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, has listed 19 examples of barrels signed by G. B. Francino. In the Royal Armoury at Turin a fine pair of wheel-lock pistols with barrels by him and locks by Carlo Bottarello of Brescia, bear the dates 1665 and 1666. Other examples of his work are in this Collection (nos. 1186 and 1229); in the Royal Armouries (XII. 732, .733); Musée de l' Armée, Paris (2 guns, 1 pistol); Madrid (K 88-9); Berlin (2 pairs with one lock by C. Bottarello); Metropolitan Museum, New York (snaphaunce pistol, lock by Cavallin); Vienna (snaphaunce gun, No. 168); Moscow; and Mackay Collection, U.S.A.
Other members of the family whose signature is found on barrels are Antonio (Royal Armouries, XII. 872), Alisandro, Annibale, Bartolin, Giocotto, Giovanni Maria and Girolamo Matteo Francino. Alisandro Francino signed the locks of a pair of pistols with barrels by Lazarino Cominazzo in the Swiss National Museum at Zurich.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 105 and pI. 48a; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 108.

A. Gaibi dated these pistols about 1600, and attributed the barrels to Giovanni Battista Francino il Vecchio (1580- about 1646). For a brief history of this family see Gaibi, 'I Franzini', Armi antiche, 1971, pp. 95-116, particularly pp. 102-3. Here the date of birth of G. B. Francino is given as'? 1564'. N. Støckel, I, p. 391, dates him 1579 to his death in 1653. A gun of about 1630 in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. M. 7-1962) has a barrel signed GIO. BATT. FRANCINO, and a lock signed with the initials of Giovanni Antonio Gavacciolo. Many of the weapons cited in the 1962 Catalogue and listed by S. V. Granscay (Art Bulletin, XVIII, pp. 240-6) must have been by G. B. Francino II or III, for example the Turin pistols dated 1665 and 1666 (Armeria Reale, Turin, nos. N41-2, see Bertolotto in Mezzini, 1982, pp. 94-5, figs. 1-6).
Gavacciolo is recorded by N. Støckel, I, p. 424, who gives his dates as about 1635-50. He was apparently a pupil of Battista da Paratico or Paratici (1589-1627). A1185|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the pair to A1184, the barrel octagonal at the breech and incised with double longitudinal lines, towards the muzzle incised with a chevron pattern, the muzzle and breach finished with a narrow moulding. The upper plane at the breech is inscribed:

GIO . BATT . FRANCINO

Rifling of five grooves.

Lock with external wheel and ring-shaped bearing-plate, the ends chiselled as a bird's head and a female terminal figure. Lock-plate bordered with an engraved pattern of foliage and at the rear end a double-headed eagle. The arm of the gracefully shaped cock is chiselled with acanthus ornament, and its spring with a female terminal figure. On the inner side of the lock-plate are the initials G.A.G.

Stock of walnut, slightly carved at the end of the lock-plate and on the underside, and decorated with inlays of steel flush with the surface and pierced with delicate scrollwork, monsters, etc., in the Brescian manner, with as central motive a single-headed eagle displayed. Steel butt-cap decorated with foliage pierced à jour. Small button chiselled as a pomegranate. Steel trigger-guard chiselled with acanthus leaves and pierced with intricate scrollwork and an eagle. Steel belt hook. Wooden ramrod with steel, baluster-shaped tip. A small portion of the wooden fore-end is missing at the muzzle.

Italian (Brescian), about 1640.

The collection of R. T. Gwynn (dispersed 2001) formerly included a pair of pistols with barrels by Giovanni Battista Francino, which also bears the initials G.A.G. inside the locks, which are signed on the outside by Acqua Fresca. Captain Støckel ascribes them to Giovanni Antonio Gavaccioli, who worked at Brescia, c. 1635-50.

After Lazarino Cominazzo, Giovanni Battista Francino is the next most celebrated gunsmith of Brescia and Gardone. John Evelyn endorses this statement in his diary under the year 1646:

'We came this evening to Brescia which next morning we traverst according to our custom in search of antiquities and new sights. Here I purchased at old Lazarino Cominazzo my fine carbine, which cost me 9 pistoles, and that workman with Jo. Bap. Franco, the best esteemed.'

Mr. S. V. Grancsay, in an account of a pair of flint-lock pistols in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, has listed 19 examples of barrels signed by G. B. Francino. In the Royal Armoury at Turin a fine pair of wheel-lock pistols with barrels by him and locks by Carlo Bottarello of Brescia, bear the dates 1665 and 1666. Other examples of his work are in this Collection (nos. 1186 and 1229); in the Royal Armouries (XII. 732, .733); Musée de l' Armée, Paris (2 guns, 1 pistol); Madrid (K 88-9); Berlin (2 pairs with one lock by C. Bottarello); Metropolitan Museum, New York (snaphaunce pistol, lock by Cavallin); Vienna (snaphaunce gun, No. 168); Moscow; and Mackay Collection, U.S.A.
Other members of the family whose signature is found on barrels are Antonio (Royal Armouries, XII. 872), Alisandro, Annibale, Bartolin, Giocotto, Giovanni Maria and Girolamo Matteo Francino. Alisandro Francino signed the locks of a pair of pistols with barrels by Lazarino Cominazzo in the Swiss National Museum at Zurich.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 105 and pI. 48a; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 108.

A. Gaibi dated these pistols about 1600, and attributed the barrels to Giovanni Battista Francino il Vecchio (1580- about 1646). For a brief history of this family see Gaibi, 'I Franzini', Armi antiche, 1971, pp. 95-116, particularly pp. 102-3. Here the date of birth of G. B. Francino is given as'? 1564'. N. Støckel, I, p. 391, dates him 1579 to his death in 1653. A gun of about 1630 in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. M. 7-1962) has a barrel signed GIO. BATT. FRANCINO, and a lock signed with the initials of Giovanni Antonio Gavacciolo. Many of the weapons cited in the 1962 Catalogue and listed by S. V. Granscay (Art Bulletin, XVIII, pp. 240-6) must have been by G. B. Francino II or III, for example the Turin pistols dated 1665 and 1666 (Armeria Reale, Turin, nos. N41-2, see Bertolotto in Mezzini, 1982, pp. 94-5, figs. 1-6).
Gavacciolo is recorded by N. Støckel, I, p. 424, who gives his dates as about 1635-50. He was apparently a pupil of Battista da Paratico or Paratici (1589-1627). A1186|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel octagonal at the breech and fluted, the top plane inscribed with the maker's name:

GIO . BATT . FRANCINO

The rest of the barrel is polygonal in section, finished at breech and muzzle with a narrow moulding. On the underside of the breech is stamped the letter A.

The lock has an external wheel with ring-shaped bearing-plate chiselled with foliage. Lock-plate bordered with leaf ornament; baluster-shaped arm of cock chiselled with acanthus ornament.

Stock of walnut, with flattened butt, the fore-end lightly carved with foliage, decorated with steel inlays finely pierced and engraved with intricate foliage and flowers in the Brescian style. The steel mounts are pierced and chiselled with similar ornament, and the butt-cap has a button formed as a mask. The large, flat trigger is pierced with ornamental foliage. On the underside of the stock in front of the trigger-guard is stamped the name:

Barto Bonfadino

Wooden ramrod with steel tip. There has at one time been a belt hook secured by the rear lock-screw. This has been removed and the holes for attachment filled in.

Italian (Brescian), about 1640.

Provenance: M. Martin, Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1987.

For a note on G. B. Francino, see no. A1184-5. It is rare to find the stock of a pistol signed by the maker and no other example bearing the name of Bartolommeo Bonfadino is known. There is a fine pair of flint-lock pistols in the Walters Art Gallery at Baltimore with barrels by G. B. Francino, locks by Piero Alsa 'in Brescia' and the stocks signed: Gio. Marno in Bresia fece. The barrels of these pistols are also stamped with the letter A. Marno also signed the stocks of a pair of pistols with barrels by Antonio Francino in the Marzoli Collection in Brescia. A snaphaunce gun by G. B. Francino at Vienna is signed on the stock by Bortolo Rosini.

The inscription on the stock is in capital letters, all of one size. On the inside of the lock-plate is struck a circular mark enclosing the letters CR under an open crown.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 105 and pI. 48b; Blair, Pistols of the World, 1968, fig. 78; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 109.

A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) dated no. A1186 about 1620, and attributed the lock to Giovanni Antonio Gavacciolo (see under nos. A1184-5). The lock-maker's mark was discovered in 1967 when Gaibi attributed it to Carlo Rossi (born 1618), a member of an important Brescian gun-making family. He is recorded as a maker of wheel-locks in 1642 (letters of 24 and 30 November 1967). See also Gaibi, op. cit., 1978, p. 46, no. 13, but not identified. In Gaibi's drawing what seems to be a small bird appears in base as a difference. This mark is N. Støckel, II, p. 1087, no. b8157, and is also to be found on a wheel-lock pistol in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (inv. no. 2284; 1980 cat., no. 928); on a pair of wheel-lock pistols at Madrid with barrels by G. B. Francino (Real Armeria, no. K.88-9); and on a wheel-lock carbine in the Museo Civico L. Marzoli, Brescia (inv. no. 798; Rossi and Carpegna, 1969, no. 248).

For Giovanni Battista Francino see under nos. A1184-5. The mark under the barrel is not recorded by N. Støckel. Gaibi later gave the dates of Bartolomeo Bonfadino as 1623-85 (loc. cit., 1978). A1187|1|1|Wheel-Lock pistol, a pair with A1188. The barrel is octagonal at the breech, the rest polygonal, finished at the breech and muzzle with narrow moulding. Inscribed on the top plane at the breech:

LAZARINO COMINAZZO

Lock. Wheel with ring-shaped bearing-plate chiselled with foliage. The cock has a baluster-shaped arm ending in acanthus ornament. Lock-plate flat and free from decoration. On the inner side is stamped a maker's mark.

Stock of dark walnut, slightly carved in places with leaf ornament and with longitudinal ribs along the fore-end, and decorated with steel inlays delicately pierced with intricate foliage and monsters in the Brescian style. The butt-cap, which is pierced en suite with foliage and monsters, has a button chiselled as a grotesque mask. Trigger formed as a dolphin. On the left side is a steel belt hook. Ramrod with chiselled baluster-shaped tip.

Italian (Brescian), about 1640.

A similar mark occurs on the lock of a pistol in the German Historical Museum, Berlin, the barrel of which is also by Lazarino Cominazzo. Also on the locks of a wheel-lock gun at Turin (N 23), and of a pair of pistols with barrels by Lazarino Cominazzo in the Livrustkammeren at Stockholm (inv. no. 20/9).

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 106 and pI. 53B; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 119.

The mark on the lock appears to be the initials GL accompanied by a hand in a plate gauntlet grasping a slipped flower. It is N. Støckel, I, p. 736, no. b2249, dated about 1635. See also Gaibi, op. cit., 1978, p. 47, no. 32, where he attributed this mark tentatively to Cristoforo Lazaroni, 1590 to 1637. It also accurs on a wheel-lock pistol in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (inv. no. 36; Carpegna, 1975, no. 22, with a list of other marked examples). A wheel-lock pistol in the Royal Armouries (no. XII.732) bears this mark, as does a pair of wheel-lock 'Wender' pistols in Stockholm (K. Livrustkammeren, nos. 4719-20), which came from the Keller-Sachovskoj armoury in St. Petersburg. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1978), attributed the barrels to Lazarino Cominazzo il Vecchio (1631 to about 1660). A1188|1|1|Wheel-Lock pistol, a pair with A1187. The barrel is octagonal at the breech, the rest polygonal, finished at the breech and muzzle with narrow moulding. Inscribed on the top plane at the breech:

LAZARINO COMINAZZO

Lock. Wheel with ring-shaped bearing-plate chiselled with foliage. The cock has a baluster-shaped arm ending in acanthus ornament. Lock-plate flat and free from decoration. On the inner side is stamped a maker's mark.

Stock of dark walnut, slightly carved in places with leaf ornament and with longitudinal ribs along the fore-end, and decorated with steel inlays delicately pierced with intricate foliage and monsters in the Brescian style. The butt-cap, which is pierced en suite with foliage and monsters, has a button chiselled as a grotesque mask. Trigger formed as a dolphin. On the left side is a steel belt hook. Ramrod with chiselled baluster-shaped tip.

Italian (Brescian), about 1640.

A similar mark occurs on the lock of a pistol in the German Historical Museum, Berlin, the barrel of which is also by Lazarino Cominazzo. Also on the locks of a wheel-lock gun at Turin (N 23), and of a pair of pistols with barrels by Lazarino Cominazzo in the Livrustkammeren at Stockholm (inv. no. 20/9).

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 106 and pI. 53B; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 119.

The mark on the lock appears to be the initials GL accompanied by a hand in a plate gauntlet grasping a slipped flower. It is N. Støckel, I, p. 736, no. b2249, dated about 1635. See also Gaibi, op. cit., 1978, p. 47, no. 32, where he attributed this mark tentatively to Cristoforo Lazaroni, 1590 to 1637. It also accurs on a wheel-lock pistol in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (inv. no. 36; Carpegna, 1975, no. 22, with a list of other marked examples). A wheel-lock pistol in the Royal Armouries (no. XII.732) bears this mark, as does a pair of wheel-lock 'Wender' pistols in Stockholm (K. Livrustkammeren, nos. 4719-20), which came from the Keller-Sachovskoj armoury in St. Petersburg. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1978), attributed the barrels to Lazarino Cominazzo il Vecchio (1631 to about 1660). A1189|1|1|Wheel-lock pistol, the barrel of blued steel, octagonal at the breech and overlaid in gold with minute arabesques involving a boar hunt and a hero in classical costume.

Lock with external wheel etched with strapwork arabesques in relief on a gilt ground. The decoration is modern. The original lock was probably of the French type to fit the stock. The lock-plate has been severely cut at the rear end. The mechanism has been removed.

Stock of French fashion, with faceted, pear-shaped butt, inlaid with a floral design in stained (green) and engraved antler interspersed with figures of animals, monsters, human heads, and plaques engraved with hunting scenes in the German style. A button (shown in the photograph in L' Art Ancien, 1868) is missing from the end of the butt, and the fore-end has been shortened.

Wooden ramrod tipped with antler engraved en suite. There is no trigger-guard. On the nearside, opposite the lock, is a small curved plate, overlaid with gold arabesques like the barrel. This replaces the bearing-plate for the spindle of the wheel, which would have connected with the original lock.

Barrel, mid-17th century; stock, French early-17th century.

L' Art Ancien, V, 587; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

A pistol with a stock of similar shape and decoration is in the Musée de Cluny, Paris. Another was in the Spitzer Collection (Paris, 1895, no. 355), and has since passed through the Bourgeois (sold Cologne, 1904, lot 1013), Leiden (sold Cologne, 1934, lot 766), and W. R. Hearst collections, and is now in the Royal Armouries (no. XII.1550). From these it is possible to learn the form of barrel and lock with which no. A1189 would originally have been fitted.

The decoration is 19th-century. The hole in the stock for the pin retaining the main-spring has been filled. There are no holes for a trigger-guard.

Exhibited: F. Spitzer is given as the owner in the caption of L' Art Ancien, but it is not identifiable in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

A stock by the same maker on a made-up pistol was sold by Sotheby's 21 December 1967, lot 168. A1191|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1192, the barrel octagonal at the breech then polygonal. At the junction of the breech-strap is a low backsight. The foresight is missing.

Lock. The cock and steel are engraved and chiselled in low relief with foliage, the cock is flat in section and is pierced at the neck in continuation of the engraved decoration. The lock-plate is plain, except at the rear end, and on the lower chamfered edge is inscribed:

ANTONIO VENAZOLO

The tumbler possesses a small pivoted lever or detent (such as is usually found on locks of a far later date).

Stock of walnut decorated with steel inlays, pierced and engraved with intricate foliage, lying flush with the surface. Steel butt-cap chiselled with floral scrolls. Trigger-guard chiselled and pierced, and ramrod pipes pierced and engraved en suite. Wooden ramrod, the steel tip chiselled as a flower. A small ferrule is missing from the opposite end.

Italian (Brescian), about 1650-60.

L' Art Ancien, III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Antonio Venazolo, or Venasolo, worked at Brescia in the second half of the 17th century. He signed the engraved flint-locks of a pair of pistols with barrels by Antonio Francino in the Real Armería at Madrid (K 220-21): Antonio Venasolo in Brescia.

F. Spitzer is given as the owner in the caption of L' art ancien, but A1191-2 are not identifiable in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco 1962, p. 124 and pl. 121c; Hoff, Feuerwaffen, 1969,1, fig. 171; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 328; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, p. 79.

A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) gave the date of birth of Antonio Venezolo as 1622. In 1978 he gave as an alternative form of his name, Venazzoni. He was still alive in 1662 (op. cit., 1978, p. 260).

The signed pistol in Madrid is illustrated in Boccia, Rossi & Morin, 1980, pI. 323. A1192|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1191, the barrel octagonal at the breech then polygonal. At the junction of the breech-strap is a low backsight. A1192 only differs from its companion in that the barrel possesses its brass foresight.

Lock. The cock and steel are engraved and chiselled in low relief with foliage, the cock is flat in section and is pierced at the neck in continuation of the engraved decoration. The lock-plate is plain, except at the rear end, and on the lower chamfered edge is inscribed:

ANTONIO VENAZOLO

The tumbler possesses a small pivoted lever or detent (such as is usually found on locks of a far later date).

Stock of walnut decorated with steel inlays, pierced and engraved with intricate foliage, lying flush with the surface. Steel butt-cap chiselled with floral scrolls. Trigger-guard chiselled and pierced, and ramrod pipes pierced and engraved en suite. Wooden ramrod, the steel tip chiselled as a flower. A small ferrule is missing from the opposite end.

Italian (Brescian), about 1650-60.

L' Art Ancien, III, 368; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Antonio Venazolo, or Venasolo, worked at Brescia in the second half of the 17th century. He signed the engraved flint-locks of a pair of pistols with barrels by Antonio Francino in the Real Armería at Madrid (K 220-21): Antonio Venasolo in Brescia.

F. Spitzer is given as the owner in the caption of L' art ancien, but A1191-2 are not identifiable in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco 1962, p. 124 and pl. 121c; Hoff, Feuerwaffen, 1969,1, fig. 171; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 328; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, p. 79.

A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) gave the date of birth of Antonio Venezolo as 1622. In 1978 he gave as an alternative form of his name, Venazzoni. He was still alive in 1662 (op. cit., 1978, p. 260).

The signed pistol in Madrid is illustrated in Boccia, Rossi & Morin, 1980, pI. 323. A1193|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1194, the barrel fluted at the breech, the rest of its length polygonal, the breech and muzzle finished with narrow mouldings.

Lock. The cock is ring-necked, the comb chiselled and pierced with a design of scrolls and monsters, the flat surface of the neck engraved with foliage. The steel is similarly pierced and engraved. A stop-plate or buffer, affixed to the lock-plate to check the fall of the cock, is engraved and pierced en suite. The lock-plate has no decoration. The mechanism has a sear and a tumbler of flint-lock type, but lacks a half-cock notch.

Stock of walnut with pierced steel inlays in the form of foliated scrollwork. Fluted steel butt-cap. The rear lock-screw also serves to secure a belt hook on the left side. Fluted trigger-guard with acorn finial. Steel fore-end cap roughly engraved. Ramrod pipes pierced with foliage. Ramrod with moulded tip and steel toothed ferrule.

Italian (possibly Brescian), about 1660.

The tumbler operates a long, slender bar which slides to open the pan. An unusual U-shaped sear-spring is mounted above the sear, encircles it, and acts on its underside.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 123 and pI. 121A; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 326; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 72.

According to N. di Carpegna, this form of sear-spring is not recorded in any firearm known with certainty to have been made in Brescia (letter of 19 August 1970). A1194|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1193, the barrel fluted at the breech, the rest of its length polygonal, the breech and muzzle finished with narrow mouldings.

Lock. The cock is ring-necked, the comb chiselled and pierced with a design of scrolls and monsters, the flat surface of the neck engraved with foliage. The steel is similarly pierced and engraved. A stop-plate or buffer, affixed to the lock-plate to check the fall of the cock, is engraved and pierced en suite. The lock-plate has no decoration. The mechanism has a sear and a tumbler of flint-lock type, but lacks a half-cock notch.

Stock of walnut with pierced steel inlays in the form of foliated scrollwork. Fluted steel butt-cap. The rear lock-screw also serves to secure a belt hook on the left side. Fluted trigger-guard with acorn finial. Steel fore-end cap roughly engraved. Ramrod pipes pierced with foliage. Ramrod with moulded tip and steel toothed ferrule.

Italian (possibly Brescian), about 1660.

The tumbler operates a long, slender bar which slides to open the pan. An unusual U-shaped sear-spring is mounted above the sear, encircles it, and acts on its underside.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 123 and pI. 121A; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 326; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 72.

According to N. di Carpegna, this form of sear-spring is not recorded in any firearm known with certainty to have been made in Brescia (letter of 19 August 1970). A1195|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1196. The barrel is octagonal at the breech and incised with longitudinal lines, on the upper plane is inscribed:

LAZARINO COMINAZZO

Lock chiselled in relief with monsters and floral scrolls. The screw for tightening the jaws of the cock has been damaged and shortened.

Walnut stock, slightly carved in low relief round the mounts with ornamental scrollwork. Steel mounts chiselled in relief, with interlacing flowers and foliage, incorporating monsters, en suite with the lock. The rear lock-screw also secures a long steel belt hook on the left side. Wooden ramrod with moulded steel tip.

Italian (Brescian), about 1670.

The Cominazzo family is the most celebrated of the gunsmiths of Brescia. Several of its members bore the name of Lazarino, consequently their pedigree is not easy to disentangle. The founder of the business at Gardone in the Val Trompia, some fifteen miles north of Brescia, where there are iron mines and the firearms industry is still carried on, seems to have been Lazarino Cominazzo, who worked for Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua in 1593, and signed his name Lazari(no) da Gardo(ne) on a receipt in the Archives at Mantua. C. R. Beard states that he died in 1611. John Evelyn mentions in his diary that when he passed through Brescia in 1646 he purchased of 'old Lazarino Cominazzo' his fine carbine which cost him nine pistoles. He possibly represented the second generation, and could hardly be the Lazaro Cominazzo who died in 1680, or the Lazarino Cominazzo who died of a gunshot wound in 1696. These latter may have belonged to the third or fourth generations of the family. Bonaventura Pistofilo in his Oplamachia writes in 1621 of 'le canne dette a tempi d' hora Lazarine fabbricate a Cardone nel Bresciano', and Antonio Petrini, writing in 1642, stated: 'There was also an illustrious man called Lazarin Cominaz, who was one of the greatest masters there has been in any century, on whose barrels there is written as below' (here follows a blank). 'His son signs in like manner, but it is not written in the same way, whilst the father wrote Lazar Cominaz, the son writes Lazarino Comenazzi (sic) and if his are still very good, those of the father were much better forged (tirate), but those of the son are better bored. These Lazarine barrels are greatly renowned all over the world.'

There are in existence many barrels signed ‘Lazari Cominaz’, but it is not safe on Pistofilo's statement to attribute them all to the elder Cominazzo, as the name was widely forged. This is borne out be Isidro Solér, gunsmith of Madrid, in his book, Los Arcobuceros de Madrid, 1795: 'His (Lazari Cominaz) barrels were esteemed in all Europe and still are so, for their surety, but very few are the true ones and owing to the fame which they deserved in his day, numberless are the false ones.' A few barrels are signed Lazaro Lazarino Cominazzo, of which a fine pair is at Stockholm, and one was in the Hermitage, which is now in Cav. Marzoli's collection. Later members of the family were Angelo Lazarino Cominazzo, who in 1698 contracted, together with Girolamo and Bernadino Pedersini, to supply gun-barrels to Vittorio Amadeo II of Savoy. Bartolomeo Cominazzo was working at Gardone and Barghi between 1698 and 1703. He signed the barrel of a pistol at Madrid (K 219) which belonged to the Cardinal Infante Don Fernando. Vincenzo Cominazzo signed pistols at Stockholm (no. 771) and a pair from Schloss Ettersburg, sold by Fischer, Lucerne, 1927. There was possibly another Lazarino Cominazzo who was working early in the 18th century. In 1843, Marco Cominazzi published a book, Cenni sulle fabbriche d' ar medi Gardone in Val Trompia. The family was still in existence when Angelucci, to whose researches most of our knowledge of the family is due, was writing. The line is now extinct.

In Madrid (K 239-40) and in the Wallace Collection (OA2005) are pistols with Oriental mounts, the one dated 1804, the other 1788, with barrels signed: 'Bortolo Cominaz(z)O', but possibly the name in these instances is a forgery. A pair of pistols which belonged to King Charles XI at Stockholm (no. inv. 710) are signed: Gio. Lazarino Cominazzo. The Cominazzo family seems to have been exclusively barrel-makers, and the pistols which bear their name are fitted with locks signed by other makers.

The late Baron de Cosson did not accept Böheim's view (repeated by Gelli) that Lazaro Lazarino, whose signature appears on barrels sometimes as Zaro Zarino, was a member of the Cominazzo family. He held that the name Cominazzo was so famous in the trade that no one entitled to it would willingly have dropped it. For other pistols in this Collection signed by Lazarino Cominazzo, see A1187-8, 1192, 1223-6.

The tumbler operates a long, slender bar which slides to open the pan. The fore-end of A1196 has been replaced.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 127 and pI. 143B; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 389; Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombards, 1980, pI. 337a.
The history of the Cominazzi family of Brescia was discussed at length by A. Gaibi in 1960 in Armi Antiche (pp. 75-124) and subsequently in Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger, IXa, 1962, pp. 5-23.

In 1960 Gaibi attributed the barrels of A1195-6 to Lazarino Gominazzo II who died in 1696 (Armi Antiche, 1960, p. 97). Gaibi (op. cit., 1962, p. 127) attributes the decoration of the stocks of A1195-6 to Francesco Garatto of Brescia, on the grounds of their similarity to a signed pair of pistol stocks in Turin (Armeria Reale, nos. N55-6, Gaibi, op. cit., 1962, pI. 144A, B, and C). See also under A1223-4. Francesco Garatto is documented in the period 1660-80 (Gaibi, op. cit. 1978, p. 250). A1196|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1195. The barrel is octagonal at the breech and incised with longitudinal lines, on the upper plane is inscribed:

LAZARINO COMINAZZO

Lock chiselled in relief with monsters and floral scrolls.

Walnut stock, slightly carved in low relief round the mounts with ornamental scrollwork. Steel mounts chiselled in relief, with interlacing flowers and foliage, incorporating monsters, en suite with the lock. The rear lock-screw also secures a long steel belt hook on the left side. Wooden ramrod with moulded steel tip.

Italian (Brescian), about 1670.

The Cominazzo family is the most celebrated of the gunsmiths of Brescia. Several of its members bore the name of Lazarino, consequently their pedigree is not easy to disentangle. The founder of the business at Gardone in the Val Trompia, some fifteen miles north of Brescia, where there are iron mines and the firearms industry is still carried on, seems to have been Lazarino Cominazzo, who worked for Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua in 1593, and signed his name Lazari(no) da Gardo(ne) on a receipt in the Archives at Mantua. C. R. Beard states that he died in 1611. John Evelyn mentions in his diary that when he passed through Brescia in 1646 he purchased of 'old Lazarino Cominazzo' his fine carbine which cost him nine pistoles. He possibly represented the second generation, and could hardly be the Lazaro Cominazzo who died in 1680, or the Lazarino Cominazzo who died of a gunshot wound in 1696. These latter may have belonged to the third or fourth generations of the family. Bonaventura Pistofilo in his Oplamachia writes in 1621 of 'le canne dette a tempi d' hora Lazarine fabbricate a Cardone nel Bresciano', and Antonio Petrini, writing in 1642, stated: 'There was also an illustrious man called Lazarin Cominaz, who was one of the greatest masters there has been in any century, on whose barrels there is written as below' (here follows a blank). 'His son signs in like manner, but it is not written in the same way, whilst the father wrote Lazar Cominaz, the son writes Lazarino Comenazzi (sic) and if his are still very good, those of the father were much better forged (tirate), but those of the son are better bored. These Lazarine barrels are greatly renowned all over the world.'

There are in existence many barrels signed ‘Lazari Cominaz’, but it is not safe on Pistofilo's statement to attribute them all to the elder Cominazzo, as the name was widely forged. This is borne out be Isidro Solér, gunsmith of Madrid, in his book, Los Arcobuceros de Madrid, 1795: 'His (Lazari Cominaz) barrels were esteemed in all Europe and still are so, for their surety, but very few are the true ones and owing to the fame which they deserved in his day, numberless are the false ones.' A few barrels are signed Lazaro Lazarino Cominazzo, of which a fine pair is at Stockholm, and one was in the Hermitage, which is now in Cav. Marzoli's collection. Later members of the family were Angelo Lazarino Cominazzo, who in 1698 contracted, together with Girolamo and Bernadino Pedersini, to supply gun-barrels to Vittorio Amadeo II of Savoy. Bartolomeo Cominazzo was working at Gardone and Barghi between 1698 and 1703. He signed the barrel of a pistol at Madrid (K 219) which belonged to the Cardinal Infante Don Fernando. Vincenzo Cominazzo signed pistols at Stockholm (no. 771) and a pair from Schloss Ettersburg, sold by Fischer, Lucerne, 1927. There was possibly another Lazarino Cominazzo who was working early in the 18th century. In 1843, Marco Cominazzi published a book, Cenni sulle fabbriche d' ar medi Gardone in Val Trompia. The family was still in existence when Angelucci, to whose researches most of our knowledge of the family is due, was writing. The line is now extinct.

In Madrid (K 239-40) and in the Wallace Collection (OA2005) are pistols with Oriental mounts, the one dated 1804, the other 1788, with barrels signed: 'Bortolo Cominaz(z)O', but possibly the name in these instances is a forgery. A pair of pistols which belonged to King Charles XI at Stockholm (no. inv. 710) are signed: Gio. Lazarino Cominazzo. The Cominazzo family seems to have been exclusively barrel-makers, and the pistols which bear their name are fitted with locks signed by other makers.

The late Baron de Cosson did not accept Böheim's view (repeated by Gelli) that Lazaro Lazarino, whose signature appears on barrels sometimes as Zaro Zarino, was a member of the Cominazzo family. He held that the name Cominazzo was so famous in the trade that no one entitled to it would willingly have dropped it. For other pistols in this Collection signed by Lazarino Cominazzo, see A1187-8, 1192, 1223-6.

The tumbler operates a long, slender bar which slides to open the pan. The fore-end of A1196 has been replaced.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 127 and pI. 143B; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 389; Boccia, Rossi and Morin, Armi e armature Lombards, 1980, pI. 337a.
The history of the Cominazzi family of Brescia was discussed at length by A. Gaibi in 1960 in Armi Antiche (pp. 75-124) and subsequently in Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger, IXa, 1962, pp. 5-23.

In 1960 Gaibi attributed the barrels of A1195-6 to Lazarino Gominazzo II who died in 1696 (Armi Antiche, 1960, p. 97). Gaibi (op. cit., 1962, p. 127) attributes the decoration of the stocks of A1195-6 to Francesco Garatto of Brescia, on the grounds of their similarity to a signed pair of pistol stocks in Turin (Armeria Reale, nos. N55-6, Gaibi, op. cit., 1962, pI. 144A, B, and C). See also under A1223-4. Francesco Garatto is documented in the period 1660-80 (Gaibi, op. cit. 1978, p. 250). A1197|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1198. The barrel of blued steel, octagonal at the breech; on the top plane is a gold stamp crowned and inscribed:

PIS/TO/IA

The breech-strap is of bright steel, the end of the securing-pin being chiselled as a cherub's head.

Lock. Lock-plate chiselled with a human figure ending in foliage at the end of a mask, the breast of the cock with a mask and the end of the securing-pin with a human face, while yet a third mask is chased on the pin securing the arm of the steel. The spring of the last retains some of its original bluing. On the inside of the lock-plate is engraved the name of the maker:

Giuseppe Guardiani Anghiari

On the sear is a date, 1789.

Stock of dark walnut carved with foliage, the mounts of chiselled steel. The butt-cap is terminated by a classical bust. The open-work screw-plate is pierced with foliage and terminal figures, with a portrait medallion in the centre. The rear lock-screw also secures a belt-hook. The scutcheon-plate is formed of a small portrait medallion surmounted by a crown and flanked, as on the screw-plate, by female busts. The trigger-guard is chiselled in the centre with the same laureate portrait bust as before. Ramrod with horn tip, the steel ferrule toothed and pointed.

Italian (Tuscan), about 1789-94.

Anghiari is a small town S.E. of Florence between Arezzo and Borgo San Sepolcro. This pair of pistols belongs to a group of firearms made in Tuscany and Emilia. They are distinguished by the mounts being of a style resembling that of a hundred years before the dates engraved on the locks. There are three examples in the Odescalchi Collection at Rome, dated 1763, 1767, and 1789 on the locks (communicated by Dr. N. di Carpegna). He also cites a pair of pistols signed by Guardini, dated as late as 1819, but in a different style. See also Angelucci in his Catalogo della Armeria Reale at Turin, 1890, p. 425.
If the figures engraved on the mechanism of these pistols represent the date of manufacture, they indicate an unusually late survival of the snaphaunce system. The style and decoration (e.g. the small human heads on the locks) recall the end of the 17th century.

There was a flint-lock gun in the possession of the late Avv. F. Bosi of Florence, with chased lock and steel mounts, the barrel stamped with Pistoia in gold, on the inside of the lock the name Giuseppe Guardini, and on the outside Anghiari. A flint-lock in the Herbert Jackson collection (European Hand Firearms, p. 25, fig. 61) was also signed: Giuseppe Guardiani Anghiari.
Stamps of a very similar kind are found on the barrels of a pair of pistols at Windsor Castle (nos. 469, 470), and on a pistol in the Litchfield Collection (Loan Exhibition, New York, 1931, no. 311).

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, pI. 200A; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 581.
An exhibition of firearms made at Anghiari was arranged by M. Terenzi at Anghiari in 1968 (Mostra delle armi da fuoco Anghiaresi e dell' Appennino Tosco-Emiliano). Nos. 51, 52, 73, 74, 78, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86 and 88 were additional works signed by G. Guardiani. Many others are known.

Apparently there were two men of the same name; the first one was active from 1762 to his death in 1839; the second from 1781 to his death in 1852 (see Terenzi, Gli armaioli Anghiaresi, 1972, pp. 52-3 and 79-90; and N. di Carpegna, J.A.A.S., VIII, no. I, pt. I, II, pp. 2-3). A1198|1|1|Snaphaunce pistol, a pair with A1197. The barrel of blued steel, octagonal at the breech; on the top plane is a gold stamp crowned and inscribed:

PIS/TO/IA

The breech-strap is of bright steel, the end of the securing-pin being chiselled as a cherub's head.

Lock. Lock-plate chiselled with a human figure ending in foliage at the end of a mask, the breast of the cock with a mask and the end of the securing-pin with a human face, while yet a third mask is chased on the pin securing the arm of the steel. The spring of the last retains some of its original bluing. On the inside of the lock-plate is engraved the name of the maker:

Giuseppe Guardiani Anghiari

The year 1794 is engraved inside the lock; the pair to this pistol is dated 1789 on the sear.

Stock of dark walnut carved with foliage, the mounts of chiselled steel. The butt-cap is terminated by a classical bust. The open-work screw-plate is pierced with foliage and terminal figures, with a portrait medallion in the centre. The rear lock-screw also secures a belt-hook. The scutcheon-plate is formed of a small portrait medallion surmounted by a crown and flanked, as on the screw-plate, by female busts. The trigger-guard is chiselled in the centre with the same laureate portrait bust as before. Ramrod with horn tip, the steel ferrule toothed and pointed.

Italian (Tuscan), about 1789-94.

Anghiari is a small town S.E. of Florence between Arezzo and Borgo San Sepolcro. This pair of pistols belongs to a group of firearms made in Tuscany and Emilia. They are distinguished by the mounts being of a style resembling that of a hundred years before the dates engraved on the locks. There are three examples in the Odescalchi Collection at Rome, dated 1763, 1767, and 1789 on the locks (communicated by Dr. N. di Carpegna). He also cites a pair of pistols signed by Guardini, dated as late as 1819, but in a different style. See also Angelucci in his Catalogo della Armeria Reale at Turin, 1890, p. 425.
If the figures engraved on the mechanism of these pistols represent the date of manufacture, they indicate an unusually late survival of the snaphaunce system. The style and decoration (e.g. the small human heads on the locks) recall the end of the 17th century.

There was a flint-lock gun in the possession of the late Avv. F. Bosi of Florence, with chased lock and steel mounts, the barrel stamped with Pistoia in gold, on the inside of the lock the name Giuseppe Guardini, and on the outside Anghiari. A flint-lock in the Herbert Jackson collection (European Hand Firearms, p. 25, fig. 61) was also signed: Giuseppe Guardiani Anghiari.
Stamps of a very similar kind are found on the barrels of a pair of pistols at Windsor Castle (nos. 469, 470), and on a pistol in the Litchfield Collection (Loan Exhibition, New York, 1931, no. 311).

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, pI. 200A; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 581.
An exhibition of firearms made at Anghiari was arranged by M. Terenzi at Anghiari in 1968 (Mostra delle armi da fuoco Anghiaresi e dell' Appennino Tosco-Emiliano). Nos. 51, 52, 73, 74, 78, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86 and 88 were additional works signed by G. Guardiani. Many others are known.

Apparently there were two men of the same name; the first one was active from 1762 to his death in 1839; the second from 1781 to his death in 1852 (see Terenzi, Gli armaioli Anghiaresi, 1972, pp. 52-3 and 79-90; and N. di Carpegna, J.A.A.S., VIII, no. I, pt. I, II, pp. 2-3). A1201|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1202. The barrel of round section, decorated at the breech with a panel containing a figure of Mars; above are winged monsters, garlands and captives chiselled in low relief on a gilt ground. Towards the muzzle is a flattened rib inscribed:

ERTTEL A DRESDE

Double vents. The barrels have been shortened for use at a later date in the 18th century. As originally made they were long holster pistols.
Lock. The cock is chiselled with a figure of Victory, and on the comb a grotesque mask. On the steel is a representation of the Rape of Ganymede above a mask. The lock-plate is decorated with engraving only, consisting of allegorical figures and trophies. By the base of the pan is engraved the maker's name:

ERTTEL . A . DRESDA (sic)

Stock of walnut, carved in low relief at the fore-end with scrolled foliage and inlaid with silver wire and small, silver plaques shaped and engraved as birds and grotesque figures. One of these between the scutcheon-plate and the butt takes the form of a symbolical female figure between shields bearing the arms of Saxony. The steel mounts are ornamented with chiselling in low relief on a gilt ground. In the centre of the butt-cap is a grotesque mask, and on the sides satyrs, masks and foliated scrollwork. The openwork screw-plate is chiselled and pierced with a warrior and a captive among trophies. On the escutcheon-plate is a classical head in profile surrounded by trophied weapons with captives below. The trigger-guard is chiselled with a mask and scrollwork finial, and the ramrod pipes have turned mouldings. Horn fore-end cap. The ramrod of mahogany has a tip of walnut capped with steel, and at the opposite end a steel worm.

German (Saxon), about 1730.

L' Art Ancien, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Erttel, Ertel or Oertel was the name of a family of Saxon gunsmiths in the latter part of the 17th and first half of the 18th century. Andreas Erttel of Bleusingen-bei-Eger was admitted in 1692 a burgher of Dresden. Johann Andreas Erttel (1689-1764) was on the staff of the electoral armoury at Dresden. Johann Georg Erttel (1700-1763) gunsmith and citizen of Dresden, moved to Amsterdam where he was admitted a citizen and member of the guild in 1753. Numerous guns and pistols with their names are at Dresden and elsewhere. There is a pair of flint-lock guns with locks signed: Erttel a Dresde, and barrels signed and dated: Johann Fischer in Meresberg, 1718, at Dresden (nos. 913, 914); a pair of flint-lock pistols with locks signed: Ertel a Dresde, is at Schwarzburg (nos. 1302-3). Pichler records a gunmaker at Lietzen, in 1571, named Michael Ertl (cf. lock of no. A1112).

The lock has no external bridle. The side-screws fit into sleeves. A rim on the underside of the pan-cover fits into a groove all round the edge of the pan to form a water-tight closure.

The arms on the small of the butt include those of the Arch-Marshalship of the Empire.

The fore-ends have been shortened.

Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 30.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1988 (Nieuwerkerke).

For the Ertell family see N. Støckel, I, pp. 345-6. The Johann Georg Ertell who worked in Amsterdam and was still alive in 1791 was apparently not the man of the same name who worked in Dresden. A1202|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1201. The barrel of round section. A1202 differs from A1201 in that the figure on the barrel is that of Hercules. Apart from this there are only a few minor variations in details of ornament, chiselled in low relief on a gilt ground. Towards the muzzle is a flattened rib inscribed:

ERTTEL A DRESDE

Double vents. The barrels have been shortened for use at a later date in the 18th century. As originally made they were long holster pistols.
Lock. The cock is chiselled with a figure of Victory, and on the comb a grotesque mask. On the steel is a representation of the Rape of Ganymede above a mask. The lock-plate is decorated with engraving only, consisting of allegorical figures and trophies. By the base of the pan is engraved the maker's name:

ERTTEL . A . DRESDA (sic)

Stock of walnut, carved in low relief at the fore-end with scrolled foliage and inlaid with silver wire and small, silver plaques shaped and engraved as birds and grotesque figures. One of these between the scutcheon-plate and the butt takes the form of a symbolical female figure between shields bearing the arms of Saxony. The steel mounts are ornamented with chiselling in low relief on a gilt ground. In the centre of the butt-cap is a grotesque mask, and on the sides satyrs, masks and foliated scrollwork. The openwork screw-plate is chiselled and pierced with a warrior and a captive among trophies. On the escutcheon-plate is a classical head in profile surrounded by trophied weapons with captives below. The trigger-guard is chiselled with a mask and scrollwork finial, and the ramrod pipes have turned mouldings. Horn fore-end cap. The ramrod of mahogany has a tip of walnut capped with steel, and at the opposite end a steel worm.

German (Saxon), about 1730.

L' Art Ancien, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Erttel, Ertel or Oertel was the name of a family of Saxon gunsmiths in the latter part of the 17th and first half of the 18th century. Andreas Erttel of Bleusingen-bei-Eger was admitted in 1692 a burgher of Dresden. Johann Andreas Erttel (1689-1764) was on the staff of the electoral armoury at Dresden. Johann Georg Erttel (1700-1763) gunsmith and citizen of Dresden, moved to Amsterdam where he was admitted a citizen and member of the guild in 1753. Numerous guns and pistols with their names are at Dresden and elsewhere. There is a pair of flint-lock guns with locks signed: Erttel a Dresde, and barrels signed and dated: Johann Fischer in Meresberg, 1718, at Dresden (nos. 913, 914); a pair of flint-lock pistols with locks signed: Ertel a Dresde, is at Schwarzburg (nos. 1302-3). Pichler records a gunmaker at Lietzen, in 1571, named Michael Ertl (cf. lock of no. A1112).

The lock has no external bridle. The side-screws fit into sleeves. A rim on the underside of the pan-cover fits into a groove all round the edge of the pan to form a water-tight closure.

The arms on the small of the butt include those of the Arch-Marshalship of the Empire.

The fore-ends have been shortened.

Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 30.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1988 (Nieuwerkerke).

For the Ertell family see N. Støckel, I, pp. 345-6. The Johann Georg Ertell who worked in Amsterdam and was still alive in 1791 was apparently not the man of the same name who worked in Dresden. A1203|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1204. The barrel is of round section, blued and gilt. At the breech it is chiselled with ornament in low relief, including a portrait bust of Augustus II, King of Saxony, within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown inlaid in gold, and two oval shields also in gold bearing the interlaced cipher A E and the arms of Saxony. The ground is matt gold. A raised rib runs towards the muzzle chiselled with foliage and carrying at the end a silver foresight. At the muzzle is a reserve of chiselled rococo scrollwork on a gold ground. The vent is faced with a gold disk. Inserted in the barrel is a tompion covered with purple velvet terminated by a gilt copper knob.

Lock. The lock-plate is chiselled with a stag-hunt in low relief the cock and the steel with rococo ornament, with a bust of Diana in the centre of the latter. The chiselled decoration is here of bright steel, the ground work matt gold. The screw-heads and pan-cover spring have originally been blued.

Stock of walnut delicately carved with a shell design at each end of the screw and lock-plates, and inlaid with oval buttons of yellow stained ivory and a profusion of small gold quatrefoils of varying size. Near the breech-strap, butt-cap, trigger-guard finial, and on either side of the fore-end are bands of scrollwork inlaid in silver gilt. Mounts of steel delicately chiselled with deer and hunting scenes framed in rococo ornament. The escutcheon-plate is of silver gilt and takes the form of an oval shield bearing the interlaced cipher A E D (Augustus Elector Dux?) inlaid in gold. Steel fore-end cap decorated en suite, and wooden ramrod with steel tip.

German (Saxon), about 1750; probably by J. C. Stockmar.

Provenance: the Elector of Saxony; Demidoff, Prince of San Donato, sold Paris, April 1870, lot 660, purchased for Lord Hertford for 2,300 fr.

These beautiful pistols belong to the set of which the guns and rifle are described under Nos. A1119-20 (q.v.), and like them are probably by J. C. Stockmar. The style of decoration is reminiscent of the designs of de Marteaux, published in Paris in 1743 and 1749 (Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pl. 130). There is a similar pair of pistols in the Halwyll Collection at Stockholm, and compare a pair at Windsor Castle (nos. 486-7), but in this case the companion gun is signed by Johann Georg Weiss. Compare also the pair of Saxon royal pistols in the Nieuwerkerke Collection, exhibited at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1988.

The lock has no external bridle. The side-screws fit into sleeves on the inside of the lock-plate. The monogram on the stock stands for Ernst Augustus Dux (E. Henniger, letter of 6 September 1963).

Provenance: Duke Ernst Augustus I or II of Saxe-Weimar.

Hayward, Art of the Gun-maker, II, 1963, p. 343, pI. 74. Since the monogram on A1203-4 differs from that on A1119, and since the decoration is also not entirely similar, they are unlikely to belong to the same garniture. For a note on this group, see A1119.

The Saxon royal pistols exhibited by Nieuwerkerke in the Musée Rétrospectif 1865 were presumably A1201-2. A1204|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1205. The barrel is of round section, blued and gilt. At the breech it is chiselled with ornament in low relief, including a portrait bust of Augustus II, King of Saxony, within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown inlaid in gold, and two oval shields also in gold bearing the interlaced cipher A E and the arms of Saxony. The ground is matt gold. A raised rib runs towards the muzzle chiselled with foliage and carrying at the end a silver foresight. At the muzzle is a reserve of chiselled rococo scrollwork on a gold ground. The vent is faced with a gold disk. Inserted in the barrel is a tompion covered with purple velvet terminated by a gilt copper knob.

Lock. The lock-plate is chiselled with a stag-hunt in low relief the cock and the steel with rococo ornament, with a bust of Diana in the centre of the latter. The chiselled decoration is here of bright steel, the ground work matt gold. The screw-heads and pan-cover spring have originally been blued.

Stock of walnut delicately carved with a shell design at each end of the screw and lock-plates, and inlaid with oval buttons of yellow stained ivory and a profusion of small gold quatrefoils of varying size. Near the breech-strap, butt-cap, trigger-guard finial, and on either side of the fore-end are bands of scrollwork inlaid in silver gilt. Mounts of steel delicately chiselled with deer and hunting scenes framed in rococo ornament. The escutcheon-plate is of silver gilt and takes the form of an oval shield bearing the interlaced cipher A E D (Augustus Elector Dux?) inlaid in gold. Steel fore-end cap decorated en suite, and wooden ramrod with steel tip.

German (Saxon), about 1750; probably by J. C. Stockmar.

Provenance: the Elector of Saxony; Demidoff, Prince of San Donato, sold Paris, April 1870, lot 660, purchased for Lord Hertford for 2,300 fr.

These beautiful pistols belong to the set of which the guns and rifle are described under Nos. A1119-20 (q.v.), and like them are probably by J. C. Stockmar. The style of decoration is reminiscent of the designs of de Marteaux, published in Paris in 1743 and 1749 (Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pl. 130). There is a similar pair of pistols in the Halwyll Collection at Stockholm, and compare a pair at Windsor Castle (nos. 486-7), but in this case the companion gun is signed by Johann Georg Weiss. Compare also the pair of Saxon royal pistols in the Nieuwerkerke Collection, exhibited at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1988.

The lock has no external bridle. The side-screws fit into sleeves on the inside of the lock-plate. The monogram on the stock stands for Ernst Augustus Dux (E. Henniger, letter of 6 September 1963).

Provenance: Duke Ernst Augustus I or II of Saxe-Weimar.

Hayward, Art of the Gun-maker, II, 1963, p. 343, pI. 74. Since the monogram on A1203-4 differs from that on A1119, and since the decoration is also not entirely similar, they are unlikely to belong to the same garniture. For a note on this group, see A1119.

The Saxon royal pistols exhibited by Nieuwerkerke in the Musée Rétrospectif 1865 were presumably A1201-2. A1205|1|1|Rifled flint-lock pistol, the barrel of round section, blued and inlaid with scrollwork in silver. The flattened top rib carries a silver foresight and is inlaid in silver with the name of the maker:

I. ANDREAS KUCHENREUTER

Breech-strap of bright steel carrying a backsight with two folding leaves, one of which is engraved with the letter K, while on the breech-strap itself is the letter I. Multiple grooved rifling. At the breech end of the top rib is the maker's gold stamp, and on the left side the proof mark of Liège.

Lock of plain bright steel, engraved:

I. CHRI.
KUCHENREITER

Walnut stock carved with foliage round the breech-strap and ramrod socket. Horn fore-end cap. Brass mounts. Hair-trigger. Wooden ramrod with horn tip.

German, about 1750.

Johann Andreas Kuchenreuter (1716-1795), was a member of a family of gunmakers of Regensburg in Bavaria, famous throughout the 18th century, and still carrying on the business today. Johann Christoph, the maker of the lock, was the father of Johann Andreas, and died in 1742. The lock may therefore be a few years earlier than the rest of the pistol.

The pair to A1205 was stolen from the Collection in 1923, together with the dagger and sheath A806.

The barrels have fine hair rifling. The letter 'I' on the breech strap is more likely to be a figure 1. The lock has an internal bridle and a detent, but no external bridle for the pan-cover.

The barrel-maker's mark is identified by N. Støckel, I, p. 650, no. a 635, as that of Johann Andreas Kuchenreuter II of Steinweg bei Regensburg in Bavaria (1758-1808), second son of Johann Andreas I. He was court gunmaker to the Princes of Thurn and Taxis in succession to his father, and was succeeded in this post by his son Johann Adam (1794-1869). A pair of double-barrelled pistols made for a member of the Thurn and Taxis family was sold at Christie's, 18 November 1981, lot 129, repr. in cat. The lock of A1205 is apparently by Johann Christoph II (1755-1818), the brother of the barrel-maker. A1206|1|1|Tinder lighter, in the form of a flint-lock pistol. The barrel is divided longitudinally into two halves; the upper, which is of russeted and watered steel, is inlaid with gold strapwork ornament with a figure of Diana near the breech; the lower half is of gilt brass. On pressing the trigger the upper half opens on a hinge on the left side allowing a corkscrew taper-holder, engraved to resemble a serpent, to spring into position.

The lock is of russet watered steel; the lock-plate is overlaid in gold and engraved with hunting scenes and inlaid in gold with the name of the maker:

FELIX MEIER IN WIENN

The cock and steel are similarly ornamented with gold strapwork.

The stock of burr walnut is carved in low relief with interlacing foliage by the breech-strap and on the fore-end. The mounts are of gilt brass; the butt-cap is chased with strapwork and female masks and has on the end a trap with a hinged cover. The openwork screw-plate is chased and pierced with two hounds pursuing a hare among strapwork. Pressure on the trigger serves also to release a forked rest which enables the instrument to stand on a table. When not in use this rest folds back flush with the underside of the stock. Both rest and trigger-guard are chiselled with strapwork like the butt-cap.

Viennese, about 1730.

L' Art Ancien, I, 112 and 587; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865; L' Art pour Tous, 1866, no. 156.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

Felix Meier worked in Vienna at the end of the 17th and in the first half of the 18th century, and was one of the best gunsmiths of his day. This beautiful little instrument is typical of his work. A tinder lighter by him with similar mechanism was exhibited in the Barking Museum, Eastbury Manor, in 1938, and one was sold at Christie's on 25 April, 1961, lot 235, 'the property of an American collector'. There are a pair of pistols and two pairs of guns by Meier at Vienna, one of which is dated 1740 (Grosz and Thomas, Führer, pp. 234 and 241); a flint-lock gun by him bearing the arms of England in the Musée de l' Armée (no. M 561); a pair of pistols at Turin (no. N 57-8), which belonged to Prince Eugene; and a pair of pistols at Stockholm (no. 855), which are signed on the barrels in the same way as A1206, and have his name on the locks as well. He is also represented in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum at Munich (M 89). A gun in the Gewehrkammer there (M 88) bears the signature, Keiser und Meier.

The cork-screw-like holder was intended for a sulphur-spill. The long aperture under the butt-trap was presumably to hold such a spill. The lock has no external bridle for the pan-cover.

Exhibited: Musée Rétrospectif; 1865, no. 2007 (F. Spitzer).

L' art pour tous, 1866, no. 156, fig. 1485.

Felix Meier was born in Wangen in the Allgäu about 1672. He came to Vienna in 1699 and was received as a Master in the Gunmakers' Guild there in 1702. His mark was a phoenix (N. Støckel, II, p. 788, nos. a 7891 and a 7823), but he also used his name struck in a crowned rectangle in the Spanish fashion (N. Støckel, loc. cit.. no. a 7890). He married in 1702 Anna Barbara, daughter of the gunmaker Georg Keiser, with whom he seems to have co-operated on at least one occasion. He died at Freysingerhof in 1739. He was famous for his watered steel barrels. This lighter is fully automatic; the charge lights the spill as the top of the barrel opens. A1207|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1208. The barrel is octagonal at the breech, changing to polygonal, the rest round. The surface is brilliantly blued and is overlaid with gold arabesques at the breech, muzzle and at the beginning of the round-section area. On the top plane of the octagonal portion is inlaid the signature in gold:

Le Conte

On the underside at the breech end are three small marks.

Lock. Lock-plate engraved with a bird amid flowers and foliage, on a hatched ground, the rear end of the plate chiselled with a boar's head, gilt, the rest of the plate being of bright steel. Ring-necked cock of flat section engraved like the lock-plate with flowers; the head of the pin is chiselled as a lion's mask and gilt. The upper jaw and screw are missing, and the comb has been broken away. Pan-cover and steel quite plain and free from engraving, the head of the securing screw is gilt, as is the end of the steel spring which is pierced with foliage. The lock mechanism has a sear of the type found in snaphaunces and early flint-locks.

Stock of ebony inlaid with fine corded lines of silver wire. Flattened butt with butt-cap of gilt brass pierced and engraved with a design of flowers backed with a foil of blued steel. Gilt brass trigger-guard, pierced with a panel of flowers backed like the butt-cap with blued steel. Trigger shaped as a dolphin. Single, gilt-brass ramrod pipe pierced with a floral design. Screw-plate on the left side of gilt copper shaped and engraved as a dolphin. Gilt-brass fore-end cap engraved with flowers. Ebony ramrod with polygonal tip of brass, formerly gilt, and steel worm.

French, Paris, about 1660.

Provenance: H. Courant (receipted bill, 20 September, 1866, Une paire de pistolets noir et encrustée d'or, 1,400 fr.); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

These pistols are of the finest workmanship throughout. Le Conte signed the flint-locks: Le Conte à Paris of a fine double-barrelled gun with decoration by Jean Berain of Charles XI, King of Sweden, in the Kungl. Livrustkammer at Stockholm (no. 704). A pair of pistols signed: L. LeComte, were in the Brett sale (1895, lot 227), and another pair (perhaps the same) at Christie's, 8 August, 1917, lot 45, which may have been by a later member of the same family.

The engraving of the locks, and possibly the mounts, of A1207-8 is from a pattern engraved by Philippe Cordier Daubigny (fl. 1635-1665), and is probably the work of his brother, Isaac Cordier. A pair of pistols with almost exactly similar locks, once in the collection of M. Pauilhac, are signed: Cordier fecit, on the locks, and Isaac Cordier à Fontenay, on the barrels (Post, Z.H.W.K., XIV, 54; these pistols are now in the Musée de l' Armée, no. M.Po.819; Reverseau, Musée de I' Armée, 1982, p. 108, fig. 27). There is also a pair of wheel-lock pistols signed in the same way at Berlin (Post, Z.H.W.K., XIII, 235; illustrated by Müller in Guns, Pistols and Revolvers, 1981, pls. 52-4). Compare also a pair of wheel-lock pistols at Vienna (Böheim, Album I, pl. XXXII, 5, 5a).

The sear pivots horizontally but does not pass through the lock-plate. There is no external bridle on the lock.

Hayward, Art of the gunmaker, 1, 1962, pp. 148 and 293, pls. 49a and 51a;
Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 23.

J. F. Hayward (op. cit., p. 293) suggested that the engraving was probably carried out by Isaac Cordier, a native of Aubigny-en-Artois, Pas de Calais, who worked at Fontenay, after a design by his brother, Philippe Cordier Daubigny. The latter produced a series of designs for guns dated between 1634 and 1637 (Grancsay, Master French gunsmiths' designs, 1950, pls. 70-1). Hayward dates these pistols about 1660. N. Støckel, I, p. 244, suggests that the Fontenay in question could be Fontenay-le-Comte, in Vendée. A1209|1|1|Pair (with A1210) of flint-lock pistols. The barrel is octagonal at the breech, polygonal for a distance of two inches, and the remainder of round section. The surface is blued, powdered with gold fleurs-de-lys. At the breech is a representation in gold of Hercules in combat with the Nemean lion engraved and overlaid in gold, while at the beginning of the round section Hercules is depicted triumphant over the lion's dead body. Above the head of Hercules in each case is a royal crown. The lion's skin is again festooned round the muzzle. Introduced among the fleurs-de-lys is an inscription overlaid in gold:

Belgicus ecce Leo Gallorum Alcide Subactus
Gerionæ Hispano tristia fata parat
Sunt nobis Lilia cordi

('Behold the Belgic lion overpowered by the Alcides of the Gauls presages disaster for the Spanish Geryon. The lilies are dear to our heart'.)

Lock of bright steel. The lock-plate engraved with Hercules (Alcides) wrestling with the Nemean lion, and at the end of the plate with a trophy of arms, a bow and two clubs.

Stock of dark walnut, its entire surface carved in bold relief. The butt is composed of the figures of Hercules and the lion, and the subject is four times repeated. Further forward, between the trigger-guard and the ramrod socket is Samson slaughtering the Philistines. On the fore-end are lions' masks and draped lions' skins. The trigger-guard of blued steel is overlaid in gold with fleurs-de-lys and crossed clubs. Single ramrod pipe overlaid with parallel gold lines. Wooden ramrod with a steel cap with three gold fleurs-de-lys overlaid on the end.

A1210 differs from A1209 in the following particulars.

The gold decoration at the breech of the barrel shows Hercules skinning the Lion, and midway along the barrel, wearing the skin. The inscription reads:

Ut pellem Alcides devicti insigne Leonis
Sic Ludovicus ouans (sic) Belgica signa gerit
Sunt nobis Lilia cordi

('As Alcides sports the conquered lion's skin, so does Louis flaunt in triumph the Belgic triophies. The lilies are dear to our heart'.)

The engraving on the lock-plate repeats the subject of Hercules skinning the Lion. The carved decoration of the stock is the same as that of the companion pistol.

French, about 1660.

Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pl. 50.

There is no bridle either inside or outside the lock. There is no side-plate. The side nails pierce the lock-plate. The fact that the trigger of A1210 is marked 'III' seems to suggest that the garniture originally included a third gun, presumably a fowling-piece. Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, I, pp. 150 and 293, pI. 50.

These fine pistols were certainly made for King Louis XIV. The inscriptions on the barrels have previously been interpeted as referring to the conquest of the Spanish Netherlands in 1667-8 by a French army commanded by Turenne and the king in person, and M. Genissieux has suggested that they were a gift from the city of Lille to the king to commemorate its annexation to France. This would seem to be alluded to by a play upon the words Lille and Lilia. They bear no marks, as is often the case with works of art made for royalty.

Alternatively, T. Lenk has suggested that these pistols were made to commemorate the capture of Dunkirk in 1658 and the Treaty of Paris in 1659, which fits the date of the weapons much better (Flintlåset, 1939, p. 70). A1210|1|1|This extraordinary pair of pistols was made for the personal use of King Louis XIV of France. They are of the very highest quality, in keeping with the supreme status of their royal owner. The fine, faceted barrels are heat-blued and richly overlaid in gold, their whole lengths being powdered with the fleur-de-lys, one of the devices of the French crown. The stocks, of dark walnut, are entirely carved in high relief with, at the butts, depictions of Hercules fighting the Nemean Lion and, near the muzzles, Samson slaughtering the Philistines. The theme of Hercules’ combat with the Lion is echoed elsewhere in the weapons’ decoration through the use of lions’ skins, lion masks and clubs. Various stages of the combat itself are also depicted on the barrels.

Each pistol also bears an inscription presenting Hercules as a personification of France, while the combat with the Lion becomes a metaphor referring to one of Louis’ campaigns in the Spanish Netherlands:

(1)
Belgicus ecce Leo Gallorum Alcide Subactus
Gerionae Hispano tristia fata parat
Sunt nobis Lilia cordi

(‘Behold the Belgic lion overpowered by the Alcides of the Gauls presages disaster for the Spanish Geryon. The lilies are dear to our heart’)

Here a victory in the Spanish Netherlands (the Belgic lion) is presented allegorically as the precursor to a greater political victory over Spain. In ancient Greek mythology, Geryon was a multi-limbed, multi-headed giant (a fitting description of Spain in the mid-seventeenth century) killed by Hercules (also called Alcides) as part of his Tenth Labour.

(2)
Ut pellum Alcides devicti insigne Leonis
Sic Ludovicus ouans Belgica signa gerit
Sunt nobis Lilia cordi

(‘As Alcides sports the conquered lion’s skin, so does Louis flaunt in triumph the Belgic trophies. The lilies are dear to our heart’)

Their war-like decorative scheme and inscriptions clearly indicate that this pair of pistols was made to commemorate a French military and political victory. It has been suggested that this was related to Louis’ conquest of the Spanish Netherlands in 1667-8, but this does not equate well with the earlier style of the pistols, nor does it agree with the specific content of the inscriptions. Louis had adopted his famous ‘sun in splendour’ device by 1662, after which point it would have been unthinkable for his personal weapons not to employ that emblem.

It is much more likely therefore that the pistols were made between 1659 and 1660, as a celebration of the French victory over the Spanish at the Battle of the Dunes (also called the Battle of Dunkirk) in 1658 (‘the Belgic lion overpowered’). This was followed by the Treaty of the Pyrenees (‘disaster for the Spanish Geryon’) in 1659, which fixed the Franco-Spanish border at this range of mountains and as part of which Spain ceded parts of Luxembourg and Flanders to Louis (the ‘Belgic trophies’).

Although these remarkable pistols are clearly of the very highest quality, the artists who created them remain unidentified. Guns and other works of art made for royalty were usually unsigned, so it is not surprising that these weapons have been left entirely devoid of makers’ marks. A1211|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1212. The barrel octagonal at the breech for a short distance, then polygonal and fluted, and for the rest of its length of round section. A raised rib on the top of the round portion carries a silver foresight.The surface has been blued and overlaid in gold at the breech with a figure of Hercules under a canopy, flanked by small nude figures holding palm branches. Overlaid at the muzzle with a foliated mask and a guilloche pattern in gold along the sighting rib. The breech-strap is of bright steel, finely engraved with a caryatid figure. On the underside of the barrel there is a maker's mark.

Lock. The cock is lightly ornamented with foliage chiselled in low relief. Similar decoration on the back of the steel or cover. Lock-plate engraved with St. George and the Dragon and another horseman, and inscribed:

TANGVY APARIS

Stock of burr walnut, carved at the breech-strap and ramrod socket with foliage and monsters.

Mounts of silver. The sides of the butt-cap chased in relief with masks, scrolls and garlands on a matt ground, with further decoration engraved on the intervening spaces. On a end of the butt-cap is a steel medallion chiselled with a grotesque mask. Silver screw-plate pierced and chased with openwork foliage, and scutcheon-plate bordered with similar ornament. The trigger-guard is chased in the centre with a mask in relief. The ramrod pipes have sharply turned mouldings. Mahogany ramrod with walnut tip capped with steel.

French, about 1680.

There is a similar mark on the barrels of two guns in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen (Kong. Partikular Rüstkammer, nos. 32 (B 991) and 47 (B 989)).

The locks have a bridle on their tumblers, but none for their pan-covers. There are stops both on the tumblers and on the shoulder of the cocks. The side-screws fit into sleeves on the inner side of the lock-plate.

A1212 differs from A1211 in the details of its decoration, including having a figure in Roman armour (Mars?) in place of Hercules. Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 326, pl. 5; Kennard, French Pistols and Sporting Guns, 1972, p. 2.

The barrel-maker's mark is not recorded in N. Støckel. Nothing appears to be known about Tanguay. A1212|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1211. The barrel octagonal at the breech for a short distance, then polygonal and fluted, and for the rest of its length of round section. A raised rib on the top of the round portion carries a silver foresight.The surface has been blued and overlaid in gold at the breech with a figure of Hercules under a canopy, flanked by small nude figures holding palm branches. Overlaid at the muzzle with a foliated mask and a guilloche pattern in gold along the sighting rib. The breech-strap is of bright steel, finely engraved with a caryatid figure. On the underside of the barrel there is a maker's mark.

Lock. The cock is lightly ornamented with foliage chiselled in low relief. Similar decoration on the back of the steel or cover. Lock-plate engraved with St. George and the Dragon and another horseman, and inscribed:

TANGVY APARIS

Stock of burr walnut, carved at the breech-strap and ramrod socket with foliage and monsters.

Mounts of silver. The sides of the butt-cap chased in relief with masks, scrolls and garlands on a matt ground, with further decoration engraved on the intervening spaces. On a end of the butt-cap is a steel medallion chiselled with a grotesque mask. Silver screw-plate pierced and chased with openwork foliage, and scutcheon-plate bordered with similar ornament. The trigger-guard is chased in the centre with a mask in relief. The ramrod pipes have sharply turned mouldings. Mahogany ramrod with walnut tip capped with steel.

French, about 1680.

There is a similar mark on the barrels of two guns in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen (Kong. Partikular Rüstkammer, nos. 32 (B 991) and 47 (B 989)).

The locks have a bridle on their tumblers, but none for their pan-covers. There are stops both on the tumblers and on the shoulder of the cocks. The side-screws fit into sleeves on the inner side of the lock-plate.

A1212 differs from A1211 in the details of its decoration, including having a figure in Roman armour (Mars?) in place of Hercules. Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 326, pl. 5; Kennard, French Pistols and Sporting Guns, 1972, p. 2.

The barrel-maker's mark is not recorded in N. Støckel. Nothing appears to be known about Tanguay. A1213|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1214. The barrel is octagonal at the breech changing to round section, the surface blued. The top plane carries a silver foresight and is inscribed in gold damascening:

MAZELLIER APARIS

With overlaid gold decoration at the breech. The breech-strap is of bright steel, partly engraved. The muzzle is finished with an applied silver moulding. On the underside of the barrel is stamped:

MOИMARRIИ

together with a partially obliterated mark.

Lock. The lock-plate and cock are engraved with rococo ornament. The steel is chiselled with a grotesque mask, and the tail of the pan-cover is formed as a dolphin. The lock has a bridle on its tumbler but no bridle for the pan-cover. The side-screws fit into sleeves inside the lock-plate and do not pierce the plate. There are small eagle-head marks on the trigger-guard, apparently the restricted warranty marks used for 1838 to 1846, indicating that these pistols were on the market in Paris during that period. The lock-plate is engraved:

Mazelier Aparis

and on the lower chamfered edge:

RVE DE SENE

Stock of walnut carved in places in low relief, and inlaid around the scutcheon-plate with silver wire in the form of birds and serpents. The mounts are of silver blade chased in low relief with trophies of arms and foliated scrollwork. In the centre of the butt-cap is a medallion with a classical bust in profile, and another medallion forms part of the pierced screw-plate with is decorated with a boar hunt among openwork foliage. Wooden ramrod with steel tip and a ferrule threaded to take a cleaning implement and pierced with a rectangular slot.

French, about 1760.

There is a pistol with a similar signature on barrel and lock by Mazellier in the Kungl. Livrustkammer, Stockholm (no. 843). He signed the lock of one of a pair of pistols, otherwise of later English manufacture, at Windsor Castle. This pair are dated 1743/4, and signed ‘Manlier A Paris, rue de Seine’ (1904 cat., no. 199). P. Jarlier records two men of this name; Jean, whom he dates 1720-3, giving his address as Rue de Seine, paroisse de Saint-Sulpice; and Jean-Baptiste, Jurand of the Paris Gunmakers' Guild, 1748-50, and also documented in the following year (2e Supplement, col. 191). Other examples of his work are pistols in Dresden (nos. 741-743) and two long guns in the same collection (nos. 1273-4).

A pistol signed by Mazellier was in the collection of Count Joseph von Dietrich (sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, 1924, lot 35). This pistol was signed in exactly the same manner as these.

According to N. Støckel, II, p. 779, Mazelier was the master of Pierre Lepage from 1726 to 1730. A1214|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1213. The barrel is octagonal at the breech changing to round section, the surface blued. The top plane carries a silver foresight and is inscribed in gold overlay:

MAZELLIER APARIS

With overlaid gold decoration at the breech. The breech-strap is of bright steel, partly engraved. The muzzle is finished with an applied silver moulding. On the underside of the barrel is stamped:

MOИMARRIИ

together with a partially obliterated mark.

Lock. The lock-plate and cock are engraved with rococo ornament. The cock is a replacement, though not a recent one. It retains one of the original pins securing the barrel, slightly flattened and provided with a head to facilitate removal. The steel is chiselled with a grotesque mask, and the tail of the pan-cover is formed as a dolphin. The lock has a bridle on its tumbler but no bridle for the pan-cover. The side-screws fit into sleeves inside the lock-plate and do not pierce the plate. There are small eagle-head marks on the trigger-guard, apparently the restricted warranty marks used for 1838 to 1846, indicating that these pistols were on the market in Paris during that period.

The lock-plate is engraved:

Mazelier Aparis

and on the lower chamfered edge:

RVE DE SENE

Stock of walnut carved in places in low relief, and inlaid around the scutcheon-plate with silver wire in the form of birds and serpents. The mounts are of silver blade chased in low relief with trophies of arms and foliated scrollwork. In the centre of the butt-cap is a medallion with a classical bust in profile, and another medallion forms part of the pierced screw-plate with is decorated with a boar hunt among openwork foliage. Wooden ramrod with the original sliver tip and a ferrule threaded to take a cleaning implement and pierced with a rectangular slot.

French, about 1760.

There is a pistol with a similar signature on barrel and lock by Mazellier in the Kungl. Livrustkammer, Stockholm (no. 843). He signed the lock of one of a pair of pistols, otherwise of later English manufacture, at Windsor Castle. This pair are dated 1743/4, and signed ‘Manlier A Paris, rue de Seine’ (1904 cat., no. 199). P. Jarlier records two men of this name; Jean, whom he dates 1720-3, giving his address as Rue de Seine, paroisse de Saint-Sulpice; and Jean-Baptiste, Jurand of the Paris Gunmakers' Guild, 1748-50, and also documented in the following year (2e Supplement, col. 191). Other examples of his work are pistols in Dresden (nos. 741-743) and two long guns in the same collection (nos. 1273-4).

A pistol signed by Mazellier was in the collection of Count Joseph von Dietrich (sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, 1924, lot 35). This pistol was signed in exactly the same manner as these.

According to N. Støckel, II, p. 779, Mazelier was the master of Pierre Lepage from 1726 to 1730. A1215|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, the barrel of round section. At the breech chiselled in low relief, is a standing figure of Mars under a canopy on a ground of matt gold. A slender tapering rib runs as far as the silver foresight and is engraved with the maker's name:

CHASTEAV A PARIS

On the breech-strap, at the beginning and end of the rib and at the muzzle, scrollwork is overlaid in gold. A mark is stamped on the underside.
Lock. The lock-plate is chiselled with a cartouche engraved with the maker's name:

CHASTEAV A PARIS

also a cupid, a sphinx and scrollwork, the chamfered edges being also chiselled with small scroll ornaments. The steel is chiselled in relief with a trophy of arms and the arm of the pan-cover with a mask. The pan-cover spring has arabesques overlaid in gold. The cock is of plain steel quite free from decoration and is probably a replacement. The circular cap of the retaining-pin is chiselled with the head of a classical warrior. The decoration throughout is blued on a ground of matt gold. The lock has no external bridle. The side-screws fit into sleeves on the inside of the lock-plate.

Walnut stock richly inlaid with silver wire and carved round the breech-strap and ramrod socket with masks and strapwork. Between the scutcheon-plate and the butt-cap is a dragon in silver wire. The steel mounts are chiselled en suite. On the end of the butt-cap is a medallion with the head of Minerva in profile, on the sides cartouches overlaid in gold with trophies of arms, and a head in a Phrygian cap. The openwork screw-plate is chiselled and pierced with interlacing strapwork and serpents parcel gilt, the scutcheon-plate similarly treated with a blank oval cartouche surmounted by a crown and surrounded by foliated scrolls. The trigger-guard and the lower ramrod pipe are chiselled and overlaid with trophies and other ornament. The trigger-plate is overlaid with flowers. The front ramrod pipe is missing. Wooden ramrod with steel cap.

French, about 1720.

C. Chasteau worked at Paris in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and became arquebusier du Roi to King Louis XV. A breech-loading fowling-piece in the Musée de l' Armée (Bernadac, M 899) is signed: C. Chasteau à Paris 1718. A pair of pistols with barrels by him are at Windsor Castle (Laking cat., p. 118; inv. nos. 381-2); these barrels were remounted, probably for the future George IV, by John Tow, the London gunmaker (about 1770-95). Another pair is in the Historisches Museum at Dresden, together with six long guns (nos. 1251; 1314-20). There are a set of guns and a pair of pistols signed by Chasteau in the Tøjhusmuseet at Copenhagen (B 960, 961) (Lenk, Flintlåset, pl. 79). Other examples of his work are in the Musée de l' Armée, at Paris (M 591); at Vienna, (G. & T., p. 237); in the Armée and Bayr. National Museums at Munich; at Schwarzburg (nos. 999 and 1000); at Emden; and in the Esterhazy and former Scheremetew Collections. The Scheremetew gun-room is now in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. The Esterhazy example is illustrated in J. Szendrei, 1896, no. 3061. Two pairs of pistols signed ‘Chasteau A Paris’, from the armoury of Peter the Great, are in the Moscow Kremlin (Weapons of the Petrine period shown in the Moscow Kremlin, 1983, nos. 51-4).

Kennard, French pistols and sporting guns, 1972, p. 38.

J. F. Hayward pointed out that there were two gunmakers called Chasteau, father and son (Art of the gunmaker, II, p.45). It is the elder who is the maker of this pistol. P. Jarlier gives his name as Claude, and states that he was received as master in the Paris Gunmakers' Guild comme venant des faubourgs on 24 September 1675. He was Jurand of the Guild in 1683-4. His last known date is his marriage in 1700. His earlier address was 'de faubourg St Germain'; his latter one was 'rue des Saints Pères'. (2e Supplement, cols. 55-6.) An Alexandre Chasteau, presumably his son, recorded in 1714, 1729, and possibly 1747, succeeded him at the second address, which was subsequently used by Francois-Alexandre Chasteau, arquebusier du roi, recorded from 1741. This last man retired from business on 23 December 1751, but lived until 1784 at least (Jarlier, 2e Supplement, col. 56).
A list of the works of C. Chasteau I is given by Schedelmann, 1972, p. 176. The mark on the barrel is that of the Paris barrel-maker Halin, who died about 1755 (Magne de Marolles, La chasse au fusil, 1788, p. 82; Støckel, I, pI. VI; N. Støckel, I, p. 737, no. a 2748). A1216|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, the barrel of round section. The first five inches from the breech forward are occupied by a panel containing ornament chiselled in low relief on a ground of matt gold, consisting of an allegorical female figure below which are two amorini supporting a cornucopia and at the base a female head between two cornucopiæ. The chiselled decoration was no doubt formerly blued along the top of the barrel, a flattened rib runs towards the muzzle signed in gold overlay:

LA ROCHE A PARIS

On either side of this the surface is richly encrusted with gold ornament in the form of caryatid figures, trophies and scrollwork on a blued ground. On either side of the silver foresight is the royal monogram of entwined L's. At the muzzle is a small ornamental panel chiselled with scrollwork on a gilt, matt ground to correspond with that at the breech. On the underside is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock. The lock-plate is chiselled in relief with Neptune drawn in a shell by sea horses, blued on a gilt, matt ground, and at the rear end with a trophy of an anchor, trident and rudder. Here also is engraved the maker's name:

LA ROCHE A PARIS

The cock is chiselled with a dragon, and a bar in the form of a crested helmet joins the neck to the lower jaw, thus making the cock one of ring-necked form. A similar bar, formed as a shell ornament, joins the lower part of the neck to the base of the cock. The circular head of the securing-pin is chiselled with the bus of a classical warrior. The underside of the pan is chiselled with ornament en suite, and the steel with rococo scrollwork. The heel of the pan-cover takes the form of a dolphin. The groundwork of all the chiselled ornament is matt gold, the rest blued.

The design on the side-plate appears to derive from a Renaissance source. The lock has no external bridle. The side-screws fit into sleeves on the inside of the lock-plate.

The stock is elaborately inlaid with scrollwork in silver wire, and is carved with foliage in low relief around the mounts and lock. The mounts are of silver chased with ornament in low relief, the groundwork gilt. In the centre of the butt-cap is an oval portrait medallion of King Louis XV. On either side are the figures of Mars and a river god, together with lions' masks. The openwork screw-plate is pierced and chased with a cherub's head, interlacing foliage and serpents. The scutcheon-plate is chased in relief with shield quartered with the arms of France-Dauphiné and surmounted by a Dauphin's coronet. On the bow of the trigger-guard is the bust of a classical warrior within a frame. The pillars are formed as the head and tail of a dragon. On the rear pillar is a small silver mark with is probably the poinçon de décharge of Paris (Carré, I, p. 111; Nocq, IV, p. 233) the fermier Louis Robin (1738-44). On the upper hand finial is a caryatid figure and foliage, on the lower, a trophy of arms and a helmeted head. The upper ramrod pipe has a flaming grenade and crossed trumpets, the lower, at the socket, similar ornament with the addition of a winged demi-figure. Whalebone ramrod with horn tip and steel ferrule pierced with rectangular opening for a piece of cleaning material.

French (Paris), about 1738-44.

Provenance: probably made for Louis, Dauphin of France (1729-65).

The decoration of the lock, and especially the cock, is reminiscent of the designs of De Lacollombe, published in Paris in 1730 (Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pl. 128, 129). The Dauphin for whom this pistol is most likely to have been made would be Louis, Dauphin 1729-1765, son of Louis XV.

Jean Baptiste La Roche is famous as a maker of fine firearms. He was Arquebusier du Roi and in 1743 succeeded to the logement in the Louvre, which had been occupied by Adrien Reynier le Hollandois le jeune. He died in 1769. In later life his son collaborated with him, hence many weapons signed: Les La Roche aux galleries du Louvre à Paris. There is a flint-lock rifle by him at Windsor Castle (Laking, no. 263) which belonged to King George III. In the Victoria and Albert Museum (M 2242-1855) there is a pair of pistols by La Roche with gold mounts which was made for Louis XV; in the Musée de l' Armée is a small pair of pistols (M 1279) made for the young Comte d'Artois, afterwards Charles X, and also a gun by this gunsmith (M 589). Other examples of his work are in the Musée de la Porte de Hal, Brussels, at Dresden (no. 737A), and in the armoury at Skokloster. In 1760 he made for the Duke of Burgundy un petit fusil ciselé enrichi d'or, garni d'argent (Maze-Sencier, p. 704).

Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 348.

The complete set of designs by de la Collombe were published by Grancsay in 1950.

For the La Roches see T. Lenk, Flintlåset, 1939, pp. 113-14; N. Støckel, I, p. 683; and P. Jarlier, Répertoire, 1976, col. 161.

Jean-Baptiste La Roche was Jurand of the Paris Gunmakers' Guild from 1740 to 1742. He received his logement in the Galleries of the Louvre on 21st August 1743, and died in 1769. His son Jean, who had previously worked with him, succeeded him in his royal office on 20th August 1763. Weapons made during the partnership were signed Les La Roche aux galleries du Louvre à Paris. The gun at Skokloster was made for Louis XV and is a work of the 1730s. The pistols in the Victoria and Albert Museum (No. M.2243/a-1855), which are of about 1750, are illustrated and discussed by J. F. Hayward in The art of the gunmaker, II, pp. 182-4, Pls. 12-13. The pair of small pistols in Paris (Musée de l' Armée, No. M.I 729) was presented to the Dauphin Louis (1729-65) by the Corporation of Paris in 1734, as his first arms. The presentation, made by M. Ie President Turgot, Prévost des Marchands, is described in the Mercure de France, June 1734, p. 1339. They were accompanied by a fowling piece, also by 'Le Sieur Laroche, Armurier de Roy, demeurant à Paris sur le Pont Marie', and a smallsword with mounts by the goldsmith Thomas Germain. The pistols only came into the possession of the future Charles X at a later date. (Reverseau, Musée de l' Armee, 1982, p. 113, pls. 37 and 39).

The gun in the Musée de l’Armée in Brussels (former Port de Hal; inv. no. 2653; Lenk, pI. 92, 1-3) and the pistols at Dresden (no. 737A; Lenk, pI. 92, 4) must have been made after 1743 since they bear the Galleries address, as does the gun at Windsor Castle (1904 Cat., no. 262; Lenk, pI. 92,5). The latter may have come from the collection of George III rather than being one of his personal arms. A double-barrelled pistol at Lövstad, Östergötland, Sweden, is also late (Lenk, PI. 93). Another pair of pistols by La Roche at Capodimonte is probably to be dated immediately before 1743 (Hayward, Armes anciennes, I, pp. 138-9, pI. XLIV.i).

The mark NP in an oval is attributed by Lenk to Nicholas Pierron, the Parisian barrel-maker who, according to Magné de Marroles, died in 1735 (op. cit., pp. 113-14). It is presumably a variant of N. Støckel, II, p. 958, no.8062.
The silver-mark, a fox's head, is that used at Paris for small works of gold or silver during the period 1738-44.

2011
This exquisite firearm was probably made for Louis, Dauphin of France (1729-65), the eldest son of King Louis XV of France and the only one to survive childhood. The Dauphin’s status as the heir to the French throne demanded that he have the very best of everything, from clothes and jewels to furniture, horses and weapons. This piece is certainly of royal quality and its power as a status symbol can only have been enhanced by the fact that Louis was still a child when it was given to him.

It was made by Jean-Baptiste La Roche, one of the most famous gunmakers in eighteenth-century France. La Roche was Archebusier du Roi (King’s gunmaker) to Louis XV. Between 1740 and 1742 he was also head of the Paris Gunmakers’ Guild, and was granted an official residence in the Louvre in 1743. Other firearms by La Roche and his son Jean entired the collections of King Charles X of France and King George III of Great Britain.

The barrel, lock, and other steel parts are finely chiselled with figures, foliage, and other ornament in the classical style, represented in relief against a textured background of matte gold, in the typical French fashion. The barrel displays a female figure along with amorini, cornucopiae, trophies of arms, and masks. The decorated lock-plate is especially impressive, bearing a depiction of Neptune driving a giant seashell drawn by seahorses. A coat of arms on the top of the stock identifies this piece as belonging to a Dauphin of France, while its overall style allows the date of manufacture to be determined with relative precision.

The stock is elaborately inlaid with scrollwork in silver wire and carved with foliage in low relief. In the centre of the butt-cap is a profile portrait of the Dauphin’s father, Louis XV, wearing armour in the classical or ‘heroic’ style. The King had a very close relationship with his son, although they seem to have become estranged after several acts of disobedience on the part of the Dauphin, probably originating with the King’s refusal to allow his son to participate in the 1744 campaign in the War of the Austrian Succession, largely fought between the allied forces of Austria, Great Britain and the Dutch Republic on one side and France, Prussia and Bavaria on the other.

The Dauphin pre-deceased his father, dying of tuberculosis in 1765. Despite never taking the throne himself, the Dauphin did establish a royal legacy, fathering three subsequent Kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. A1217|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with 1218. The barrel is octagonal at the breech, the planes and also the breech-strap chiselled with rococo scrolls in low relief, the ground gilt. Brass foresight.

Lock with chiselled ornament en suite with the barrel and engraved with the name of the maker:

PONSIN

There is a bridle for the pivot of the steel.

Stock of walnut, slightly carved in places. Steel mounts chiselled in low relief with floral ornament on a gilt ground. In the centre of the butt-cap is chiselled a grotesque mask. Steel fore-end cap and wooden ramrod with plain steel tip.

Flemish (Liège), about 1750.

The steel has been replaced. Both locks have external bridles for the pan-covers.

A Pierre Ponsin, called also Bonsing Ie Hollandais, is recorded in Liège between 1685 and 1733. His mark was a horse-shoe (J. F. Pasleau, Les armuriers Liégeois du XV au XIXe siecle, 1973, p. 20). The maker of A1217-18 may be a kinsman of his. A1218|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1217. The barrel is octagonal at the breech, the planes and also the breech-strap chiselled with rococo scrolls in low relief, the ground gilt. Brass foresight.

Lock with chiselled ornament en suite with the barrel and engraved with the name of the maker:

PONSIN

There is a bridle for the pivot of the steel.

Stock of walnut, slightly carved in places. Steel mounts chiselled in low relief with floral ornament on a gilt ground. In the centre of the butt-cap is chiselled a grotesque mask. Steel fore-end cap and wooden ramrod with plain steel tip.

Flemish (Liège), about 1750.

Both locks have external bridles for the pan-covers.

A Pierre Ponsin, called also Bonsing Ie Hollandais, is recorded in Liège between 1685 and 1733. His mark was a horse-shoe (J. F. Pasleau, Les armuriers Liégeois du XV au XIXe siecle, 1973, p. 20). The maker of A1217-18 may be a kinsman of his. A1219|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1220. Octagonal barrel with matt blue surface lightly chiselled and overlaid in gold with a formal Empire design of vases, garlands and drapery. On the left side alongside the stock is engraved: Manufacture à Versailles, and on the right: Boutet Directeur Artiste. At the breech are stamped Boutet's proof marks, and another mark is stamped on the underside. Fore and backsights. Multi-grooved rifling. The vent is faced with an oval gold plaque. The false breech of bright steel is engraved with a may-pole and an armadillo (?).

Lock of bright steel retaining the original burnish. Lock-plate encrusted in gold with a design of thunder-clouds and lightning, and the upper jaw of the cock with a caduceus. Gold-lined pan. The inner side of the lock-plate is engraved: Boutet Directeur Artiste.

Stock of walnut with delicately-carved borders. The grip is inlaid with panels of ebony on either side and these in their turn are inlaid with gold plaques engraved with a pair of griffins supporting a wreath. There is a lozenge-shaped gold plaque engraved with two heads addorsed Janus-like, which is inlaid in front of the trigger-guard and two oval plaques of gold are inlaid on either side of the fore-end. The mounts are of oxidized silver chiselled in relief; the butt-cap with a classical helmet, the trigger-guard with the lion's skin and club of Hercules, and on the finial a trophy of arms, the ramrod socket with a Roman sword and shield, and a garland of flowers. All the mounts are stamped with a petite garantie mark. Wooden ramrod, with ivory tip capped with steel and a threaded brass ferrule.

French (Versailles), about 1810.

The mark of the petite garantie, or census, of a man’s head, is that in use between 1819 and 1838, when the pistol may have been stamped at a later date than that of its manufacture.

The 'armadillo' on the false-breech is apparently an insect of some sort. The main-spring is attached to the tumbler by a link. There is an external bridle for the pan-cover. A tiny hare's head is struck on the butt-cap-the petite garantie for Paris from 1819 to 1838, indicating that A1219-20 were on the market during that period.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 340, pI. 62a.

The top mark is N. Støckel, no. a 97 (vol. I, p. 133). The left and central marks are not recorded by N. Støckel; the right-hand mark is N. Støckel, I, p. 224, no. a 3741, attributed to Jean Nicholas Le Clerk, Paris, 1764-88. The lowest mark also occurs on A1131 and is here discussed under that number. For the history of these pistols, see under A1131.

At the end of the eighteenth century, France possessed the largest standing army in Europe. To keep it armed, state-owned factories such as those at Saint Etienne and Châtellerault produced thousands of firearms every year. France’s most famous arms manufactory was a comparative newcomer to this huge military industry. The Manufacture National de Versailles was set up in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles to produce not only military arms but also richly-decorated presentation pieces. Nicholas-Noël Boutet (1761-1833) was appointed directeur-artiste of this establishment in 1792 and quickly built up an international reputation. Today he is regarded the last and greatest of the early modern artist-gunsmiths.

Under Boutet the Versailles factory produced military firearms and edged weapons throughout the Napoleonic period and on into the Restoration. However Boutet was most famous for his luxury arms. As court gunsmith to Napoleon Bonaparte he brought gun-making in France to its artistic zenith. He specialised in cased pistols and rifles, often composed as complete sets. Created using the finest materials worked by the most skilful specialist workmen, these rich objects were usually mounted in solid silver, intricately cast and chased with Neoclassical ornament, the blued barrels studded with tiny gold stars and elaborate gold inlay at their breeches, the walnut stocks carved and inlaid with silver and gold. Although other centres such as Saint-Etienne also produced presentation weapons, Versailles was at this time undoubtedly the most highly-regarded centre for such work in Europe. A1220|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1219. Octagonal barrel with matt blue surface lightly chiselled and overlaid in gold with a formal Empire design of vases, garlands and drapery. On the left side alongside the stock is engraved: Manufacture à Versailles, and on the right: Boutet Directeur Artiste. At the breech are stamped Boutet's proof marks, and another mark is stamped on the underside. Fore and backsights. Multi-grooved rifling. The vent is faced with an oval gold plaque. The false breech of bright steel is engraved with a may-pole and an armadillo (?).

Lock of bright steel retaining the original burnish. Lock-plate encrusted in gold with a design of thunder-clouds and lightning, and the upper jaw of the cock with a caduceus. Gold-lined pan. The inner side of the lock-plate is engraved: Boutet Directeur Artiste.

The inner side of the lock-plate is inscribed: Manufres. à Versailles. A portion of the ebony inlay on the butt has been restored.

Stock of walnut with delicately-carved borders. The grip is inlaid with panels of ebony on either side and these in their turn are inlaid with gold plaques engraved with a pair of griffins supporting a wreath. There is a lozenge-shaped gold plaque engraved with two heads addorsed Janus-like, which is inlaid in front of the trigger-guard and two oval plaques of gold are inlaid on either side of the fore-end. The mounts are of oxidized silver chiselled in relief; the butt-cap with a classical helmet, the trigger-guard with the lion's skin and club of Hercules, and on the finial a trophy of arms, the ramrod socket with a Roman sword and shield, and a garland of flowers. All the mounts are stamped with a petite garantie mark. Wooden ramrod, with ivory tip capped with steel and a threaded brass ferrule.

French (Versailles), about 1810.

The mark of the petite garantie, or census, of a man’s head, is that in use between 1819 and 1838, when the pistol may have been stamped at a later date than that of its manufacture.

The 'armadillo' on the false-breech is apparently an insect of some sort. The main-spring is attached to the tumbler by a link. There is an external bridle for the pan-cover. A tiny hare's head is struck on the butt-cap-the petite garantie for Paris from 1819 to 1838, indicating that A1219-20 were on the market during that period.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 340, pI. 62a.

The top mark is N. Støckel, no. a 97 (vol. I, p. 133). The left and central marks are not recorded by N. Støckel; the right-hand mark is N. Støckel, I, p. 224, no. a 3741, attributed to Jean Nicholas Le Clerk, Paris, 1764-88. The lowest mark also occurs on A1131 and is here discussed under that number. For the history of these pistols, see under A1131. A1221|1|1|Flint-lock pocket pistol, a pair with A1222. The very short barrel unscrews for loading and is provided with a lug on its underside for a key. This is engraved with the number 1. The barrel is engraved with bands of laurel and acanthus.
The lock is of the box or toplock variety with centrally-mounted cock and pan. Behind the cock is a safety-catch button locking both cock and pan-cover. The top plate is engraved:

BOUTET DIRECTEUR ARTISTE

The steel is engraved with two small ovals containing minute buildings and trees, between which is a palm tree, and the side-plates of the lock with a lion's head surmounted by a bird and a harpy, respectively. There is a folding trigger, and this and the under-plate are engraved with two oval medallions containing a deer and a human figure and below a female terminal figure. The entire action and barrel retain their original burnished surface.

The ebony butt is roughened by chequering and its contour is inlaid with a border of semi-circular, fan-shaped ornament and trefoils in gold.

French (Versailles), about 1810.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 340, pI. 62b.

For the history of these pistols, see under A1131.

It was not until some time after the First World War in Europe that restrictions on the carrying of concealed firearms by civilians began to be enforced on a large scale. For most of human history, the carrying of weapons about the person has been considered the private business of the individual. This little pair of French single-shot pocket pistols would have been carried freely for purposes of self-defence by a wealthy gentleman or military officer during the late Napoleonic period. They were formerly in the collection of the Russian émigré Prince Anatole Demidoff of San Donato in Florence, by whom they were appreciated as art objects rather than weapons; they were purchased by the 4th Marquis of Hertford at the prince’s death-bed sale in 1870. Their worth lay not in any practical utility but in the superlative quality of their construction and elegant ‘Empire’-style neo-classical decoration. Above all, their value was rooted in the name of their maker, which, only forty years after Boutet’s death was already a by-word for the very best ‘presentation’ firearms.

Made in about 1810, the pistols are delicately engraved with typical neo-classical borders and motifs such as a lion’s head, a harpy, exotic birds, figures, deer, and human figures, all executed in the finest detail and with the most painstaking precision. Lesser pistols were usually blued, browned or colour case-hardened, but the surface finish here is a high burnish, virtually all of which remains, contrasting most effectively with the finely-chequered black ebony of the butts, each one picked out with a border of rich red gold. Apart from denoting fine quality craftsmanship, this chequered surface afforded an effective ‘non-slip’ grip when firing the pistols. ‘Turn-off’ pistols such as these did not require a ramrod to re-load, since the barrels unscrewed or ‘turned off’, enabling powder and ball to be loaded directly into the breech chamber. A feature of this type of pistol was that the projectile was always made slightly too large to pass through the barrel, ensuring that it remained securely in place until it was fired. Upon firing, the pressure of the exploding gases in the chamber built up in a split second to literally squash the lead through the bore of the barrel, allowing the ball to escape. This system meant that these diminutive, almost comical pistols packed an enormous punch, far exceeding what might have been expected from their small size. A1222|1|1|Flint-lock pocket pistol, a pair with A1222. The very short barrel unscrews for loading and is provided with a lug on its underside for a key. This is engraved with the number 1. The barrel is engraved with bands of laurel and acanthus.
The lock is of the box or toplock variety with centrally-mounted cock and pan. Behind the cock is a safety-catch button locking both cock and pan-cover. The top plate is engraved:

BOUTET DIRECTEUR ARTISTE

The steel is engraved with two small ovals containing minute buildings and trees, between which is a palm tree, and the side-plates of the lock with a lion's head surmounted by a bird and a harpy, respectively. There is a folding trigger, and this and the under-plate are engraved with two oval medallions containing a deer and a human figure and below a female terminal figure. The entire action and barrel retain their original burnished surface.

The ebony butt is roughened by chequering and its contour is inlaid with a border of semi-circular, fan-shaped ornament and trefoils in gold.

French (Versailles), about 1810.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, p. 340, pI. 62b.

For the history of these pistols, see under A1131.

There are a few minor differences of detail in decoration between this pistol and its mate. Also, the key-lug on the barrel is engraved with the number 2.

It was not until some time after the First World War in Europe that restrictions on the carrying of concealed firearms by civilians began to be enforced on a large scale. For most of human history, the carrying of weapons about the person has been considered the private business of the individual. This little pair of French single-shot pocket pistols would have been carried freely for purposes of self-defence by a wealthy gentleman or military officer during the late Napoleonic period. They were formerly in the collection of the Russian émigré Prince Anatole Demidoff of San Donato in Florence, by whom they were appreciated as art objects rather than weapons; they were purchased by the 4th Marquis of Hertford at the prince’s death-bed sale in 1870. Their worth lay not in any practical utility but in the superlative quality of their construction and elegant ‘Empire’-style neo-classical decoration. Above all, their value was rooted in the name of their maker, which, only forty years after Boutet’s death was already a by-word for the very best ‘presentation’ firearms.

Made in about 1810, the pistols are delicately engraved with typical neo-classical borders and motifs such as a lion’s head, a harpy, exotic birds, figures, deer, and human figures, all executed in the finest detail and with the most painstaking precision. Lesser pistols were usually blued, browned or colour case-hardened, but the surface finish here is a high burnish, virtually all of which remains, contrasting most effectively with the finely-chequered black ebony of the butts, each one picked out with a border of rich red gold. Apart from denoting fine quality craftsmanship, this chequered surface afforded an effective ‘non-slip’ grip when firing the pistols. ‘Turn-off’ pistols such as these did not require a ramrod to re-load, since the barrels unscrewed or ‘turned off’, enabling powder and ball to be loaded directly into the breech chamber. A feature of this type of pistol was that the projectile was always made slightly too large to pass through the barrel, ensuring that it remained securely in place until it was fired. Upon firing, the pressure of the exploding gases in the chamber built up in a split second to literally squash the lead through the bore of the barrel, allowing the ball to escape. This system meant that these diminutive, almost comical pistols packed an enormous punch, far exceeding what might have been expected from their small size. A1223|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1224. Barrel of round section ornamented with three longitudinal ribs, of which that in the centre is continued to the muzzle. At the breech is inscribed: LAZARINO COMINAZZO. The two shorter ribs terminate in engraved leaf ornament. Similar engraving on the breech-strap. On the underside of the barrel are three marks.

Lock chiselled in relief over its whole surface with foliage interspersed with birds and monkeys, at the rear end of the lock-plate is a grotesque mask. The cock is of ring-necked form and is secured to the tumbler inside the lock.
Stock of walnut, slightly carved in places with acanthus ornament in low relief, and with longitudinal ribs along the fore-end. On the left side of the grip the wood is stamped A 11. Steel mounts chiselled en suite with the lock with elaborate interlacing foliage, monsters, monkeys and grotesque masks. A short, steel belt hook is secured by the rear lock-screw. The trigger has been broken away. Wooden ramrod, the steel tip chiselled in the form of a monkey holding a disk above its head, and small steel ferrule.

Italian, about 1660-70.

For a note of the Cominazzo family, see A1195.

The belt-hook has either been shortened or completely replaced. The broken trigger was mended by Ian Ashdown in 1974. There is no external bridle on the lock.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 127, pI. 143A; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, figs. 367-8; Boccia, Rossi & Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 337c, wrongly captioned as 337b; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 70. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1978) attributed the barrels to Lazarino II (1634-96), and the chiselling to Francesco Garatto (see also under A1195-6). He had previously attributed the chiselling to Picino Frusca, died 1704 (Armi antiche, 1960, p. 97).

A pistol with comparable decoration is in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (Gaibi, op. cit., 1962, pls. 122A-B). A1224|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1223. Barrel of round section ornamented with three longitudinal ribs, of which that in the centre is continued to the muzzle. At the breech is inscribed: LAZARINO COMINAZZO. The two shorter ribs terminate in engraved leaf ornament. Similar engraving on the breech-strap. On the underside of the barrel are three marks.

Lock chiselled in relief over its whole surface with foliage interspersed with birds and monkeys, at the rear end of the lock-plate is a grotesque mask. The cock is of ring-necked form and is secured to the tumbler inside the lock.
Stock of walnut, slightly carved in places with acanthus ornament in low relief, and with longitudinal ribs along the fore-end. On the left side of the grip the wood is stamped A 11. Steel mounts chiselled en suite with the lock with elaborate interlacing foliage, monsters, monkeys and grotesque masks. A short, steel belt hook is secured by the rear lock-screw. The trigger has been broken away. Wooden ramrod, the steel tip chiselled in the form of a monkey holding a disk above its head, and small steel ferrule.

Italian, about 1660-70.

For a note of the Cominazzo family, see A1195.

The belt-hook has either been shortened or completely replaced. The broken trigger was mended by Ian Ashdown in 1974. There is no external bridle on the lock.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 127, pI. 143A; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, figs. 367-8; Boccia, Rossi & Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 337c, wrongly captioned as 337b; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 70. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1978) attributed the barrels to Lazarino II (1634-96), and the chiselling to Francesco Garatto (see also under A1195-6). He had previously attributed the chiselling to Picino Frusca, died 1704 (Armi antiche, 1960, p. 97).

A pistol with comparable decoration is in the Museo Stibbert, Florence (Gaibi, op. cit., 1962, pls. 122A-B).

A1224 only differs from its companion in that it possesses its trigger which is pierced at the back with a monkey eating foliage. It bears the same arsenal stamp A 11.

The decoration of A1224 differs from that of A1223 in that the small monkeys with which it is decorated are without the vests worn by those on its pair. The quality of the chiselling varies considerably between the various parts. A1225|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1226. Barrel of round section flattened along the sighting line at the top and inscribed at the breech:

LAZARINO COMINAZZO

The breech-strap carries the backsight line at the top and is engraved with the number 2.

Lock chiselled in low relief over its entire surface with interlacing foliage involving in the centre of the lock-plate the double eagle and the Bindenschild of Austria. The cock is flat in section and similarly chiselled and pierced. The steel spring is on the interior of the lock-plate. On the bottom edge of the latter is inscribed:

carlo fondrino in bressia,

Stock of walnut, slightly carved in places, and reeded with longitudinal grooves along the fore-end. It is inlaid with steel panels pierced and engraved in the Brescian manner with a delicate pattern of interlacing foliage and trophies with, in each case, as central motif, the Imperial arms of Austria. Steel butt-cap pierced and engraved en suite and backed with crimson silk. Steel-trigger-guard chiselled with acanthus foliage and a central panel of minute decoration involving a coat of arms featuring a double-headed eagle as its primary device. Ramrod pipe pierced en suite with the inlaid decoration. Wooden ramrod with vase-shaped steel tip engraved en suite, and hollow steel ferrule.

Italian (Brescian), about 1645.

There is a pair of pistols with locks by Fondrino and barrels by Lazarino Cominazzo in the collection of Mr. W. G. Renwick.

For a note on the Cominazzo family, see under A1195.

The locks have no bridles inside or out.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 124, pI. 121B; Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 219; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 327. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) gave Fondrini's dates as 1580 to about 1640, and attributed the barrels to Jacomo ? Lazarino Cominazzo (1608-about 1660). In 1978 he suggested that the eagles in the decoration might indicate that the pistols were made for a member of the Hapsburg family. The device described in the 1962 Catalogue as 'the Imperial arms of Austria' is a double-headed eagle, its wings displayed erect, its heads crowned; on its breast an oval escutcheon charged with a fesse. N. di Carpegna, however, has suggested that these are more likely to be the arms of the Giustiniani, an influential Venetian family (letter of 12 June 1984; quoting Alessandro Vecchi, in his Le armi overo insegne di tutti li nobile della magnifica & illustrissima citta di Venezia, Venice 1596). He subsequently pointed out that a Pietro Giustiniani was Podesta (mayor) of Brescia in 1650, and a Giustiniano Giustiniani was Capitano (military governor) in 1654. He dates the group of pistols to which these belong to 1645-55 (letter of 3 July 1984). A1226|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, one of a pair with A1225. Barrel of round section flattened along the sighting line at the top and inscribed at the breech:

LAZARINO COMINAZZO

The breech-strap carries the backsight line at the top and is engraved with the number 2.

Lock chiselled in low relief over its entire surface with interlacing foliage involving in the centre of the lock-plate the double eagle and the Bindenschild of Austria. The cock is flat in section and similarly chiselled and pierced. The steel spring is on the interior of the lock-plate. On the bottom edge of the latter is inscribed:

carlo fondrino in bressia,

Stock of walnut, slightly carved in places, and reeded with longitudinal grooves along the fore-end. It is inlaid with steel panels pierced and engraved in the Brescian manner with a delicate pattern of interlacing foliage and trophies with, in each case, as central motif, the Imperial arms of Austria. Steel butt-cap pierced and engraved en suite and backed with crimson silk. Steel-trigger-guard chiselled with acanthus foliage and a central panel of minute decoration involving a coat of arms featuring a double-headed eagle as its primary device. The breech-strap is engraved with the number 1. Ramrod pipe pierced en suite with the inlaid decoration. Wooden ramrod with vase-shaped steel tip engraved en suite, and hollow steel ferrule.

Italian (Brescian), about 1645.

There is a pair of pistols with locks by Fondrino and barrels by Lazarino Cominazzo in the collection of Mr. W. G. Renwick.

For a note on the Cominazzo family, see under A1195.

The locks have no bridles inside or out.

Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 124, pI. 121B; Hoff, Feuerwaffen, I, 1969, fig. 219; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 327. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) gave Fondrini's dates as 1580 to about 1640, and attributed the barrels to Jacomo ? Lazarino Cominazzo (1608-about 1660). In 1978 he suggested that the eagles in the decoration might indicate that the pistols were made for a member of the Hapsburg family. The device described in the 1962 Catalogue as 'the Imperial arms of Austria' is a double-headed eagle, its wings displayed erect, its heads crowned; on its breast an oval escutcheon charged with a fesse. N. di Carpegna, however, has suggested that these are more likely to be the arms of the Giustiniani, an influential Venetian family (letter of 12 June 1984; quoting Alessandro Vecchi, in his Le armi overo insegne di tutti li nobile della magnifica & illustrissima citta di Venezia, Venice 1596). He subsequently pointed out that a Pietro Giustiniani was Podesta (mayor) of Brescia in 1650, and a Giustiniano Giustiniani was Capitano (military governor) in 1654. He dates the group of pistols to which these belong to 1645-55 (letter of 3 July 1984). A1227|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1228. Barrel octagonal at the breech, changing to sixteen-sided, the remainder round, lightly engraved at the breech with flowers and inscribed on the top plane:

GIRONIMO MVTTO

The breech-strap is concealed beneath the stock and to it is pivoted the trigger.

Lock, chiselled with acanthus foliage on the rear end of the lock-plate, breast of the cock and upper jaw, and back of the steel and pan. Lock-plate engraved:

STEFANO SIOLI

The pin securing the cock is fastened inside the lock. In both pistols a small finial is missing form the spring of the steel or frizzen.

Stock entirely of steel, the shape conforming to that of a normal, wooden stock. It is engraved all over with running foliage, and at the ramrod socket and behind the breech-strap it is further ornamented with foliation in relief, the decoration encloses at the latter point a small cartouche inscribed:

Stefano Sioli Ft.

The butt-cap is similarly ornamented and is capped with a circular medallion chiselled in relief with a female bust in profile. The screw-plate takes the form of an applied ornament of openwork foliage, and similar decoration is applied underneath the stock on either side of the trigger-guard. Steel ramrod.

Italian (Brescian), about 1670.

Geronimo Mutto was among the barrel-makers working at Gardone, near Brescia, in the second half of the 17th century. There is a pair of flint-lock pistols, with the barrels signed by him and the locks by Cioli (sic) in the Musée de l' Armée at Paris (no. M 1723). There is a pair of wheel-lock pistols by him in the collection of Cav. L. Marzoli, which are probably identical with a pair in the Erbach Collection, sold Fischer, Lucerne, Sept., 1932, lot 30. He also signed the barrel of a gun sold by Heberle, Cologne, 1893, with flint-lock by Filippo Moretti of Brescia. Angelucci attributes to him the initials G.M. on the barrels of a pair of flint-lock pistols at Turin (N 65-6) with locks by Filippo Marchetti of Brescia.

Stefano Sioli, Cioli or Scioli, of Brescia, signed the locks of a pair of flint-lock pistols with barrels by G. B. Francino, in this Collection (A1229-30 below); also the flint-locks of the pair of pistols with barrels by Geronimo Mutto in the Musée de l' Armée (M 1723), the stocks also being by Sioli; the stocks and locks are signed ‘Stefano Cioli’ and ‘Cioli in Br’ respectively. A pair of similar pistols with locks signed by him are in the Army Museum at Warsaw (MW 6145), and another pair of the same type were in the August Riecher sale, Helbing, Augsburg, 1894. Sioli seems to have specialized in weapons with metal stocks. There is a gun, the barrel by Girolamo Mutti, and the engraved steel stock by Stefano Scioli (sic), in the Royal Armouries, formerly the property of Major H. B. C. Pollard. Another with a brass stock was formerly in the collection of Mr. W. G. Renwick.

The breech stands on a steel pillar screwed to the base of the stock in front of the trigger-guard. The lock is without bridles inside or out. The trigger hangs from the tang, through which the rear screw of the lock passes.

Provenance: a pair of pistols fitting A1227-8 in their description was in the sale of the Chateau de S***, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 27 May 1869, lot 23: 'Les batteries à pierre ainsi que les montures portent le nom Stefano Sioli, et les canons GARONIMO MUTTO'. Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 128, pI. 147A; Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, p. 337, pI. 49a; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 422; Boccia, Rossi & Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 337b, wrongly captioned as 337c. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) gave the dates of Mutto as about 1650-1700, and of Scioli as about 1660-1720. In 1978 he gave the latter's dates as born 1633, and still documented in 1685 (op. cit., p. 258). Schedelmann (1972, p. 218), gives a list of other works by Geronimo Mutti. This is the form of the name he sometimes used in a rectangular crowned mark in Spanish style. He dates him about 1720. Some of these may be by later members of the family. Other pistols by Scioli with barrels by G: B. Francino are in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z. 0. nos. 133 and 5972; Tarassuk, 1972, nos. 183-4), and in the Museo Civico, Bologna. Another pair of all-steel pistols by Scioli are at Slott Örbyhus, Sweden (Seitz, Feuerwaffen, II, fig. 112). The barrel of the pistol in the Victoria and Albert Museum, cited in the 1962 Catalogue, is by Giovanni Battista Francino (Blair, 1968, fig. 224). The Royal Armouries gun cited in the 1962 Catalogue is no. XII. 1752 (see the exhibition catalogue Treasures of the Tower, 1982, cat. no. 68, illus.). The gun in the Renwick collection was sold at Sotheby's, 19 March 1974, lot 38, repr in cat. A pair of pistols signed by S. Sioli and G. Mutto from the armoury of Peter the Great is in the Moscow Kremlin (Weapons of the Petrine period shown in the Moscow Kremlin, 1983, nos. 46-7). A1228|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1227. Barrel octagonal at the breech, changing to sixteen-sided, the remainder round, lightly engraved at the breech with flowers and inscribed on the top plane:

GIRONIMO MVTTO

The breech-strap is concealed beneath the stock and to it is pivoted the trigger.

Lock, chiselled with acanthus foliage on the rear end of the lock-plate, breast of the cock and upper jaw, and back of the steel and pan. Lock-plate engraved:

STEFANO SIOLI

The pin securing the cock is fastened inside the lock. In both pistols a small finial is missing form the spring of the steel or frizzen.

Stock entirely of steel, the shape conforming to that of a normal, wooden stock. It is engraved all over with running foliage, and at the ramrod socket and behind the breech-strap it is further ornamented with foliation in relief, the decoration encloses at the latter point a small cartouche inscribed:

Stefano Sioli Ft.

The butt-cap is similarly ornamented and is capped with a circular medallion chiselled in relief with a female bust in profile. The screw-plate takes the form of an applied ornament of openwork foliage, and similar decoration is applied underneath the stock on either side of the trigger-guard. Steel ramrod.

Italian (Brescian), about 1670.

Geronimo Mutto was among the barrel-makers working at Gardone, near Brescia, in the second half of the 17th century. There is a pair of flint-lock pistols, with the barrels signed by him and the locks by Cioli (sic) in the Musée de l' Armée at Paris (no. M 1723). There is a pair of wheel-lock pistols by him in the collection of Cav. L. Marzoli, which are probably identical with a pair in the Erbach Collection, sold Fischer, Lucerne, Sept., 1932, lot 30. He also signed the barrel of a gun sold by Heberle, Cologne, 1893, with flint-lock by Filippo Moretti of Brescia. Angelucci attributes to him the initials G.M. on the barrels of a pair of flint-lock pistols at Turin (N 65-6) with locks by Filippo Marchetti of Brescia.

Stefano Sioli, Cioli or Scioli, of Brescia, signed the locks of a pair of flint-lock pistols with barrels by G. B. Francino, in this Collection (A1229-30 below); also the flint-locks of the pair of pistols with barrels by Geronimo Mutto in the Musée de l' Armée (M 1723), the stocks also being by Sioli; the stocks and locks are signed ‘Stefano Cioli’ and ‘Cioli in Br’ respectively. A pair of similar pistols with locks signed by him are in the Army Museum at Warsaw (MW 6145), and another pair of the same type were in the August Riecher sale, Helbing, Augsburg, 1894. Sioli seems to have specialized in weapons with metal stocks. There is a gun, the barrel by Girolamo Mutti, and the engraved steel stock by Stefano Scioli (sic), in the Royal Armouries, formerly the property of Major H. B. C. Pollard. Another with a brass stock was formerly in the collection of Mr. W. G. Renwick.

The breech stands on a steel pillar screwed to the base of the stock in front of the trigger-guard. The lock is without bridles inside or out. The trigger hangs from the tang, through which the rear screw of the lock passes.

Provenance: a pair of pistols fitting A1227-8 in their description was in the sale of the Chateau de S***, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 27 May 1869, lot 23: 'Les batteries à pierre ainsi que les montures portent le nom Stefano Sioli, et les canons GARONIMO MUTTO'. Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1962, p. 128, pI. 147A; Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, p. 337, pI. 49a; Gaibi, Armi da fuoco, 1978, fig. 422; Boccia, Rossi & Morin, Armi e armature Lombarde, 1980, pI. 337b, wrongly captioned as 337c. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) gave the dates of Mutto as about 1650-1700, and of Scioli as about 1660-1720. In 1978 he gave the latter's dates as born 1633, and still documented in 1685 (op. cit., p. 258). Schedelmann (1972, p. 218), gives a list of other works by Geronimo Mutti. This is the form of the name he sometimes used in a rectangular crowned mark in Spanish style. He dates him about 1720. Some of these may be by later members of the family. Other pistols by Scioli with barrels by G: B. Francino are in the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (Z. 0. nos. 133 and 5972; Tarassuk, 1972, nos. 183-4), and in the Museo Civico, Bologna. Another pair of all-steel pistols by Scioli are at Slott Örbyhus, Sweden (Seitz, Feuerwaffen, II, fig. 112). The barrel of the pistol in the Victoria and Albert Museum, cited in the 1962 Catalogue, is by Giovanni Battista Francino (Blair, 1968, fig. 224). The Royal Armouries gun cited in the 1962 Catalogue is no. XII. 1752 (see the exhibition catalogue Treasures of the Tower, 1982, cat. no. 68, illus.). The gun in the Renwick collection was sold at Sotheby's, 19 March 1974, lot 38, repr in cat. A pair of pistols signed by S. Sioli and G. Mutto from the armoury of Peter the Great is in the Moscow Kremlin (Weapons of the Petrine period shown in the Moscow Kremlin, 1983, nos. 46-7).

A1228 only differs from its companion weapon in the decoration of the breast of the cock, which appears to date from the 18th century. A1229|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1230. Barrel of round section, with flattened plane on top inscribed:

GIO BATTA FRANZZINO

and engraved at the breech and on the top rib.

Lock. The lock-plate is plain, save for acanthus ornament chiselled in low relief at the rear end, and is inscribed:

STEFANO SCIOLI

The head of the pin securing the cock is chiselled in the form of a grotesque mask.

Stock entirely of steel, but conventional in shape. The surface is covered with engraved floral scrollwork, except by the ramrod socket where the decoration is rendered in relief. Butt-cap with a lion's mask chiselled on the end and acanthus foliage on the sides. The screw-plate and scutcheon-plate are chiselled with openwork scrolls and foliage, and the trigger-guard finials are similarly treated. In the centre of the bow of the latter is a lion's mask in relief. Steel ramrod.

Italian, about 1680.

For notes on G. B. Francino, see under A1184, and on Stefano Sioli, under A1227.

The inside of the lock of A1229 only is struck with a circular punch containing the capital letters VA. The lock has a bridle on the tumbler but not on the pan-cover. Gaibi, Armida fuoco, 1962, p. 128, pI. 147b; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, figs. 423-4; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 73. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) attributed the barrels to Giovanni Battista Francino II, born 1647. The lock-maker's mark is not recorded in N. Støckel. A1230|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1229. Barrel of round section, with flattened plane on top inscribed:

GIO BATTA FRANZZINO

and engraved at the breech and on the top rib.

Lock. The lock-plate is plain, save for acanthus ornament chiselled in low relief at the rear end, and is inscribed:

STEFANO SCIOLI

The head of the pin securing the cock is chiselled in the form of a grotesque mask.

Stock entirely of steel, but conventional in shape. The surface is covered with engraved floral scrollwork, except by the ramrod socket where the decoration is rendered in relief. Butt-cap with a lion's mask chiselled on the end and acanthus foliage on the sides. The screw-plate and scutcheon-plate are chiselled with openwork scrolls and foliage, and the trigger-guard finials are similarly treated. In the centre of the bow of the latter is a lion's mask in relief. Steel ramrod.

Italian, about 1680.

For notes on G. B. Francino, see under A1184, and on Stefano Sioli, under A1227.

Gaibi, Armida fuoco, 1962, p. 128, pI. 147b; and Armi da fuoco, 1978, figs. 423-4; Blair, Pollard's History of Firearms, 1983, pI. 73. A. Gaibi (loc. cit., 1962) attributed the barrels to Giovanni Battista Francino II, born 1647. The lock-maker's mark is not recorded in N. Støckel. A1231|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1232. Barrel octagonal at the breech and finished at the muzzle with a narrow moulding. The octagonal portion is lightly engraved with running foliage. On the underside is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock. The lock-plate is chiselled in low relief with an open pattern of acanthus scrolls. The cock is ring-necked, chiselled and pierced en suite, as is also the steel and pan-cover.

Stock of solid ivory, carved round the breech-strap and in front of the trigger-guard with grotesque masks. The butt, which is formed by a separate piece, is carved in the shape of a head wearing a plumed helmet surmounted by a monster. At the junction of butt and stock is a collar of engraved silver. Steel trigger-guard. Single, silver ramrod-pipe engraved with an owl. Ivory ramrod with a silver cap engraved as a six-petalled flower.

Dutch (Maastricht), about 1660.

There are a number of pistols with ivory stocks of this type in existence, including two pairs in the Musée de l' Armée (M. 1713, 1781), and a pair in the Musée de Cluny, Paris. There was a pair in the Keasbey Collection with locks signed by Jan Hermans (American Art Association, 1924, lot 152). A pair in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and another at Moscow, have wheel-locks, but in most cases these pistols are fitted with flint-locks. For an account of this class of pistol, with further instances, see Major Ilgner, Z.H.W.K., XII, 210; XIII, 19, 68, 166, 288; XIV, 58; and Lenk, Flintlåset, pls. 52, 53, where they are ascribed to stock-makers working at Maastricht. Compare the mark on the barrel of A1173, which is inscribed: A. Maestrech. One of Major Ilgner's two pairs of ivory-stocked pistols, by Johan Louroux of Maastricht, is now in the Generaal Hoefer Museum at Leiden, and described by C.A. Hartmann in the Bulletin of the Belgische Vereniging Liefkabbers Wapens, Sept.-Oct., 1954. There is also a pair at Dresden, signed: Kosser in Maestricht, and a pair in the Royal Armouries with similar stocks, (XII. 1319-20).

There is no side-plate. The side-screws do not penetrate right through the lock-plate. There is no external bridle.

Provenance: these pistols were exhibited in one of Lord Hertford's cases of Oriental arms and armour at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865 (illus. in L' art ancien, pls. 204 and 346). They are not, however, identifiable in the catalogue.
The barrel-maker's mark is not in N. Støckel, but see under A1173. Of the comparable firearms cited in the 1962 Catalogue, one of those in the Musée de l' Armee (No. M. 1713) is signed by Johan Laroux, Maestricht (Peterson, Book of the Gun, 1962, cover illus.), and M.1781, a double-barrelled pistol, is signed Acquis Granis, meaning Aachen. Another pair by Laroux is in the Historical Museum at Göteborg, Sweden (GM. 691). Another pair by lean Hermans in the armoury of Prince Esterhazy is illustrated by Szendrei (1896, no. 2998). Other examples by Jakob Rosters are in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (no. 1878. 62 and A. Norman, 1972, no. 71), in the Tojhusmuseum, Copenhagen (cat. no. 1942/B 90), and in the K. Livrustkammer, Stockholm (inv. nos. 4645-6; Ossbahr, 1897, I, pI. XXXI, nos. 5657-8). There was apparently a pair in the collection of R. Napier of West Shandon, Dumbarton, signed L. van Mersen à Maestricht (1865 cat., no. 2150). Daniel Voldas of Maestricht signed a single pistol in the armoury of Prince E. Batthyany-Strattman, at Schloss Kormend (Szendrei, 1896, no. 3420). See also H. L. Visser, 'Dutch ivory-stocked pistols', Bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collectors, no. 53, 1985, off-print. A1232|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1231. Barrel octagonal at the breech and finished at the muzzle with a narrow moulding. The octagonal portion is lightly engraved with running foliage. On the underside is stamped a maker's mark.

Lock. The lock-plate is chiselled in low relief with an open pattern of acanthus scrolls. The cock is ring-necked, chiselled and pierced en suite, as is also the steel and pan-cover.

Stock of solid ivory, carved round the breech-strap and in front of the trigger-guard with grotesque masks. The butt, which is formed by a separate piece, is carved in the shape of a head wearing a plumed helmet surmounted by a monster. At the junction of butt and stock is a collar of engraved silver. Steel trigger-guard. Single, silver ramrod-pipe engraved with an owl. Ivory ramrod with a silver cap engraved as a six-petalled flower.

Dutch (Maastricht), about 1660.

There are a number of pistols with ivory stocks of this type in existence, including two pairs in the Musée de l' Armée (M. 1713, 1781), and a pair in the Musée de Cluny, Paris. There was a pair in the Keasbey Collection with locks signed by Jan Hermans (American Art Association, 1924, lot 152). A pair in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and another at Moscow, have wheel-locks, but in most cases these pistols are fitted with flint-locks. For an account of this class of pistol, with further instances, see Major Ilgner, Z.H.W.K., XII, 210; XIII, 19, 68, 166, 288; XIV, 58; and Lenk, Flintlåset, pls. 52, 53, where they are ascribed to stock-makers working at Maastricht. Compare the mark on the barrel of A1173, which is inscribed: A. Maestrech. One of Major Ilgner's two pairs of ivory-stocked pistols, by Johan Louroux of Maastricht, is now in the Generaal Hoefer Museum at Leiden, and described by C.A. Hartmann in the Bulletin of the Belgische Vereniging Liefkabbers Wapens, Sept.-Oct., 1954. There is also a pair at Dresden, signed: Kosser in Maestricht, and a pair in the Royal Armouries with similar stocks, (XII. 1319-20).

There is no side-plate. The side-screws do not penetrate right through the lock-plate. There is no external bridle.

Provenance: these pistols were exhibited in one of Lord Hertford's cases of Oriental arms and armour at the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865 (illus. in L' art ancien, pls. 204 and 346). They are not, however, identifiable in the catalogue.
The barrel-maker's mark is not in N. Støckel, but see under A1173. Of the comparable firearms cited in the 1962 Catalogue, one of those in the Musée de l' Armee (No. M. 1713) is signed by Johan Laroux, Maestricht (Peterson, Book of the Gun, 1962, cover illus.), and M.1781, a double-barrelled pistol, is signed Acquis Granis, meaning Aachen. Another pair by Laroux is in the Historical Museum at Göteborg, Sweden (GM. 691). Another pair by lean Hermans in the armoury of Prince Esterhazy is illustrated by Szendrei (1896, no. 2998). Other examples by Jakob Rosters are in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (no. 1878. 62 and A. Norman, 1972, no. 71), in the Tojhusmuseum, Copenhagen (cat. no. 1942/B 90), and in the K. Livrustkammer, Stockholm (inv. nos. 4645-6; Ossbahr, 1897, I, pI. XXXI, nos. 5657-8). There was apparently a pair in the collection of R. Napier of West Shandon, Dumbarton, signed L. van Mersen à Maestricht (1865 cat., no. 2150). Daniel Voldas of Maestricht signed a single pistol in the armoury of Prince E. Batthyany-Strattman, at Schloss Kormend (Szendrei, 1896, no. 3420). See also H. L. Visser, 'Dutch ivory-stocked pistols', Bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collectors, no. 53, 1985, off-print. A1234|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1235. The barrel octagonal at the breech, then polygonal and finally of round section, finished at the muzzle with narrow turned mouldings. The breech-strap is chiselled with gilt foliage, while between the faceted and round sections is a band of chiselled acanthus foliage. The rest of the surface is blued and inlaid in gold with formal foliage for two-thirds of the length and again near the muzzle. There is a gold facing at the vent. At the breech are the gold stamps of the maker:

FRCO/LO/PEZ

Lock (à la moda). The lock-plate is chased with trophies of arms and the rest of the lock with scrollwork and floral ornament chiselled in low relief, the ground matt gold. The mechanism follows the Spanish practice in having a sear passing through the lock-plate and engaging with projections on the breast and tail of the cock, though the general appearance of the lock with inside fitted mainspring is conventional. Ring-headed jaw-screw and gold-lined pan.

Stock of burr walnut, with slight carving of foliage near the breech-strap and trigger-guard, and inlaid with patterns in silver wire. Steel mounts chiselled in low relief on ground of matt gold. The butt-cap has in the centre a grotesque mask and on the sides of scrollwork and trophies. The screw-plate has a trophy with a figure in oriental dress amid rococo scrollwork. Trigger-guard and scutcheon-plate en suite. The front ramrod pipe is in one piece with a steel loop securing the barrel to the stock, and held in place by a spring-catch on the right side. Wooden ramrod with moulded ivory tip, on the end of which is faintly inscribed in ink the number 1500.

The striking face of the steel is not roughened. There is no external bridle for the pan-cover.

Spanish, about 1760.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, p. 338, pI. 51c.

The type of lock known in Spain as 'a la moda' is described and discussed by. D. Lavin (1965, pp. 182-4).

Francisco López, one of several gunmakers of that name, was a pupil of Juan Santos. He was appointed gunmaker to King Charles III of Spain in 1761 and retired 23 October in 1773 and seems to have died about 1800. He was the father of Gregorio López, himself a gunmaker and father of Francisco II who followed the same trade (Lavin, op. cit., p. 264, no. 53, and p. 265, nos. 55 and 56 respectively). Solér was a pupil of Francisco López I. There is another gun by F. López, with a barrel by Basilio Escalante I, in the Archaeological Museum, Madrid (1980 cat., no. 13).

There is a gun with barrel signed: Francisco López en Madrid Ãno 1756, in the Real Armería at Madrid (No. K 158). Isidro Solér, in his book on Los Arcobuceros de Madrid, published in 1795, also mentions a namesake who was working in the second half of the 18th century at Salamanca, and whose counter mark was a crowned lion with raised paws and very thin tail, but his work does not bear comparison with that of the Royal gunsmith. There is a sporting gun by Francisco López of Madrid in the Bargello at Florence. The marks on the barrel are recorded by N. Støckel, I, p. 726, no. a 7803, and p. 726, no. a 708 respectively. A1235|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1234. The barrel octagonal at the breech, then polygonal and finally of round section, finished at the muzzle with narrow turned mouldings. The breech-strap is chiselled with gilt foliage, while between the faceted and round sections is a band of chiselled acanthus foliage. The rest of the surface is blued and inlaid in gold with formal foliage for two-thirds of the length and again near the muzzle. There is a gold facing at the vent. At the breech are the gold stamps of the maker:

FRCO/LO/PEZ

Lock (à la moda). The lock-plate is chased with trophies of arms and the rest of the lock with scrollwork and floral ornament chiselled in low relief, the ground matt gold. The mechanism follows the Spanish practice in having a sear passing through the lock-plate and engaging with projections on the breast and tail of the cock, though the general appearance of the lock with inside fitted mainspring is conventional. Ring-headed jaw-screw and gold-lined pan.

The trigger is bent.

Stock of burr walnut, with slight carving of foliage near the breech-strap and trigger-guard, and inlaid with patterns in silver wire. Steel mounts chiselled in low relief on ground of matt gold. The butt-cap has in the centre a grotesque mask and on the sides of scrollwork and trophies. The screw-plate has a trophy with a figure in oriental dress amid rococo scrollwork. Trigger-guard and scutcheon-plate en suite. The front ramrod pipe is in one piece with a steel loop securing the barrel to the stock, and held in place by a spring-catch on the right side. Wooden ramrod with moulded ivory tip, on the end of which is faintly inscribed in ink the number 1500.

The striking face of the steel is not roughened. There is no external bridle for the pan-cover.

Spanish, about 1760.

Hayward, Art of the Gunmaker, II, 1963, p. 338, pI. 51c.

The type of lock known in Spain as 'a la moda' is described and discussed by. D. Lavin (1965, pp. 182-4).

Francisco López, one of several gunmakers of that name, was a pupil of Juan Santos. He was appointed gunmaker to King Charles III of Spain in 1761 and retired 23 October in 1773 and seems to have died about 1800. He was the father of Gregorio López, himself a gunmaker and father of Francisco II who followed the same trade (Lavin, op. cit., p. 264, no. 53, and p. 265, nos. 55 and 56 respectively). Solér was a pupil of Francisco López I. There is another gun by F. López, with a barrel by Basilio Escalante I, in the Archaeological Museum, Madrid (1980 cat., no. 13).

There is a gun with barrel signed: Francisco López en Madrid Ãno 1756, in the Real Armería at Madrid (No. K 158). Isidro Solér, in his book on Los Arcobuceros de Madrid, published in 1795, also mentions a namesake who was working in the second half of the 18th century at Salamanca, and whose counter mark was a crowned lion with raised paws and very thin tail, but his work does not bear comparison with that of the Royal gunsmith. There is a sporting gun by Francisco López of Madrid in the Bargello at Florence. The marks on the barrel are recorded by N. Støckel, I, p. 726, no. a 7803, and p. 726, no. a 708 respectively. A1236|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1237. The barrel octagonal at the breech soon changing to a round section. Flattened rib along the top ending in a foresight which is in one piece with the barrel. Breech-strap incised with a shallow sighting notch. The breech is decorated with some roughly chiselled and engraved leaf ornament, and has three brass maker's stamps and a proof or view mark. Another mark is stamped on the underside. The barrel shows signs of having been adapted to the stock.

Lock roughly engraved with foliage and scrolls.

Stock of walnut with mounts of German silver. Butt-cap with a grotesque mask in the centre. Screw-plate chased and pierced with scrolls and foliage, with an oval medallion containing a classical bust. Whale-bone ramrod with horn tip and steel ferrule with detachable worm.

Probably Dutch, about 1750.

The alloy known as German silver was frequently used for the mounts of Russian pistols.

Conventional flint-lock with internal bridle but very crudely made. The underside of the pan-cover has two slight dimples cut into it. There is no external bridle.

Possibly of Turkish manufacture in the European fashion.

The marks are not apparently recorded in N. Støckel. A1237|1|1|Flint-lock pistol, a pair with A1236. The barrel octagonal at the breech soon changing to a round section. Flattened rib along the top ending in a foresight which is in one piece with the barrel. Breech-strap incised with a shallow sighting notch. The breech is decorated with some roughly chiselled and engraved leaf ornament, and has three brass maker's stamps and a proof or view mark. Another mark is stamped on the underside. The barrel shows signs of having been adapted to the stock.

Lock roughly engraved with foliage and scrolls.

Stock of walnut with mounts of German silver. Butt-cap with a grotesque mask in the centre. Screw-plate chased and pierced with scrolls and foliage, with an oval medallion containing a classical bust. Whale-bone ramrod, The horn tip missing, and steel ferrule with detachable worm.

Probably Dutch, about 1750.

The alloy known as German silver was frequently used for the mounts of Russian pistols.

Conventional flint-lock with internal bridle but very crudely made. The underside of the pan-cover has two slight dimples cut into it. There is no external bridle.

Possibly of Turkish manufacture in the European fashion.

The marks are not apparently recorded in N. Støckel. A1238|1|1|Combined halberd, fork and wheel-lock pistol. Small crescent-shaped axe-blade, balanced by a down-curved fluke, both pierced with a trefoil of three small holes; the beak is stamped on the left side with a maker's mark. The head is surmounted by two parallel spikes of strong diamond section forming a narrow fork. Tubular socket. To the right side of the halberd-head is affixed a pistol barrel, the lock being attached immediately below the socket and accommodated in the staff.

Barrel, octagonal at the breech, the remainder round, the two sections separated by a turned moulding. Brass back- and fore-sights.
Lock with external wheel covered by a domed casing; pan-cover release button. The lock-plate retains some of the original blueing; at the bottom edge is an indistinct mark, which may be that of Nuremberg.

The trigger is placed at a point approximately 30 inches from the bottom of the staff and is connected to the sear by a thin rod which passes along the centre of the staff. Immediately behind the trigger-lever is a safety-catch which, if pushed forward, locks the trigger.

Staff of dark wood, the surface roughened to within 14 inches of the butt by projecting granulations to improve the grip. Ferrule with spiked end, the spike pierced with a square hole.

German (Nuremberg?), about 1580.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 782. This kind of combined weapon was usually employed solely for hunting. The mark is not apparently recorded in N. Støckel. A1239|1|1|Combined axe and wheel-lock pistol. The axe-head consists of a long, narrow blade balanced on the opposite side by a slightly curved, pyramidal pick. The axe-blade has a bevelled cutting edge and is pierced with four heart-shaped openings, three being arranged in a trefoil. The blade is stamped on the right side with two marks.

The staff of dark wood is reinforced with steel straps which partly retain their blued surface. At the back is inlaid the barrel of the pistol, the socket of the axe-head fitting over the muzzle. The lock is placed in the conventional position on the right side.

Octagonal barrel. Backsight with high parallel sides. The foresight is of brass and set in an opening pierced through the base of the beak. Below the barrel is inserted a wooden ramrod.

Lock with external wheel contained in a domed cover into which the squared end of the wheel-spindle is sunk. Safety-catch and release button for the pan-cover. The lock-plate retains much of the original blueing, and is stamped with a repetition of the smaller mark on the axe-blade. The trigger is an acorn-shaped button placed at the end of the lower reinforcing-strap twelve inches from the ferrule. This latter consists of a steel band, with a pyramidal spike driven into the end of the haft.

German, about 1570.

The marks are not apparently recorded in N. Støckel. A1240|1|1|Combined walking-staff, sword and wheel-lock pistol. The walking staff (which forms the scabbard of the sword) is of wood, circular in section, made of vertical strips of ebony and mahogany, separated by bone or antler lines; the locket and ferrule of gilt bronze of cylindrical form, the locket chased with quatrefoil strapwork panels of conventional fruit, the ferrule with an imbricated ornament. The head of the staff, which forms the hilt of the sword, is topped by a gilt bronze pommel cast and chased to the form of a bearded head wearing a helmet of fantastic shape; the grip of ebony and mahogany bands like the scabbard, but of octagonal section, inlaid with a lozenge of mother-of-pearl on four sides; octagonal sockets of gilt bronze at either end chased with conventional flowers and a ragged-cross on alternate facets; the guard is merely a bronze disk engraved with running foliage.

The blade of flattened diamond section with ricasso, etched with trophies, the double-headed Imperial eagle and the arms of Jerusalem on a granulated ground; on the reverse side the arms of Jerusalem are replaced by a shield charged with four fleurs-de-lys; below, a face on a shield.

To the ricasso and right-hand side of the blade is screwed a small wheel-lock pistol discharged by means of a small knob beneath the lock; the dog-head, which folds back when not in use, is reversed, lying behind, and not forward, of the lock; on the wheel-case is a maker's mark; the plain steel barrel, of octagonal section towards the lock, formerly carried a ramrod (now missing). The pan-cover is semi-rotary. The dog is associated.

Augsburg, about 1580-90.

Skelton II, pl. CIII, figs. 9 and 10.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer.

A gilt bronze head of like design was once in the possession of Sir James Mann.

Cf. Forrer, von Schwerzenbach Collection, pl. XXXIV, 3, 5 and 5b.

A similar combined weapon is in the collection of the Musée de l’Armée, Paris (ex-Pauilhac Collection; M.Po.685, stamped with the Augsburg town mark on the lock-plate).

Provenance: D. Colnaghi; A1240 was no. 53 of the swords and daggers in the list of arms and armour acquired by Samuel Meyrick from Domenic Colnaghi, about 1818 (now in the Library of the Royal Armouries).

Exhibited: ? South Kensington, 1869, no. 637.

Hayward, 'Augsburg Swords', Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1980, pp. 3-14, fig. 11.

The maker's mark on the wheel (not on the wheel-case) is probably, in fact, a setting mark indicating whether or not the lock is spanned (see Hoff, Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger, XXII, pp. 73-86).

J. F. Hayward (loc. cit.) has shown that a whole group of walking staves with blades and pistols attached, such as A1240, and swords combined with pistols, such as A1241 here, were made in Augsburg. For instance, a comparable staff in the Tøjhusmuseum, Copenhagen (cat., no. C105/42), bears the same mark as the barrel of the pistol on no. A1241, which also bears Augsburg town marks. The example in the National Museum, Copenhagen, came from the Oldenborg armoury (inv. no. 10165; F. Askgaard, Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger, Xc, p. 265). Another example, with an apparently associated scabbard of the correct form, but too narrow, was sold at Sotheby's, 10 July 1967, lot 125, repr. in cat. A. R. Dufty (letter of January 1970) suggested that the pommel might be a good deal earlier, comparing it with the fantastic heads illustrated by Heinrich Vogtherr in his Libelus artificiosus, Strasbourg 1539. The similar pommel, formerly in the collection of Sir James Mann, is now in an English private collection. The one in the von Schwerzenbach collection is now in the Voralberg Museum (Thomas, Wegweiser durch das Voralberger Landesmuseum, IV, Waffen, n.d., pI. 12). A1242|1|1|Combined sword and wheel-lock pistol. Basket hilt of blued steel, with flattened spheroidal pommel without button, spirally-fluted, wooden grip bound with steel wire in the grooves, knuckle-guard dividing to form a heart-shaped stool, its outer side linked to the knuckle-guard by four loop-guards from which issue four curved bars to protect the back of the hand. On the inner side is a large thumb-ring.

Broad blade of flattened hexagonal section with a shallow groove. On the right side below the hilt is attached a wheel-lock pistol.

The barrel is octagonal at the breech, and round for its remaining length. On the underside is the mark M F.

Lock-plate shaped to the wheel and chiselled at the end with foliage and flowers in relief and stamped on both exterior and interior with marks. Cock slightly engraved with scrollwork. Pan-cover with spring release. The pistol is discharged by a flat, curved trigger, which projects backwards from the casing surrounding the lock.

Sword, Dutch naval type, about 1785; lock, Dutch, about 1640; barrel, probably 19th century

Provenance: A. Monmarqué (...une épée pistolet, 100 fr.; receipted bill, 28 November, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke; however this bill may refer instead to A1241 (S. Gaynor, personal communication, 1984).

This weapon is a composite and must have been assembled at a comparatively recent date. It is ill-balanced and too heavy for use. J. F. Hayward once possessed a Dutch naval sword with similar hilt dated 1786. A1243|1|1|Small cannon, of cast bronze, ornamented in relief in three sections. On the first reinforce is the armed figure of Mars, on the second Victory with palm and laurel wreath, and on the chase Peace holding aloft an olive branch and standing upon a trophy of arms. Near the vent, between the legs of the figure of Mars, is a small medallion bearing a shield charged with a chevron between three lions (?). The chevron of the coat of arms seems to be charged with some small but illegible devices. The vent, which seems to have been roughly enlarged, is pierced in a grotesque mask. Plain turned mouldings at cascabel and muzzle.

French, about 1580.

Provenance: M. Baur (un canon de bronze, 400 fr.; receipted bill, 20 November, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke (This would equally well refer to A1244).

The figures on this cannon are somewhat in the style of Germain Pilon.

A suprising number of cannon of this pattern survive, see Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 68, for a list of comparable pieces. There is a similar cannon in the Musée de Cluny (no. 766). A pair complete with carriages were in the collection of the Baron de Cosson and were traditionally supposed to have been a present to Queen Elizabeth. Laking stated that one in a damaged condition was in the collection of the Earl of Londesbourgh. Another was sold at Sotheby's, 15 December, 1939, lot 31. A pair, now in an American private collection, was in the hands of the H. Ricketts in 1973. He tentatively attributed their design to Jean Goujon (act. 1540, died between 1564 and 1568). An example of in the Kingston-upon-Hull Museum is signed, in place of the oval shield, DE / CHAPEL / LENNE. This inscription is cast in relief. Another example was at Hever Castle (sold Sotheby's 1983, lot 194, repr. in cat.). J. F. Hayward described it in the sale catalogue as being 'after an original in the manner of Germain Pilon' (1537-74). A1245|1|1|Although capable of being fired, this small cannon with its lavish decoration was clearly only ever intended for ceremonial use. It is signed by Giovanni Mazzaroli, a member of one of the three families of bronze founders who supplied the Venetian republic with much of its artillery from the fifteenth century through to the fall of the Republic in 1797. The Mazzaroli flourished from around 1620 onwards.

The barrel is a supremely confident demonstration of the art of lost wax casting, in which the sculpture is first modelled in wax. A clay mould is then built around the wax, before molten bronze is poured into it, destroying the wax and replacing it with cast metal.

The main decorative scene on the upper surface of the barrel and modelled in exceptionally high relief, depicts the lord of the gods Jupiter, seated on an eagle, hurling fire-bolts at a group of naked male figures of giant Titans, who struggle and cower beneath an avalanche of rocks. Around the muzzle is a frieze with the Rape of the Sabines, loosely based on the celebrated relief of this subject made by Giambologna around 1582–84. The sculptural quality of the decoration is even more evident on the cannon’s base or cascabel, decorated with Hercules struggling with two naked men, clearly derived from a small bronze or ivory group. A1246|1|1|Collection of gunner's instruments, consisting of eighteen pieces belonging to at least three different sets. Instruments of this kind formed part of the furniture of a master-gunner's sword and were carried in pockets in the sheath; one such is in Hessisches Museum at Darmstadt.

A-H are the work of the Trechsler family of Dresden and bear cherubs' heads and similar engraving. I and J may belong to another set, as in each case the index is terminated by horizontal mouldings instead of a cherub's head. K-N are more finely engraved, and R bears a maker's mark of a key.

A. Square or Quadrant. In the form of a right-angled triangle. Near the upper angle is pivoted a pointer with the index formed as a cherub's head. This works in conjunction with a scale graduated from 1 to 15, the spaces narrowing as the numbers rise. Below this scale is a shallow groove which may originally have been filled with a coloured mastic (cf. D). The whole is of gilt brass, the face being engraved with a landscape, in the foreground of which a soldier is firing a mortar, with a shell bursting over a town in the bottom angle. Below this is engraved the signature:

1. 6 . A . T. F. D (reversed). 20

This may be interpreted as Abraham Trechsler Fecit Dresden 1620. On the reverse side is a battle-scene with a gunner discharging a cannon in the foreground.

Abraham Trechsler, or Drechsler, was a member of a numerous family of gunmakers working for the Elector of Saxony at Dresden in the late 16th and 17th centuries (see the work of Christoph Trechsler, or Drechsler, Nos. A1087-8, and B and D below). Other members of the family were Abraham, Anton, Balthasar and Lorenz. A wheel-lock pistol by Christoph Trechsler was sold at Christie's, 2 June, 1959, lot 189, collection of James Christie.

B. Gunner's Rule and Level. The scale is of rectangular section and slightly tapering. It is calibrated on three sides to show the weight in pounds of iron, lead and stone shot, respectively, the fourth side being an inch rule. To the thicker end, which is shaped to sit on the breech of a cannon is attached a small index ending in a winged cherub's head; the scale is calibrated: 12, 8, 4, 0, 4, 8, 12. The whole is of gilt brass. On the front is engraved the signature:

C . T . D . E . M .

interpreted by Stöcklein (Thieme-Becker, Künstler-lexikon) as Christoph Trechsler (Drechsler) der Elter Macht or by others, Christoph Trechsler Dresden Electoralis Mechanicus.

A pair of compasses dated 1617 in the Rosenheim sale (Sotheby's, 11 May, 1923, lot 347) bore the same signature. A level, signed: C.T.M., and dated 1605, was lent by Lady Margaret Watney to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 1938. A similar rule is illustrated in W. Dilich, Kreisbuch, Cassel 1607-8, pls. R - S.

C. Gunner's Rule and Level. A smaller version of B, but lacking the quadrant, in place of which it is finished with a cherub's head. It is calibrated for lead, iron, brass and pewter shot. Scale in pounds and half ounces.

D Dividers. Gilt brass with steel points chased and engraved in the form of a scroll surmounted by a cherub. Signed on the inner side of one arm:

C . T . D . E . M .

on the other the date:
. 1617 .

See note under B, above, but differing in decoration.

E. Rod of round section and slightly tapering, grooved along its whole length and filled with a pink mastic. The rod finishes at the top in a handle of square section, to one side of which is applied an ornament in the form of a scroll surmounted with a cherub's head.

F, G, H. Three Steel Rods with corkscrew ends, and handles shaped like the letter D.

I. Level. Shaped at the base to stand on the breech of a cannon, and fitted with a vertical slide; in the lower part are pierced three fine holes arranged one above the other, while to the upper part is pivoted an index or pendulum. The slide is backed by an upright member, the right side of which is engraved with a scale graduated in main divisions 1/4 inch wide, each having four sub-divisions, the main divisions being numbered 16, 12, 8, 4. The whole is of gilt brass, the front engraved with a flowing design of foliage. F matches E. G and H form a pair. According to Joseph Furttenbach these were used to loosen powder encrusted in the touch-hole (Beschreibung einer neuer Buschenmeisterey, Ulm 1627, pl. 29B).

Examples of gunner's levels can be seen in the British Museum, at Darmstadt, Dresden, and in the Louvre, Paris. Several, including one by Trechsler, were in the Rosenheim Collection (sold Sotheby's, 1923, lots 389-93). One by Ulrich Kleiber, dated 1575, was sold at Sotheby's, 17 November, 1938, lot 26. Cf. Sir Sibbald D. Scott, The British Army, vol. II, p. 248, Pl. 20.

J. Quadrant or Protractor. In the form of a semi-circle, graduated in degrees. In the middle of the base is a round hole. At the top is pivoted plumb-line a pointer.

K. Pair of Compasses. Of gilt brass finely engraved with foliage and furnished with steel points. One leg is detachable and is held by a screw. This piece bears a mark of a small Gothic letter r. Into this fit five other pieces. These are:

L. A fine Knife; M. O. & P. three legs probably all to hold a pencil; N. Another leg for ink.

Q. Sliding Scale forming part of an instrument which is missing. Graduated in inches up to 11. In the centre is a groove which has originally been filled with a coloured pigment.

R. Double ended steel drawing pen.

German, early 17th century

L' Architecture, No. 46 (16 November, 1912), p. 399, figs. 1 and 2.

Previously included in the Catalogue of Furniture and Objects of Art, 1920, nos. III J 513-30.

Furttenbach, loc. cit., illustrates a comparable set of instruments clearly meant for a trouse or a sword sheath. C. Blair discusses a similar series at Waddesdon Manor (1974, nos. 221-2). A somewhat similar set signed by Christoff Treschler the Elder, is in the sheath of the so-called 'Admiral's sword' at Rosenborg, Copenhagen (Hoff, Schepelern & Boesen, 1956, no. 9, pls. 10-11). A level signed C.T.M. and dated 1608 was sold at Sotheby's, 8 December 1969, lot 19. Two prickers, a calibre measure, and a level signed CTDEM and dated 1619 are in the Musée du Louvre (inv. no. P282), while another gunner's level with the same signature and date is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 2076.1855). A1247|1|1|Pair of dividers, in the form of a dagger with spherical pommel; turned grip of baluster form; guard with scrolled ends, square in section, chiselled with bands of guilloche ornament terminating in acanthus leaves, twin blades each of triangular section forming a blade of diamond section when united.

The entire piece is made of bright steel and split into two pieces which are hinged at the pommel; the twin blades open like the legs of a pair of compasses and can be extended to a right angle.

Italian, about 1600.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 97, Norman and Barne, 1980, p.289.

Provenance: Joyeau (Un compas en fer ciselé du XVI ème 55 fr.; receipted bill, 25 September, 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The MS. of Antonio Petrini of Florence, 1642, a copy of which is in the Royal Armouries, makes reference to daggers of this kind and their use as a pair of compasses and to measure the calibre of guns and cannon balls. For the latter purpose the inner faces of the two blades were generally graduated; in the case of A1247 these surfaces are unmarked.

There is a similar dagger in the Reubell Bequest in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, (no. 26.145.128; Dean, Daggers, no.214, pl. LXV). See also Zschille Collection (Forrer, Catalogue, 1897, pl. 152, no. 433).

A dagger with divisable blade 'che serve per sesto e per sagoma' is illustrated in L' arte fabrile, by Antonio Petrini, 1642 (see Gaibi, Armi antiche, 1963, p.168). A dagger/dividers of this type appears in a portrait at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, of Ralph Simmons (1583-1603), the architect of the college. A1248|1|1|Powder-flask, of polished antler with three branches in base, finely carved in low relief with the nude figure of Mars and the emblems of war at his feet: the branches capped with lion's masks and the head of a wild boar. Inscribed at the top:


HOC FERRO/TELOQZ VIROS/SIC TERRITO/MAVORS 1532
('With this weapon and missile affright men, O Mars')

The ends of the branches are capped with antler carved in relief with the heads of a lion, a boar and a griffin, respectively. The back is incised with the letters C.P.I. Light bronze funnel of vase-shaped octagonal section with spring cut-off, but without a cap (possibly a restoration of the 18th century); four steel rings for suspension.

German, mid-16th century.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 4; L' Art Ancien I, 26 and 84; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2030; L' Art pour Tous, no. 184, fig. 1671; Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1867, p. 161.
Provenance: E. Juste aîné (Une Poire à poudre en corne de cerf sculpté, travail florentin 1532, 9,000 fr., with the saddle steels, nos. A416-7, and a casque, no. A172; receipted bill, 19 June 1865); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The early date 1532 has probably been altered from 1552. In style A1248 resembles the flask, A1251, and their unusual quality has hitherto led to their being described as Italian, but Mavors is a German variant of the name of the god of war. A1249|1|1|Powder-flask and primer, of antler, with two branches in base, carved in low relief with the arms of Volkrahen of Austria: quarterly, 1-4, a tree eradicated between two magpies (facing the trunk); 2-3 a fesse. Crests: 1, as quarters 1-4; 2, a vol charged with a fesse as 2-3. (The shading of the charges is arbitrary and does not follow the system of representing specific tinctures by shading introduced c. 1600.) The mantling is extended to the back of the flask, where there are carved in low relief three daisies and a scroll inscribed:

G U T · S E I · L O B · A G A P · I T V S · V O L · K R A · 1·5·5·5·
('God be praised, Agapitus Volkrahen 1555')

Below are the letters B K or K B in monogram. Mounts of brass engraved with foliage. Funnel with a spring-cap and a sliding cut-off; the caps on the branches en suite, one has a lion's mask applied to it which pivots to the side for refilling the flask, the other a small funnel with a spring-cap for priming.

Austrian, dated 1555.

The arms are given in J. Sibmacher's New Wapensbuch, Nuremberg, 1605, p. 38.

The mounts of this flask are probably modern and seem to have been copied from those of A1250. A1250|1|1|Powder-flask and primer, of antler, with two branches at the base, the front carved in low relief with a representation of the Crucifixion, the back engraved with bands of acanthus leaves, and a shield bearing a canton in chief, surmounted by a purely decorative trefoil and flanked with the initials (conjoined) and date:

IC/VR · 1 · 5 · 5 · 7

Funnel of gilt bronze with spring-cap (the cut-off is missing); the end of one branch is capped with a gilt bronze collar fitted with a small funnel and cap for priming, the other end has applied to it a lion's mask in dark bronze, which forms the cover of a compartment for bullets; two rings for suspension. The belt-hook is missing and has been replaced by a short brass bar.

German, dated 1557. A1251|1|1|Powder-flask, of antler, with two branches in base, the front finely carved in low relief with a representation of Hercules wrestling with Antæus, and at the base the head of his mother, Earth; trophies of arms and shields in the background, a blank oval cartouche at the top. Turned funnel of silver with a sliding cut-off, but without a cap; the ends of the branches capped with silver mounts like the top, plain except for turned lines and a beaded edge; four rings for suspension. The belt hook is missing.

The companion primer is catalogued under A1303.

Of similar workmanship to the powder-flask, A1248: the silver mounts are of a later date than the rest.

Flask, German, mid- 16th century; mounts 19th century.
Asselineau, pl. 46 (Sommesson); Souvenirs de la Galerie Pourtalès, 1862; L' Art Ancien, III-394; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2039 (Spitzer); the catalogue states that it was engraved in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, but this is probably a confusion with A1303; L' Art pour Tous VII, 1868, no. 189, fig.1672.

Provenance: Fiérard sale, 1846; Sommesson sale, 1848, lot 198 (195 fr.); Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier, 6 February, 1865, lot 1651, 2,950 fr.(Monture en argent dore de travail moderne), (Willestrand); Frédéric Spitzer.

A flask, also depicting a labour of Hercules and perhaps from the same hand, is in the Musée de l' Armée, Paris (M 2023). A1252|1|1|Powder-flask, of antler, roughly triangular in shape, carved on the front in low relief with a figure of Fortune standing upon a porcupine itself standing upon a globe, the back engraved with a large achievement of arms consisting of a shield charged with a chevron, supported by two lions, one sejant and one rampant, and surmounted by a helm, full-face, crested with a demi-figure of a man in armour holding a pole-axe, and backed by two wings each charged with a chevron. The base is carved and engraved with masks and strapwork scrolls in low relief. The funnel and mount of gilt steel is chased with foliage, and a band of guilloche ornament runs round the collar; there is a spring cut-off, but no cap; two rings suspension. A rivet, probably for a belt-hook, survives near the top of the back.

German, about 1570.

L' Art Ancien IV, 567 (with a caption noting F. Spitzer as the owner); but it is not (as was thought in 1962) identifyable in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer. A1253|1|1|Powder-flask, made of wood covered with antler, pear-shaped, and rectangular in section, carved on the front in high relief with the figure of Mars with naked children at his feet, within a border of Renaissance foliage. The back is decorated with putti supporting a grotesque shield with an arch in the background; the sides have bands of acanthus leaves divided by a steel strap. The rectangular steel top is etched with a quatrefoil on a granulated ground, hinged and fastened with a spring; turned funnel of bright steel with spring cut-off, the lever terminating in a satyr's mask. There are two rings for suspension.

German, about 1580. A1254|1|1|Powder-flask, of antler, with two branches in base, on the front is inserted a circular panel carved in relief with a combat between a horseman and a foot soldier, the rest of the surface is engraved with ornamental scrollwork, including two medallions containing a male and female profile respectively. The back is engraved with a horseman in Roman armour spearing a recumbent soldier, while another on the ground grasps two pistols. The ends of the branches are capped with a tusked monster, whose mouth has been coloured red on the inside, and the head of an elderly man carved in relief in ivory; the short, turned funnel of bright steel with spring cut-off may be an addition of the 18th century; four steel rings for suspension.

German, about 1580. A1255|1|1|Powder-flash, of antler, with two branches in base, elaborately carved. In the centre is a medallion carved with a relief, representing either the Conversion of the Emperor Constantine or The Conversion of St. Paul, around which are disposed four smaller oval panels of horsemen, with one of God the Father above; the ground is elaborately carved in low relief with nude figures, cupids, masks and foliage; the ends of the branches are capped with grotesque masks of horn carved in relief. The back is engraved with an equestrian figure. Turned funnel of brass with a spring cut-off, but no cap; collar of gilt bronze chased with cherubs and other ornament; four rings for suspension (restored), and a long belt hook of gilt bronze, pierced with a heart; the mounts appear to be of later date than the rest.

Northern European, about 1530-35.

A very similar powder-flask dated 1531 is in the Czartoriski Museum at Cracow. It came from an English source, one Rowley, in 1791. It is said to have belonged to King Henry VIII and was illustrated by J. Carter in his Specimens of ancient painting and sculpture in England, on plate XXXVIII which is dated 1 July 1787. It was then in the property of William Rawle, the gun-maker, accoutrement-maker, and antiquary. It was bought at his sale by the Princess Isabel Czartoyska during her visit to London in 1790 (Zygulski, Apollo, LXXXII, 1965, pp.395-7, figs. 10-11; Zygulski, 1892, pl. 204). A1256|1|1|Powder-flask, of antler, with two branches at the base, the face bearing the figure of Faith carved in low relief, a lion's mask above and two busts below, framed with interlacing bands and foliage, the ground stippled. Funnel of bright steel, with a spring cut-off chased and shaped as a swan's neck; the caps to the horns also of steel, the edges roped; four steel rings for suspension. No cap has apparently ever been fitted on the spout.

The whole object may be 19th-century. A1257|1|1|Powder-flask, of antler, with two branches at the base, the front carved in low relief with a figure of a harquebusier under an arch, and with a stork and a vase of flowers at the bottom; the back is engraved with a horseman carrying a shield and a banner; turned funnel of bright steel with spring-cap; the ends of the branches also capped with steel; two large rings for suspension.

French (?), about 1590. A1258|1|1|Powder-flask, of antler, with two branches at the base, the front carved in low relief with the subject of David and Bathsheba, the back incised with foliage and conventional flowers. Funnel and collar of bright steel, etched, probably in the 19th century, with minute flowers and scrollwork, including a dog and hare; the caps on the ends of the branches en suite, with an owl and a cherub; spring cut-off, but no cap; at the back a steel belt hook, no rings for suspension. On the back is struck an oval, blue-edged label numbered 43.

German (possibly Saxon), about 1590.

A flask carved with the same subject is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat. no. 713, pl. CLX, referring to a comparable example, formerly in the Keasby collection, sold American Art Association, 1925, lot 57, repr. in cat.). Another, found in Amsterdam, is in the Amsterdam City Historical Museum. A1259|1|1|Powder-flash, of antler, with two branches in base, carved in low relief on the front with the figures of Venus and Cupid; at the side vertical panels containing on one side a portrait medallion supported by a figure of Cupid with scrolls of conventional foliage carved in relief, on the other side Cupid in an oval among foliage. The back plain. Turned funnel of bright steel without a cap, the spring cut-off is missing; the mounts, deeply etched with a frieze of a medallion supported by sphinxes, and at the ends of the branches with masks and scrolls; at the back a long steel belt hook, but no rings for suspension.

German, about 1590.

Provenance: Ernest de Rozière (sold Paris, 19-21 March, 1860, lot 179; engraved in reverse in the sale catalogue)

Illustrated in an anonymous dealer's photograph in the papers of W.H. Riggs in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, priced at 700 fr. (S. Pyhrr, letter of November 1980). A1260|1|1|Powder-flask, of cow horn, flattened and curved to an arc, one side lightly engraved with a spray of foliage resembling a fleur-de-lys. Mounts of gilt bronze decorated with bands of strapwork, masks and cartouches cast and chased in relief. The funnel of octagonal section with turned mouth-piece, double cut-off actuated by one lever; the short funnel of the primer –or more probably a container for bullets– placed at the base has a cap chiselled in the form of a shell, which is held in position by a long, narrow spring nearly as long as the flask; its actuating-knob is missing. On the reverse side is a long, steel belt hook – which could equally be used with a port-flask such as A1284. There are two rings for suspension. Similar form to A1262.

German (possibly Nuremberg), about 1600.

C. Blair has suggested that the two comparable flasks at Waddesdon Manor might have been made in Nuremberg (1974, cat., nos. 159-60). W. Glage on the other hand, suggested that A1260 was of Brunswick form and workmanship (personal communication, 1983). A1262|1|1|Powder-flask, of cow horn, flattened and curved in an arc, incised with sprays of foliage. The mounts at top and bottom are gilt bronze, pierced and chased with openwork designs of birds and scrolls, the base engraved with foliage. Funnel with spring-cap; the cut-off slides right out for refilling. On the reverse side is a long belt hook – which is a 19th-century replacement- of gilt bronze engraved with diagonal stripes like the funnel; four rings for suspension. Similar in form to A1260.

German (Augsburg), about 1600.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 7. (The knob to the cut-off shown in Jacquemart's etching is now missing).

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1263|1|1|Powder-flask, of ivory, flat and circular in form, the central medallion in front is engraved with a representation of Joshua commanding the Sun to stand still, within a circular ornamental border of masks, swags of fruit and female figures of Victory (?). The back engraved with the same subjects, but is flatter and the circular hollow bolection of the outer band is deeper. Turned funnel of blued steel with spring-cap; two swivel loops for suspension.

Flemish (?), about 1600; the engraving has been doubted, and the whole may be a 19th-century production. The engraving of the central plaque on the front is of particularly poor quality. If any part is genuine it is the back.

L' Art Ancien IV, 567; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, No. 2038

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer. A1264|1|1|Powder-flask, of dark, polished cow horn, flat and slightly curved, with the narrower end at the base, the surface inlaid with decoration in mother-of-pearl, silver wire and engraved brass. In the centre is a blank shield surmounted by a helmet of mother-of-pearl, surrounded by a design of intertwined foliage and flowers, the tendrils being of silver wire, the leaves of brass, engraved and formerly gilt, while the flowers are of mother-of-pearl. Scattered throughout the design are small circular inlays of pewter piqué ornament. Funnel, cut-off lever and a spiral spring of blued steel mounted on a horn plate. This is hinged at one end and opens for filling. It is secured by a spring-catch with press-in release. At the back transverse belt hook of blued steel.

Possibly Spanish, about 1620.

What appears to be a very similar flask is illustrated in 'Weapons on a board' by an unknown Spanish painter (Prado, Madrid, un-numbered; exhibited in 1960 without attribution; J. Lopez-Rey, Velasquez, London, 1963, no. 173, pl. 202). A1265|1|1|Powder-flask, made of antler, with three branches at the base, the front boldly engraved with an oval panel showing Cupid reclining on a bed of flowers and holding a vase, surrounded with masks and floral ornament on a blackened ground. The sides, bordered with bands of twisted ribbons, are engraved with foliage and flowers; the back is plain. Steel funnel with spring-cap, cut-off, and a long belt hook etched with birds and foliage on a granulated and blackened ground (restored).

German, about 1630; the etching of the mounts and the engraving of the horn is probably of the 19th century.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 7; L' art ancien, I, 26. May be no. 2031 Musée Rétrospectif, 1865.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Possibly inspired by a flask formerly in the collection of M. Provost of Bresles near Beauvais (see N. X. Willemin, Monuments Francais, 1839, pl. 254). A1266|1|1|Powder-flask, of ivory, flat and circular in form, the front has a lion's mask in the centre surrounded by a frieze representing a combat between horsemen and lions, the whole boldly carved in relief, within a border of overlapping circles; a like border at the back, which is plain except for a rosette in the centre; cylindrical funnel of steel etched with scrolls and gilt; the spring-cap is missing; two octagonal loops for suspension fixed to a shaped band of gilt steel.

German (?), about 1630.

L' Art Ancien III, 394; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2035; L' Art pour Tous, 12me année, no. 319, fig. 2839 (showing the spring cut-off in situ).

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

It resembles A1267 in style. A1267|1|1|Powder-flask, of ivory, flat and circular in form, with a broad circular frieze, finely carved in high relief with vigorous hunting scenes of wild boar and stag, surrounding a sunken centre, which is carved in relief with three hares; the sides are carved with a frieze of trophies of hunting weapons, hares and foliage. The back is plain with four studs and a raised circular filling in the centre. The short funnel of silver is chiselled in high relief with a stag's head and hunting implements; the cap is missing; two silver rings for suspension.

Possibly French (Dieppe), early-19th century.

L' Art Ancien III, 394; possibly no. 2022, Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, (Spitzer);
L' Art pour Tous, 12me année, no. 319, fig. 2840.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

It resembles A1266 in style. The style of the spout and the type of small hunting sword used by the huntsman in the side frieze suggests that the whole thing is early 19th-century in romantic taste. A1268|1|1|Powder-horn or primer, of ivory, shaped as a hunting horn, and octagonal in section, quite plain except for the interlaced bodies of two snakes carved in high relief, forming a loop for suspension, an ivory thumb-piece is applied to the top. The mouth is carved with the head of a grotesque monster from which issues a bone funnel of ivory mounted with a band of bronze; no cap or stopper; the base is capped with a mount of gilt bronze decorated at the sides with ornament chiselled in low relief, a mask holds a ring for suspension, the edges pearled.

French, about 1660. A1270|1|1|Powder-flask, of horn, made from an elk-slot; the face inlaid with circles of mother-of-pearl and horn, stained green and red, set within roped bands of brass. The cap of antler is decorated with annular ornament in groups of three and bound at the edge with silver braid; turned funnel of steamed horn –either bovine or antelope– (the tip missing); cut-off shaped like a horse's head.

Once thought to be North German, about 1690. However, the nationality and date are both very doubtful.

Compare one sold in the Franz Greb Collection, Helbing, Cologne, 30 June, 1908, lot 1016, pl. XIX. Another apparently with later mounts, was in the collection of A. Uhlemann, sold J. M. Henerle, Cologne, 16 November 1891, lot 478, repr. in cat. Yet another is in the K. Livrustkammer, Stockholm (no. 3121). A1271|1|1|Powder-flask, of hardened leather (cuir bouilli), hemispherical or gourd-shaped, with flat back, the prominent fluted ridges on the front are tooled with roping, in the upper part is an oval shield (plain) set in a band of laurel leaves, framed with a garland; three funnels of brass, the front one furnished with a cap like a candle-snuffer secured by a flange, the rear ones with stoppers shaped like small scoops for measuring the charge, and secured in like manner. There is a pouch at the back for bullets that is divided internally into three quite separate compartments; brass spring-hook and a swivel for suspension.

Body, Italian, third quarter 16th century. Mounts Balkan or Near Eastern, 19th century.

Provenance: the Comte de Nieuwerkerke acquired from Juste a Poudrière en cuir gaufré (receipted bill, 3 October, 1868), and from Henry Courant 1 Poire à Poudre en cuir repoussé, 90 fr. (receipted bill, 10 January, 1867), descriptions which could be applied to A1272-5, as well as to A1271.

The body of this flask is Italian and very similar to A1272 and 1273, but the bulllet-bag and spouts were added much later is Balkan or Near Eastern in fashion. On the back is a blue-edged label marked in red ink with the number 904, struck out in black ink and replaced with 832. A1272|1|1|Powder-flask, of hardened leather (cuir bouilli), hemispherical or gourd-shaped, with flat back, the front of the belly deeply fluted, the ridges roped, at the top is an oval shield (blank) in a panel of conventional flowers with a border of laurel leaves embossed and tooled. Funnel of russeted steel, of octagonal section at the base, spring cut-off, but without a cap; one ring at the back for suspension and a pierced prong of steel for the belt, the black leather binding slightly tooled with radiating lines.

Italian, third quarter of the 16th century.

Provenance: see note under A1271.

Compare A1273, which is of like design and workmanship.

A closely comparable flask is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 712, pl. CLX). A similar flask, in the collection of Glasgow Museums, bears the arms of a Venetian branch of the Farnese family. A1273|1|1|Of hardened leather (cuir bouilli) very similar in form and workmanship to A1272.

Italian, third quarter of the 16th century.

Provenance: see note under A1271.

A closely comparable flask is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 712, pl. CLX). A similar flask in the collection of Glasgow Museums bears the arms of a Venetian branch of the Farnese family. A1274|1|1|Powder-flask, of hardened leather (cuir bouilli), hemispherical or gourd-shaped and five-sided, each face embossed with conventional foliage and flowers within roped borders, on a granulated ground; large funnel of russeted steel, the upper part chiselled with a thread, the lower incised with close-set vertical lines; steel cut-off with spiral spring, but no cap; the flat back covered with black leather and furnished with a curved belt hook in the form of a steel loop; two rings at the side for suspension.

Italian, third quarter of the 16th century.

Provenance: see note under A1271. A1275|1|1|Powder-flask, of hardened leather (cuir bouilli), hemispherical or gourd-shaped, with flat back, the front decorated with an oval shield (bears traces of painting), and two semi-circular panels containing lions embossed and tooled on a granulated ground; at the neck is a frieze with two hounds affrontés. Funnel of steel, of octagonal section at the base, the alternate facets gilt and blued; spring cut-off, but without a cap; loop-shaped steel belt hook at the back, and one ring. Both the mounts and parts of the leather show traces of gilding.

Italian, third quarter of the 16th century.

Provenance: see note under A1271.

One of a common type of flask found in most collections. A1276|1|1|Powder-flask, of triangular form, with curved sides; of wood covered with crimson velvet, bound at the sides and overlaid with pierced plaques of steel; the front, embossed, pierced, chiselled and counterfeit damascened, has an oval panel representing a river god, supported on either side with nude figures holding sea-horses; above, a grotesque composition with seated figures holding stringed instruments supporting a satyr on a vase, etc. The steel borders are counterfeit damascened with arabesques of gold and silver; at the back is a panel of entwined strapwork with heads of lions and sea monsters, pierced, chiselled, and counterfeit damascened with gold and silver: to this is screwed a steel belt hook. On each side are two rings for suspension, held by heads cast in relief (one is missing). Tubular nozzle damascened with arabesques in gold and silver; spring cut-off.

Italian, about 1560.

L' Art Ancien III, no. 388.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer; but not identifiable in the Musée Rétrospectif, 1865. A1277|1|1|Powder-flask, quite large and triangular in form, of wood covered with dark blue velvet. The front is overlaid with pierced decoration of gilt bronze, embossed and chased; in the centre of the design are the figures of Mars, Venus and Cupid standing beneath a canopy within a cartouche supported by recumbent male figures; the remaining decoration consists of interlacing strapwork with swags of fruit and ostrich feathers. The canopy is inscribed with the letters:

IG DL

Below is an oval shield charged with a lion rampant sinister. Turned funnel to which is applied a lion's mask chiselled in relief, the cap is missing; two loops at the side for suspension.

Flemish (Antwerp?), about 1580.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 4; L' Art Ancien VIII, 980 and I, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2029; Lièvre Collections célèbres, pl. 92, Musées et Collections; Musée Graphique, pl. IV (shown complete with spring-cap); L' Art pour Tous, 1866, no. 155.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The spout is possibly 19th-century; the thread of the screw looks suspiciously regular. J. F. Hayward compared with A1277 with a flask in the Victoria and Albert Museum which he considered might be by a follower of Eliseus Libaerts of Antwerp, about 1560 (no. 681 - 1864; Armour, 1951, no. 24). A comparable flask appears in the group portrait of The Company of Dirck Jacobsz Rosencranz of the Amsterdam Town Guard, signed Cornelis Kettel and dated 1588 (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, no. 1330). In 1974 C. Blair grouped these two flasks with A1279 and two in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 14.25.1407 and 1458; Waddesdon Catalogue, no. 171). A1278|1|1|Powder-flask, of triangular form; of beech wood covered with black leather, the edges reinforced with L-shaped bands of steel false-damascened (overlay)with gold arabesques. Tubular nozzle, similarly decorated, with lever for the cut-off. On the front is applied a pierced steel plaque, false- damascened in both gold and silver, representing a Roman warrior, mounted, over-riding another on the ground, the whole heightened with gold overlay; the back of tooled leather incised with a crosier-head (the arms of Basel), within an ornamental border delicately tooled, involving shields charged with the monogram P M, an unidentified coat, fretty, a fesse between three bees and the letter A (previously thought to be W). The bottom and sides tooled with a chequer pattern; on each side are fixed two D's to hold the tasselled cord of silk for suspension which remains. There is no cap on the spout but a link of the chain, presumably originally intended to retain the cap, survives.

The metal work Italian (Milanese), about 1590; the leather work is Swiss.

L' Art Ancien I, no. 26.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2021.

The Historisches Museum at Basel possesses several powder flasks of like form also bound with leather and bearing the arms of the city imperfectly represented, but none possess the delicately-tooled border of A1278. These flasks were previously in the Arsenal of Basel. A1279|1|1|Powder-flask, large, made of wood, triangular in form with concave sides, covered with dark green velvet and overlaid with ornament of gilt bronze representing the Judgment of Paris, cast in relief, pierced and chased; the back is bordered with bands of gilt bronze chiselled with a guilloche pattern. Large, tapering funnel decorated with Renaissance ornament in relief, without a spring-cap or stopper; four rings for suspension. At the top of the funnel are the remains of an anchor for the stopper or cord. At the back are the remains of a belt hook that was probably intended to fit into a port flask (see A1284).

German, about 1590 (?)

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 4 (represented with a cord and tassels attached);
L' Art Ancien I, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2013.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A similar flask ornamented with the same subject is in the German Historical Museum, Berlin (formerly in the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte, Berlin, Müller, Guns, pistols and revolvers, 1981, pl. 73 and before that was in the collection of Prince Charles of Prussia, Hiltl, pl. LXXV), and a similar bronze overlay, detached from its flask, was in the possession of M. Muller of Frankfurt-am-Main in 1956. A comparable flask is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 78; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 137, with a list of comparable pieces). Another is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. 2245 -1855. A similar flask was until recently in an English private collection (exhibited Arms and Armour at the Dorchester, 1983, p. 48). A1281|1|1|Powder-flask, a pair with A1282, triangular in form with concave sides; of wood covered with black velvet and overlaid on both sides with bronze cast in relief, pierced, chased and gilt with a representation of Marcus Curtius leaping into the pit, within a border of Renaissance ornament, and masks; tapering funnel; there were originally four rings for suspension held by lion's heads (two of these are missing from one, and three from the other).

Although the design is the same, these two flasks differ from each other in details of construction, and the finish of A1282 is coarser than that of A1281. The sides of A1282 are parallel to each other, but in the case of A1281 they are wider apart at the bottom than at the top. The gilt-bronze top of A1281 looks newer, and the funnel has a circular base at the bottom, and fewer turned lines at the top. It has no means of attaching the spring-cap, whereas A1282 retains part of the spring and a hole is pierced at the side of the funnel. The material on the back of A1281 is newer and shows no traces of pile. From this it would seem that while A1282 is original, A1281 has been reconstructed from old parts on a modern framework.

Probably 19th Century, involving some old parts recomposed in the style of its authentic German (Saxon) pair which dates from the late 16th century.

L' Art Ancien V, 586; Musée Rétrospectif (?) no. 2015 (Spitzer), 1865.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

An example of a similar flask in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. 32.75.181), exhibited in The Art of Chivalry, 1982, as no. 117, was described as belonging to a set of equipment including bandoliers and powder flasks supplied with 100 arquebuses for the Trabantenleibgarde of the Elector of Saxony (see under A114). A1283|1|1|Powder-flask and bullet-pouch, of wood, triangular in shape, covered with black leather with mounts of plain russeted steel; cone-shaped funnel with spring-cap and cut-off; four rings (one missing) for suspension. It carries on the front a leather pouch for bullets, which is drawn together at the mouth with a leather thong strung with five lead glass beads.

German, late 16th century.

The charge measured is unusually large in relation to the size of the flask. A1284|1|1|Powder-flask, pouch and port-flask, the flask of dark wood, probably box-wood, shaped as a flattened arc and oval in section. The front is carved in low relief with the figure of an inventory officer holding a partizan in 17th-century costume, within a frame of acanthus; the back is carved with a stylized leaf ornament within a similar border. Mounts of blued steel, funnel with spring-cap and cut-off at the base. At the back is a hook for the port-flask and on either edge are three rings for suspension. Attached to the two lower rings on either side, there remains a length of plaited leather thong.

Pouch of leather, originally black, bordered and ornamented with yellow silk braid. The front of the pouch is gathered like a cockle-shell and stiffened by boning, the flap is fastened by a blued steel button. It contains compartments for three cartridges.

At the top is a loop for suspension, which is prolonged in a leather frog or port-flask (A. Barret, The thorike and practike of moderne warres, London 1598, p.34), near the bottom of which is a blued steel loop to carry the hook of the flask.

German (Saxon), about 1610.

Similar flasks and pouches are in the Historisches Museum at Dresden, and date from the time of the Elector Christian II (1591-1611), or his successor, John George. Five of them were in the sales of armour from the Saxon Royal Armoury, Lepke, Berlin, 1919 (lots 734-6) and 1927 (lots 5 and 6); others were in the Ullmann sale (Cologne, 1891 (lot 459); Keasbey sale, American Art Assn., 1924 (lot 23); Prince Liechtenstein, etc., ibid., 1926, lot 284 (with mounts of engraved brass); Offerman sale, American Art Assn., 1937, lot 245. There is a similar flask with etched mounts, but without pouch, at Windsor Castle (Laking cat., no. 330); a flask and a port-flask are in the Royal Armouries (XII. 16; XIII. 90). One of these sets of flask, pouch and port-flask is also in the Royal Armouries (XIII.201), (formerly in the collection of Dr. R. Williams, F.S.A.); another was in the collection of R.T. Gwynn, and a good example was sold at Christie's, Folke-Elliot sale, 2 June, 1959, lot 95. There was a similar set in the Meyrick Collection (Skelton MS., vol. III), but with a horseman instead of an infantry officer. A1285|1|1|Powder-flask and bullet-pouch, of pearwood, of octagonal section, rounded at the bottom, inlaid with grotesque monsters and scrolls in antler and flowers of mother-of-pearl; there is a projection at the side to which the funnel (now missing) was fixed; it is capped with antler engraved with a hound and with an antler projection in the shape of a grotesque profile; to the top is nailed a bullet-pouch of chamois leather faced with green silk-brocade, now much perished; one ring for suspension.

Silesian (Teschen), about 1620.

The decoration resembles that found on the stocks of Tschinkes (see A1105). A similar flask is in the Ressman Collection in the Bargello, Florence, (inv. no. R174, Boccia, Nove secoli di armi da caccia, 1967, pl. VII). Others were in the Brett Collection (Arms and Armour, 1894, pl. CVIII, 4 and 5); and one was in the possession of Cyril Andrade, of Duke Street, St. James's (Catalogue, 1927, part 5, no. 127). Another similar flask is in the Odescalchi collection, Rome (inv. no. 4; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, p.92, n.8, and no.126). Another is in the Harding Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no.653). A1286|1|1|Powder-flask, of walnut, shield-shaped in form, inlaid with a representation of Tobias and the fish in antler, the background filled in with flowers and birds. The back is of plain wood inlaid with two parrots in antler. On the sides are inlays of peacocks, a dog, a monkey and masks. The back is of plain wood inlaid with two parrots in antler. The top is overlaid with antler and engraved with a hare and fox; turned funnel of bright steel with a spring-cap chiselled with a mask and shell; at the side two hinged loops of like workmanship proceeding from cherubs' heads.

German, about 1630.

The style of the decoration resembles the coffer, A1345, which is signed by Jean Conrad Tornier of Massevaux, and was previously assigned to his hand. Compare also the decoration of the stock of rifle, A1099. But Hans Schedelmann, in an article on Tornier in the Journal of Arms and Armour Society, II (Dec., 1958), pp. 261-2, ascribes flask, A1286, to 'the Master of the Snail', a stockmaker working in Saxony, c. 1650. There are arms with stocks by the latter in the Tøjhus at Copenhagen and the Kungl. Livrustkammaren at Stockholm. A very similar composition of Tobias, apparently based on the same design, but executed by another hand, forms part of the decoration of a backgammon board in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 567-1899). A1288|1|1|Powder-flask, of rosewood, fiddle-shaped, inlaid with figures of sportsmen, birds and rabbits in engraved mother-of-pearl on a ground decorated with scrolls of stained antler; the sides are veneered with antler, engraved with conventional designs within borders of guilloche ornament; funnel of gilt copper furnished with a spring-cap; two rings for suspension.

German, probably Nuremberg, early-17th century.

The inlaying is comparable with the style of the so-called 'Master of the Castles', a Nuremberg craftsman (see under A1152 and 1153). A1289|1|1|Powder-flask, of rosewood veneered with ebony, rectangular in section, flattened and curved to an arc, the sides inlaid with scrolls of engraved antler with the arms of the Electors of Saxony in the centre and at the bottom a hound pursuing a fox; on the other side the central cartouche is engraved with a squirrel. Mounts of gilt bronze coarsely engraved with trophies of arms and running foliage, the funnel of hexagonal section, tapering, and fitted with a spring-cap and cut-off; six rings for suspension.

19th-century in Saxon style of about 1640.

Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2091. Lièvre, Collections Célèbres, pl. 13; Musées et Collections pl. 4 (depicted with tassels and cord, now absent); Musée Graphique, pl. 12.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

There is a flask of very similar design in the Rutherford Stuyvesant Collection in New York (Dean Cat., no. 207), but there described as being veneered with tortoise-shell and the decoration inlaid in brass. There was another of this type in the Leiden sale, Lempertz, Cologne 1934, lot 870. Mr. Von Kienbusch owns a similar one (ex-Thewalt Collection), but the materials are reversed, the inlay in this case being black on white. This flask was later in the Jagdkammer Reichsgrafen R. von Kaunitz, sold in Fischer's Lucerne, 1935, lot 157, pl. 22.

This flask has never contained gunpowder. J. F. Hayward pointed out that the engraving is all 19th-century (personal communication, 1972). A1290|1|1|Powder-flask, of walnut, circular and pierced at the centre, the entire surface inlaid with circles and discs of antler and brass stars; funnel is of turned bone or antler; spring-cap of brass; two steel rings at the side for suspension.The spring is missing.

North German, about 1600.

A similar flask in the Odescalchi collection, Rome, has been ascribed to Italy, and dated early in the 17th century (inv. no. 22; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 134). A1292|1|1|Powder-flask, of gilt bronze shaped like an antler, with two branches. The front decorated with an animated scene of Roman soldiers storming a castle, cast in relief and gilt; the back is engraved with the crossed timbers and briquet of Burgundy; the neck is decorated with bands of cast scrollwork and grotesque animals, and the ends of the branches at the base are stopped with circular caps each bearing a child's head in high relief. Funnel with spring-cap, the cut-off of steel ending in a scroll; four rings (one broken) for suspension. The hook for the belt or port-flask is missing.

German (Augsburg), about 1570.

L' Art Ancien IX, 1014.

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer.

A similar flask is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 2203-1855). Compare also Fischer sales: Zurich, 7-8 May 1935, lot 199, pl. 28 and Lucerne (v. Kaunitz), 1935, lot 154. These flasks are decorated with the same hunting scene as A1293. A1293|1|1|Powder-flask and primer, of gilt bronze shaped into the form of a stag's horn with two branches at the base, like A1292. The front decorated with numerous hunting scenes, hounds in pursuit of deer, bear, boar, etc., with a pond in the foreground, while a man is shooting at a swan and another is netting birds with a lantern; embossed, chiselled and gilt (the same subject is represented upon A1294, but with greater clearness): the back etched with arabesque ornament. Funnel with spring-cap; the cut-off is missing. Of the two branches at the base, one is capped with a sundial that contains the remains of the compass necessary for setting it (lid missing), the other with a short funnel with cut-off for priming: three rings for suspension (one broken).

German (probably Augsburg), about 1580.

Bronze flasks of this pattern are not uncommon (such as A1294). Others were in the collections of Basilewski, (Pillet & Delange, Paris, 26 April 1869, lot 96) sold for 215 fr. (marked catalogue in the Library of the Royal Armouries); the late Sir Archibald Lyle, Bt., and Mr. W. R. Hearst, and two were in the Leiden collection, sold Lempertz, Cologne, 1934 (lots 868, 888). Other examples were in the E. de Rozière sale (Pillet & Juste, Paris, 19-21 March 1860, lot 181, repr. in cat. in reverse), and in the Sammlung Lanna (sold Lepke, Berlin, 9-16 November 1909, lot 304, Pl. 22). Another is a similar flask is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 2203-1855). Compare also Fischer sales: Zurich, 7-8 May 1935, lot 199, pl. 28 and Lucerne (v. Kaunitz), 1935, lot 154. Both of which bear the same hunting scene as A1293. C. Blair has suggested that the hunting scenes might derive from some printed source, such as the illustrations of one of the hunting books by Jost Amman of Nuremberg (Blair, 1974, p. 347). The whole group of similar flasks are discussed by C. Blair, 1974, under cat., no. 155, where he hesitates between Augsburg and Nuremberg as their source. A1294|1|1|Powder-flask, of gilt bronze, in the form of a stag's horn, with two branches at the base. The front is embossed with the same hunting scenes as those represented upon A1293. The back is engraved with conventional strapwork enclosing a cartouche with the portrait bust of a king, full-face in armour. The ends of the branches are stopped with circular caps engraved with bands of ornament and plain at the end. Funnel with spring-cap and cut-off: four rings at the sides for suspension.

German (probably Augsburg), about 1580. A1297|1|1|Primer, of copper gilt, flattened oval in shape, the face embossed with a nude female figure (Hope?) standing in a stormy landscape with stars above, the border inscribed:

PRIMVS HOMINIS STATVS
('The first state of man')

The back similarly decorated with a man in a ship in a storm, the mast broken, the border inscribed:

VNDIQVE ANGVSTIE
('Perils on all sides')

Funnel decorated with winged cherubs, spring-cap chiselled in the form of a shell. The border surrounded with a garland of fruit chiselled in relief with two cherubs, one on each side; two swivel loops for suspension.

German, about 1570.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 801. A1298|1|1|Primer, of gilt copper, shaped as a flattened pear with sides stepped, the front embossed with a circular medallion of Marcus Curtius leaping into the pit, the back decorated with strapwork arabesques; the two sides joined by a band embossed with ornamental cartouches containing faceted pyramids to represent precious stones; the whole embossed, chiselled and gilt; funnel with spring-cap; two rings for suspension.

Probably German (Augsburg), about 1570.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 2.

Provenance: E. Juste aîné (Petit amorçoir en cuivre finement ciselé et doré, 160 fr.; receipted bill, 14 January, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1301|1|1|Primer, of gilt bronze, flat and circular in shape. Both sides are identical decorated with a circular frieze of hunting scenes cast in relief surrounding a grotesque horned mask, the horns are continued on to the background by etching, in the centre; the edges are chased with a band of foliage. Turned funnel: two rings for suspension. On one side are etched the figures 15 and on the other 77.

German, dated 1577.

De Beaumont Catalogue, pl. 2

Provenance: (?) Henry Courant (1 amorçoir, 200 fr.; receipted bill, 2 March, 1867); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Both sides show the same 'accidents' in casting, which suggests that one was made from the other, possibly at a later date. A1302|1|1|Primer, of rosewood, hemispherical in form, veneered with ebony inlaid with lines and rosettes of antler, and mounted with a central boss of a lion's head and stamped are seven radiating bands of gilt bronze decorated with cartouches; applied between each band is a cast lion's mask of gilt bronze. The back is flat with a circular border of antler engraved with scales of foliage. The spout is tapering a stamped with a strapwork design, and a spring-loaded cap-lever. Near the spout there is a hinged trap in the gilt bronze band running round the circumference. Two rings for suspension (one now missing).

German (Augsburg), about 1580.

Skelton II, pl. CXXV, fig. 1; L' Art pour Tous, 1863, no. 65, fig. 534.

Provenance: Sir S. R. Meyrick; Frédéric Spitzer. A1303|1|1|Primer, made from the tip of an antler, finely carved in low relief with the first and second labours of Hercules: wrestling with the Nemean Lion and the destruction of the Lernean Hydra. Turned funnel of silver with a spring stopper (the cap and spring of which are now missing), the funnel and mounts plain except for a beaded edge; two rings for suspension.

Companion to the powder-flask, no. A1251 q.v.; the silver mounts are of a later date than the rest.

German, 16th century.

L' Art Ancien IV, 567, VIII, 915 and IX, 1014. (It is there shown with the cap complete and bearing on the funnel the number 1650, the lot number in the Pourtalès-Gorgier sale.) Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1865, plate by Jacquemart facing p. 434; this also shows the spring stopper complete with its cap and a cord for suspension. Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2037 (Spitzer)

Provenance: Fiérard sale, 1846; Sommesson sale, 1848, lot 199; Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier, sold Paris, 6 February, 1865, lot 1650, 800 fr. (Willestrand); Frédéric Spitzer. A1304|1|1|Of ivory, circular in form, and on one side is a central medallion carved in relief with Orpheus playing upon his lyre and surrounded by the beasts. The back is plain except for an applied turned disc in the centre; turned funnel of silver with hinged cap; no rings for suspension.

Italian, about 1590.

Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2014.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1307|1|1|Combined ramrod, priming flask and wheel-lock key, made entirely out of steel. At one end is a heart-shaped primer with a cap lever fitting over the nozzle. The ram unscrews leaving a hole in the base of the flask for filling it. To one side is riveted a rectangular box pierced with three key openings of different sizes. To the base of the primer is screwed a tubular ramrod, the opposite end of which is threaded internally to take a worm or possibly an extra length of rod.

Possibly German, early 17th century.

Similar combinations of ramrod, flask and key are in the Musée de l' Armée (inv. no. M 2101), and the Musée de Cluny, Paris (no. 14.192); the Wartburg (Diener-Schonberg, no. 727); and the Metropolitan Museum, New York. One was in The Keasbey sale, The American Art Association, New York, 27-28 November 1925, lot 173. Another similar flask is in the Kienbusch collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (cat., no. 723, pl. CLXI).

Similar flasks for use by cuirassiers, and carried on the holsters, are illustrated by Wilhelm Dilich, Kriegsbuch, Cassel 1607-8, pl. LVI. Some rather similar flasks in the Landeszeughaus at Graz are probably the 'langer Feldt spanner' of the 1647 Inventory (Von Meran, Das Landeszeughaus in Graz, p. 146). A1308|1|1|Combined priming flask and charging spanner, made entirely of steel. The curved tapering body of the flask, with faceted surface, forms the lever for the key. Moulded baluster-shaped nozzle; sliding cut-off with external feather-spring, the projecting thumb-piece shaped as a scallop shell. At the opposite end is an octagonal, double-ended key-cylinder with barrels of different dimensions. The cylinder rotates and is held in position by a spring-catch worked by a lever with a scallop-shaped tip. There is a belt-hook and suspension swivel.

Probably German, first half of the 17th century.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 829 'early 17th century'.

A comparable flask is in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (inv. no. 84; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 141, pl. XXII, with a list of comparable material). This type of charging spanner is illustrated by J. C (ruso), Militaire instructions for the cavallrie, Cambridge 1632, fig. 1. In a marginal note on p.41 he describes this type of flask as 'a late invented fashion'. The portrait of a man by William Dobson, traditionally called Sir Charles Lucas, in the Tate Gallery, shows one in use (exhibited, William Dobson 1611-46, National Portrait Gallery, London, 1983, no. 31). A1309|1|1|Combined stiletto, primer, and scabbard, the stiletto comprised of a diamond-shaped pommel, square in section, with turned button; grip of steel, of hexagonal section, vertically-fluted and roped. The grip is hollow and forms a receptacle for priming powder which is released through a hole in the button by means of a spring cut-off with thumb-piece in the form of a shell; the cavity is filled through a hole in the grip which is closed by a cap of brass terminating in a grotesque mask. The amount of the charge is regulated by the capacity of the pommel which is also hollow. Straight guard of circular section, hollow and cut square on the inner side to act as a spanner for a wheel-lock; applied to the escutcheon is a pierced rosette of brass; short stiff blade, square in section, tapering sharply at the point and bearing two marks; on the one side a fleur-de-lys surmounted by the initials C L (or G L), and on the other a shield charged with two keys in saltire, with some letters (?) in chief. The third side has a small hole corresponding to one on the sheath and probably intended for a spring-catch now missing. The whole is of bright steel decorated with narrow bands of roping and feathering.

Scabbard of steel, square in section, with feathered edges; it is pierced with four holes, one of which corresponds to that on one side of the blade, the others probably secured pierced brass ornaments now missing with the exception of a portion of one.

German (?), about 1660.

De Beaumont Catalogue, no. 90; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1912.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

There is a stiletto of the same type in the Dino Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (no. G 34). A1310|1|1|Cartridge-box, of rosewood, rectangular in form and slightly curved to the body, the front is inlaid in horn with a mounted huntsman and hounds pulling down a deer, the ground filled in with scrolls of conventional foliage partly stained green and framed in bands of scale and guilloche pattern; the lid, of bright steel, is hinged at the side and fastens with a spring-catch, it was probably originally spring loaded so as to snap open when the catch was released; narrow sloping base; four loops at the side for suspension, and at the back is a hinged loop, ending in a rosette, pierced and chiselled. It is fitted inside with one compartment of oval section, possibly for loose bullets, and four cylindrical compartments for cartridges. The top of the compartment-block is faced with cow horn. The lower loops at the side are probably for a strap passing round the right thigh.

German, about 1590.

Cartridge boxes of this type were worn on the right thigh, suspended by a strap, or straps, from the waist-belt, and secured round the top of the right thigh by a transverse strap. See for instance, the portrait of Frederik II of Denmark by Hans Knieper, dated 1588, at Frederiksborg Slott, Denmark (inv. no. 2171). A1311|1|1|Cartridge-box, of darkened steel, semi-oval in section, boldly embossed with conventional flowers and foliage; the lid hinged at the side and fastened by a ring and staple, the top, which is also embossed, is pierced with a slit; two fastenings at the back for suspension, but the loops are missing. The base of the spring lid survives. It probably contained five wooden compartments for charges, now absent.

North German, possibly Brunswick, about 1570-5.

The group of flasks to which A1311 belongs is discussed by C. Blair, 1974, no. 147. W. Glage has recently confirmed Blair's tentative attribution of A1311 to Brunswick, and dared it about 1570-5 (personal communication, 1983). A1312|1|1|Cartridge-box, of blackened steel, semi-oval in section, the front prominently embossed and chased. Both the body and the lid are decorated with lion's masks holding rings in their mouths, surrounded by foliage. The spring-loaded lid hinged for the strap to the waist-belt, and one at each side lower down for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh. The interior fitted with five wooden compartments for charges, mounted with bronze.

German, about 1600. A1313|1|1|Cartridge-box, of blackened steel, semi-oval in section, the front prominently embossed and chased with two equestrian figures, the lid with a lion's mask holding a ring in its mouth. The lid hinged and fitted with a spring-catch, the broad, sloping base is plain; one loop at the back for attachment to the waist-belt, and two slots for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh. The interior is fitted with compartments for four charges, mounted with bronze.

German, about 1600.

W. Glage has recently suggested that A1313 is of Brunswick manufacture, about 1570-5 (personal communication, 1983). A1314|1|1|Cartridge-box, a pair with A1315, of rosewood, semi-oval in section, stained black and inlaid with vertical bands of antler engraved with scale-like leaves, with rosettes of antler between. The mounts of bright steel, the lid ridged in the centre, hinged, and fastened with a spring-catch; three loops for suspension one at the top for a strap to the waist-belt, and one at each side for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh. The interior is fitted with a wooden block pierced with compartments for five cartridges.

German, about 1560-80. A1315|1|1|Cartridge-box, a pair with A1314, of rosewood, semi-oval in section, stained black and inlaid with vertical bands of antler engraved with scale-like leaves, with rosettes of antler between. The mounts of bright steel, the lid ridged in the centre, hinged, and fastened with a spring-catch; three loops for suspension one at the top for a strap to the waist-belt, and one at each side for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh. The interior is fitted with a wooden block pierced with compartments for five cartridges.

German, about 1560-80. A1316|1|1|Patron, of rosewood, semi-oval in section, the lid, mounts and base of gilt bronze stamped with intricate strapwork and arabesques. The upper and lower mounts are connected by four vertical bands of gilt bronze. On the central band is the figure of St. Barbara (identified only by a palm frond in her hand), lions' masks are applied to the two bands on either side, the four vertical panels of rosewood in the intervals between the bands are themselves bordered with narrow bands of antler engraved with roping. The lid is hinged and fastens with a spring-catch, the base is broad and bordered with roping. On the base is a device consisting of a crucifixion cross with splayed extremities, with four rays terminating in small circles diverging from its crossing between the arms. The inside is lined with red and green velvet, and is without compartments, this is almost certainly a later arrangement, since there is no suitable surface for the spring (now missing) operating the lid to work on. At the back three loops for suspension.

German (probably Saxon), about 1600.

W. Glage has suggested that A1316 is of Brunswick manufacture, about 1570-5 (personal communication, 1983). A1317|1|1|Cartridge-box, of wood, semi-oval section, with mounts of blued steel, decorated with two rectangular panels inlaid with floral scrolls and circular buds of antler, the back covered with black leather; the lid, cap and deep flanged base are of blued steel. The spring-loaded lid is ridged in the centre, hinged and fastened with a spring-catch; three loops one at the top for a strap to the waist-belt, and one on each side lower down for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh. Fitted inside with compartments for cartridges, mounted with bronze.

German, about 1590.

W. Glage has suggested that A1317 is of Brunswick manufacture, about 1570-5 (personal communication, 1983). A1318|1|1|Cartridge-box, of rosewood, semi-oval in section, closely inlaid with interlacing coils and small flowers of engraved antler, framed in a border of scale-like leaves; the base is broad and decorated like the front, the bottom engraved with foliage and scrolls; the lid of bright steel, hinged and fitted with a spring; three loops for suspension, one at the top for a strap to the waist-belt, and one on each side lower down for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh. The interior fitted with four wooden compartments for cartridges.

German, about 1570-80, possibly Brunswick.

L' Art Ancien I, 26 (?); Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2054 (?)

Provenance: (?) Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

The closely intertwined antler decoration resembles that on the stocks of the guns and pistols, A1078, 1091, 1139, 1142.

A comparable box in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome, is dated 1575 (inv. no. 7; Carpegna, Firearms, 1975, no. 127). A1319|1|1|Cartridge-box, of wood, semi-oval in section, with steel mounts, the front pierced with four arcaded panels lined with green velvet, the steel minutely etched with scrolls of foliage incorporating birds and animals on a gilt ground. The lid (spring missing), which is hinged and fastened with a spring-catch, is embossed with a leaf; the base has a sunk border, roped at the edge, the bottom shod with leather and furnished with a fringe of gold wire; two loops at the side for the strap passing round the top of the right thigh, and a loop and long belt hook at the back. Fitted inside with compartments for five cartridges, mounted with brass.

German, about 1610.

L' Art Ancien I, 26; Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 2053.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke. A1320|1|1|Wheel-lock key, of L-shaped form; of steel, formerly blued. Short double-ended key-cylinder of round section, with turned mouldings engraved with foliage and formerly gilt. The stem joins the cylinder at one end, while the lower end has circular mouldings engraved and formerly gilt. Beyond the eye for suspension, it is octagonal and then flattened towards the tip where it terminates in a screw-driver. The flattened end is pierced with three circular holes, one large and two small, and on one side there projects a second small key-cylinder. At this point is pivoted a long pin or pricker for clearing a blocked vent. When not in use it lied along the key, the end being caught in a notch on the stem. At the point of balance on the stem is a swivel-eye for suspension. The screw-driver is stamped on one side with a maker's mark. The 1962 catalogue suggests that this is of a shield charged with an eagle displayed, however the 1986 supplement argues that the mark actually appears to be a lobster in a shield-shaped compartment (N. Støckel, II, p. 1462, no. d 5348 or d 8452, Nuremberg 1593). It occurs also on a grenade-launcher at Skokloster, Sweden.

German, about 1620.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 833. It is possible that the holes in the end nearest the screw-driver are gauges for two sizes of bullets for a set of pistols and a carbine. The two different gauges of spanner may either be to fit the disparate axle-trees of the garniture, or to fit the axle-tree and the jaw-screw of the cock of the same weapon. A1321|1|1|Wheel-lock key, having a double-ended key-cylinder, the exterior of octagonal section. Stem ornamented with turned mouldings, enlarged near the end into a flattened circle with Gothic tracery, built up from a narrow iron strip, and terminating in a screw-driver. A movable suspension swivel is fitted at the centre of balance for a suspension cord.

Probably German, early 17th century.

Peterson, Encyclopaedia of Firearms, 1964, illus. on p. 344. A1322|1|1|Wheel-lock key, of blued steel. Double-ended key-cylinder, from the centre of which projects a screw-driver. The cylinder is ornamented with two bands of chiselled acanthus foliage and two inlaid gold lines. Stem with turned mouldings, chiselled with acanthus, and inlaid with a single gold line. Above the mouldings the stem is faceted and to the outer face is applied a cherub's head in brass. The stem ends in a large, flat, oval thumb-plate pierced with a hole in the centre and inlaid with Renaissance ornament in brass, the outer face having at the top a lion's mask in relief with strapwork and scrolls only. The edge is inlaid with diagonal gold lines, many of which are missing. This small key was probably intended to be used on a pistol.

Probably German, first half of the 17th century.

Provenance: previously catalogued as being purchased by the Comte de Nieuwerkerke from the dealer, Baur, but the receipted bill is more likely to refer to A1326.

C. Blair suggested that this might be a turning-key for a harpsichord (personal communication, 1975). A1323|1|1|Wheel-lock key, having a double-ended key cylinder of octagonal section, engraved with foliage, and set at right angles to the stem. Stem of hexagonal section with deeply-cut mouldings, similarly engraved. Near the centre is fixed a swivel for suspension, this being the point of balance. The end of the stem is flattened and broadens to an oval, which is pierced with intricate foliage and scrolls. It terminates in a straight edge forming a screw-driver. The spanner heads are of two different sizes (see note under A1309).

Probably German, mid 17th century.

A similar key is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. M 502-1927). A1324|1|1|Combined wheel-lock key and powder measure, L-shaped, of steel formerly blued. The measure consists of a tube with twelve-sided exterior, within which slides a plunger fixed to a square ratchet the same length as the tube. On the exterior of the tube is a spring-catch, the nose of which engages in the notches of the sliding ratchet. These notches are numbered 1 to 44 and are equidistant one from the other, save for numbers 2 to 7, for which there are no notches. This may correspond to the minimum charge of powder for a pistol.
Joined to the sliding ratchet by a short neck and set at a slight angle, like the bowl of a tobacco pipe, is a double-ended key-barrel with large and small openings at either end. The barrel has an octagonal exterior, with turned circular mouldings at the neck. When closed the measure forms a handle for the key.

Probably German, mid-17th century.

The group of combined spanners and powder-measures to which A1324 belongs are discussed by N. di Carpegna (Firearms, 1975, under no.123). A1325|1|1|Wheel-lock key, of T-shaped form, the stem joining the key cylinder at right-angles. Both stem and cylinder are of steel chiselled in relief with scaly sea monsters and dolphins entwined. The eyes of those on the cylinder are inlaid with copper, and their open jaws form the key pipes. Cylinder and stem are formed of separate parts, secured by a screw on top of the cylinder. Near the end the monsters separate and the interval is filled with a crowned rampant lion. The stem terminates in a screw-driver, the flat sides of which are engraved with formal flowers and foliage. At the point of balance is a swivel for suspension with hinged arm. The spanner heads are of two different sizes (see note under A1309).

Italian, first half of 17th century.

Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, 1965, fig. 832, L' Art Ancien IV, 567, Musée Rétrospectif, 1865, no. 1983 (Spitzer).

Provenance: Frédéric Spitzer. A1326|1|1|Wheel-lock key, the short key-cylinder joins the stem at a slight angle, like the bowl of a tobacco-pipe. Stem of square section, the end brought round in a scroll and finishing as a leaf. Projecting from the end in a straight line with the stem is a screw-driver. The whole surface is counterfeit damascened (overlaid) with interlacing lines of silver. Midway along the stem is a swivel for suspension, the ring being gilt, there are further traces of gilding on the leaf at the end. This key has been associated with the pistol, A1138, but its decoration has nothing in common with it.

Possibly Italian, third quarter of the 16th century.

Lièvre, Collections célèbres, 1866, pl. 46; Musées et Collections, 2nd Series; Musée Graphique, p. II

Provenance: Baur (receipted bill, 20 November, 1869. Une clef d'arquebuse damasquinée, 40 fr.); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

A comparable key is illustrated hung on a cord around the neck of Edward Fiennes de Clinton, Lord Clinton and Saye, Lord High Admiral of England, in a portrait dated 1562 (present whereabouts unknown). A1327|1|1|Linstock, the fork is formed of two branches ending in stylised eagle's heads, which are split to form the cocks for the match, with thumb-screws on the sides to close them. These are in continuation of two seated birds with grotesque bearded and bridled heads in profile (see linstock, A1329). Cylindrical socket with flat, vase-shaped capital.

The whole of blackened iron, chased and damascened with silver, on the socket, and counterfeit damascened with silver vase ornament and trophies chiselled in low relief.

Italian (?), about 1600. A1328|1|1|Linstock, with a small, leaf-shaped head, reinforced at the point by a strong, central ridge. It is engraved on one side with an oval piecrust cartouche of the Sun in Splendour, and on the other with a blank escutcheon, surrounded with floral ornament in the rococo style, showing many traces of gilding. Brass socket with circular mouldings at top and bottom; riveted to either side are two match-holders of gilt steel formed as monsters, the jaws slit and serrated to grip the match. Staff of beech; near the top is nailed a small tassel of green silk. Steel ferrule.

French, mid-18th century. A1329|1|1|Linstock head, the two curved branches or arms are of flattened section, finely chased and overlaid with silver and gold, and terminate in two bearded heads in profile, with curved horse-like necks and female breasts below. They are split to serve as cocks to hold the match but have never been pierced for thumb-screws. The lightly chiselled branches are decorated with small cartouches containing the trophies and a male and female head. They are supported on a cylindrical socket with vase-shaped capital, overlaid with vari-coloured gold and silver arabesques, and lightly chiselled laurel leaves at the sides.

Italian, about 1560. A1332|1|1|Horn, of a bull, polished and mounted with a rim and band of gilt copper, the edges cut into leaves, the surface incised with twenty-five triangular shields of arms hitherto unidentified.
On the band: (I) checky, (ii) a chief unduly and a fesse, (iii) paly, (iv) a saltire, (v) a chevron, (vi) five rondels between two bars, three and two, (vii) barry, (viii) three rondels, (ix) bendy, (x) gyronny on the rim: (xi) a bend, (xii) a lion rampant charged with a bendlet, (xiii) a cross moline debruised by a canton, (xiv) billety, a ion stantant (?) crowned, (xv) per pale, a cross moline, (xvi) two lions passant, (xvii) a bend, (xviii) quarterly, four rondels each charged with a cross, (xix) billety a lion or dog rampant, (xx) a cross moline charged with a bendlet, (xxi) a cross moline, (xxii) a fesse, (xxiii) barry of six, in chief three roses, (xxiv) a cross moline debruised by a canton (again), (xxv) per pale, a bend. The band is a later replacement, possibly of the 19th century. From the point of view of identification, therefore, the shields of arms with which it is decorated must be ignored.
The tinctures are in places indicated by hatching. This horn is not pierced for a mouth-piece because it was a drinking horn, not a hunting horn. There are traces of another band having been fitted, to which the legs would have been fixed. (The 1962 catalogue states the following: Both rim and band carry a ring for suspension; the mouthpiece (now missing) was, although pierced transversely, only partly pierced at the tip so that it was impossible for the horn to have been blown, and it would appear to have been more in the nature of a relic, possibly with a special territorial significance).
North European, possibly English, about 1400.
Possibly a receipted bill of E. Lemer of 11 December, 1865, ‘Une corne, 80 fr.’ (Comte de Nieuwerkerke), but this might also be A1334 or, less likely, A1331, since the unusual nature of this last would probably have been specified.
Dr. and Mrs. E. A. Gee have recently suggested very tentatively, in view of the absence of tinctures, that the arms on the rim could be identified as follows: (XI) Mauley (or a bend sable); (XII) either Sutton of Holderness (Az. a lion rampant or debruised of a bend or gobony arg. and gu.); or Tochetts of Tochetts (Arg. a lion rampant or debruised of a bendlet gu.); (XIII) Copley of Doncaster (Arg. a cross moline sa. and a canton gu.); (XV) Bigod (Party per pale vert and or, a cross moline gu.); (XVI) Paynell (Or 2 lions pasant az.); (XVII) Scrope of Danby (Az. a bend or); (XIX) Bulmer (Arg. billety gu., a rampant gu.); (XX) possibly a cadet of No. XIX; (XXI) Sampson (Or a cross moline sa.); or Colville (Arg. a cross moline gu.), or Copley of Sprotborough (Arg. a cross moline sa.), or Godard (Erm. a cross moline sa.); (XXII) Tweng of Mickleby (Arg. a fess gu.), or Campaigne (Arg. a fess sa.); (XXIII) Constable of Burton Contable bore barry of six or & az., it could therefore represent a cadet branch, or it could be a much differenced Meinell coat (Az. 3, sometimes 2, bars gemell and a chief or); (XXIV) see XIII, or a cadet of XXI; (XXV) Well of Well (Per pale gu. & sa., a bend arg.). All these families were related by marriage to the Mauleys (no. XI), or lived on their fees or, at least, were their close neighbours at the very end of the XIV century. The horn could therefore have belonged to Peter VIII de Mauley (1378 - 1415). A1332 formed part of the collection of the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, and can be identified in the painting by Tetat van Elven of one of his rooms, inscribed 1866, now in the Museum of Compiene (no. C51-004; Savill, 1980, and see note under A65). A1333|1|1|Trumpet, of brass, coiled longitudinally in parallel, with bell-shaped mouth around which there is applied a bell-garland bearing four heads of winged cherubs in relief; the outer edge is chiselled with a narrow border of conventional fruit and foliage, the inner escalloped and embossed with cockle-shells; the tube is reinforced at the joints with four cast ferrules (spirally fluted and bounded by ornamental collars), and in the middle one large collare is decorated with human heads and foliage in relief; turned mouthpiece. The wooden spacing block is missing.

A cord and tassels of coloured silk and gold thread are attached; there is a ring at either end of the coil. The trumpet has been broken in several places and repaired; a short length of tube flattened at both ends, whch may have been used as a reed, is attached (in place of the wooden spacing block). On the bell is engraved the inscription:

IOHANN . WILHELM . HAAS . IN . NURNBERG
with the initials I.W.H. above the engraved figure of a hare.

German (Nuremberg), second half of the eighteenth century. A. Baines, European and American Musical Instruments, 1966, p. 137 and fig. 740; E. Halfpenny, ‘Musical Instruments’, Apollo, CV, 1977, pp. 446-51, figs. 9-10.

Provenance:
1962; E. Lemer (?) (Une Corne, 80 fr.; receipted bill, 11 September, 1869); Comte de Nieuwerkerke. This may refer equally well to A1334 or A1332.

1986; the word 'corne' cannot mean 'trumpet', so Lemer's bill quoted in the 1962 Catalogue cannot apply to No. A1333. The form of the engraved hare above the signature, with hind legs fully extended backwards and the head turned to the rear, is that attributed to Ernst Jogann Conrad Haas (1723-92) by D. Smithers, Galpin Society Jorunal, 1964-5, p.33.

The small silver bugle A1334 is also by Haas. A1334|1|1|Small bugle or trumpet, of silver, coiled, with bell-shaped mouth; around the latter is applied a band of silver gilt bearing cherubs' heads in relief, the outer edge chiselled with a wreath, the inner with cockle-shells and engraved with the maker's signature:

MACHT · IOHANN · WILHELM · HAAS · IN · NURNBER[G]

with his initials I.W.H. above a running hare engraved in allusion to his name. It is fitted with a mouthpiece and two rings for suspension. The inside of the bugle and the mouthpiece are washed with gold.

German (Nuremberg), second half of the 18th century.

A. Baines, European and American Musical Instruments, 1966, p.129, fig. 714.

By the same hand as the trumpet, A1333. Haas, who was a maker of trumpets in Nuremberg, is believed to have died in 1687 (Rosenberg, Goldschmiedemerkzeichen, no. 4012). Other trumpets by him are in the Kunstgewerbe Museum at Basel (dated 1682), and one was sold by Heberle, Cologne in 1893.

For a note on the form of the engraved hare see under A1333. A rather similar horn was lent to the Victorian and Albert Museum in the 1860s by the dealer A. Barker (photo. no. 3828 in the Museum Guard Books). A1335|1|1|Case for a hunting horn, made of iron painted black. A lid with a lock fills the mouth of the horn, which is coiled to pass round the body. Attached to it is an iron chain of twelve heavy links.

French, 18th century.

Previous used as the case for the Horn of St. Hubert, long preserved in the chapel of St. Hubert at Chauvirey-le-Châtel (Haute-Saône), and purchased by Sir Richard Wallace from the Comte de Scey in 1879 for 15,000 francs, plus a bonus of another 1,000, with Charles Yriarte as intermediary. The horn itself is believed to have been presented to the chapel by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, but the iron case was probably made for it at a much later date by the village blacksmith (see Mann, Burlington Magazine, XCII (June, 1950), pp. 161-5). The horn is inv. no. III J 499 of the Collection. A1336|1|1|Fragment of a monumental brass, representing a mail-clad left leg from the below the knee to the toes, the pair to A1337. The representation of mail incised upon the surface takes the form of vertical lines between which are a series of arcs, running in alternate direction in each row. The spurs have short necks and large eight-pointed rowels. The straps of the spurs are sunk below the surface of the plate, and were possibly filled with enamel.
Possibly Flemish, about 1330.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 969, Portfolio of the Monumental Brass Society, VII, iii, pl. 13.
Provenance: Springer; Louis Carrand (deux jambes d'effigie sepulchrale en bronze XIIIe, 40 fr.; receipted bill, undated); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The rowel spur came into general use during the second quarter of the XIV century. Mail as the sole armour of the feet and lower legs was still being represented on effigies in England as late as that probably of Roger Salaman (died 1343-4), in Horley Church, Surrey, and on brasses as late as that of Sir Hugh Hastings (died 1347), in Elsing Church, Norfolk. A1337|1|1|Fragment of a monumental brass, representing a mail-clad right leg from the below the knee to the toes, the pair to A1336. The representation of mail incised upon the surface takes the form of vertical lines between which are a series of arcs, running in alternate direction in each row. The spurs have short necks and large eight-pointed rowels. The straps of the spurs are sunk below the surface of the plate, and were possibly filled with enamel.
Possibly Flemish, about 1330.
Laking, European Armour III, fig. 969, Portfolio of the Monumental Brass Society, VII, iii, pl. 13.
Provenance: Springer; Louis Carrand (deux jambes d'effigie sepulchrale en bronze XIIIe, 40 fr.; receipted bill, undated); Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
The rowel spur came into general use during the second quarter of the XIV century. Mail as the sole armour of the feet and lower legs was still being represented on effigies in England as late as that probably of Roger Salaman (died 1343-4), in Horley Church, Surrey, and on brasses as late as that of Sir Hugh Hastings (died 1347), in Elsing Church, Norfolk. A1338|1|1|Bronze plaque, cast from an inscription found at Velleia, and now preserved at Parma; it is described in Corp. Inscr. Lat. XI, 1159, and reads as follows:

S O D A L I C I O · C V L T O R ·
H E R C U L · L D O M I T I V S ·
S E C V N D I O · O B H O N ·
P A T R O C · S · D E D I T

As usually expanded it runs:

S O D A L I C I O C U L T O R U M
H E R C U L I S L U C I U S D O M I T I U S
S E C U N D I O O B H O N O R E M
P A T R O C I N I I S O D A L I C I I
H E R C U L I S D E D I T

but the reading for S. H. (SIGNUM HERCULIS) is perhaps preferable, and the meaning would then be:

LUCIUS DOMITIUS SECUNDIO GAVE THIS STATUE OF HERCULES TO THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS WORSHIPPERS IN HONOUR OF THEIR AGE

Provenance and date unknown. A1339|1|1|Circular plaque, convex, the edge scalloped and pierced with twelve holes; it possibly formed the central boss of a leather or velvet-covered pageant shield. It is embossed in low relief with a figure of Minerva, seated amid trophies of arms, holding in her left hand a statuette of Victory, and in her right a spear; in the background a walled city; beaded border; the whole overlaid with silver and gold on a darkened ground. The plaque has been pierced in working and skilfully repaired.

Italian (Milanese), about 1550-60.

Of fine quality. For the rich arabesque decoration of the garments, compare pageant shield A325 and plaques, A1340-1.

This is probably the central boss of a round target illustrated when in the Uboldo collection as Scudi no. 1, as well as in the frontispiece of the Dassi drawngs in the Castelo Sforzesco, Milan, and as Scudi, pl. 1A, in the published catalogue. A1340|1|1|Oblong plaque, of steel, embossed, chased, and overlaid and plated with gold, showing Diana recumbent in a meadow holding a large bow and arrow; above, Cupid flies down shooting from the clouds; in the background the gateway of a city. In a fluted ebony frame; labelled at the back 263.

Italian (Milanese), about 1545.

L'Art Ancien IX, no. 989.

Provenance: Comte de Nieuwerkerke.

Compare the workmanship of the oval pageant shield A325, and plaques A1339 and 1341.

A like plaque was no. 106 at the Oplotheca (1817) and no. 130 at the Gothic Hall (1820): ‘A most beautiful Steel Tablet, exquisitely chased and gilt, by the celebrated Benvenuto Celini, from Raphael's famous design of Cupid and Psyche.’ There are embossed and damascened plaques similar to those here in the Armeria Reale at Turin, nos. F 89, 90.

The workmanship of this plate and of no.1341 resemble that of the ‘Milanese Garniture’ of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol at Vienna (Hofjagd- Rüstkammer, inv. nos. A785 and 785A; Boccia and Coelho, 1967, figs. 279-80). This was brought from Giovanni Battista Serabaglio and Marc Antonio Fava, both of Milan, in 1560. A1341|1|1|Upright plaque, of steel, embossed, chased and overlaid with gold on a darkened matt ground; arched top, slightly concave in section, and pierced with a keyhole aperture showing that it was intended as a panel for the door of a cabinet. The subject is Pilate seated on the seat of judgement and washing his hands before the multitude. He points upwards with his left hand, before him is a woman bearing a dish, and in the foreground a dog; in the background a colonnade; around him a concourse of men with helmeted soldiers in the background. In an ebonized frame.

Italian (Milanese), about 1560.

Compare the workmanship of the oval pageant shield A325, and plaques, A1339-40, especially for the arabesques on the costume.

J. Montagu and O. Gamber have each suggested independently (personal communications, 1983) that the subject is more likely to be The Vestal Tuccia proving her virginity by carrying water in a sieve, a story told both by Pliny, Natural History, Lib. XXVIII, 12, and Valerius Maximus, Factorum dictorumque memorabilium libri IX, VIII, 1, 5 (see also under C92 in the Wallace Collection Catalogue of Ceramics, I, pp. 191-3). For a note on the workmanship of this plate see a note under A1340. A1342|1|1|Steel plaque, probably a furniture mount. Made of steel, embossed, chased, overlaid with gold and silver; in the centre an oval panel with Vulcan and an assistant working at his forge, surrounded by an elaborate composition, taking the form of a scrolled cartouche surrounded with figures and grotesques: at the top a two-tailed mermaid with wings, on either side nude boys bearing bearded heads on poles, and at the bottom two seated chimaeras among trophies of arms, festoons of drapery, etc.; the edges pierced with small holes for attachment. In a modern, ebonized frame.

North Italian (Milan), about 1545-50.

The style of the decoration is close to that attributed to Lucio Piccinino of Milan (see A51). A companion to this plaque showing another incident in the life of Vulcan - Venus and Vulcan surprised by Mars - is in the Armeria Reale, Turin (no. F82). It has been made up into a square target at some time. A1342 was lot 659 in the sale of the ‘Vienna Museum’ , the property of ‘Messrs. Lowenstein, Brothers, of Frankfort-on-the-Maine’ Christie's, 12 March 1860, illustration no. 26. Also in this sale were four other plaques possibly from the same piece of furniture, lots 660 - 3. A1343|1|1|Oblong plaque, of blued steel, embossed, chased in low relief, and overlaid with silver and gold. In the centre within an architectural frame is the Triumph of Apollo, who rides with Venus (?) in a car drawn in mid-air by winged horses; behind is a figure holding aloft a radiant head; on either side are seated female musicians. The broad border is decorated with scrolled strapwork, festoons, bunches of fruit and grenades, and panels containing figures symbolical of Music and the Arts. Not of the same high quality as the plaques, A1339-41. In a frame of dark oak.

Italian (Milanese, style of Piccinino), about 1580.

L'art ancien, IX, 988 (Nieuwerkerke). Two similar plaques are in the Musée le Secq des Tournelles, Rouen (1924 cat., pl. 187). A1344|1|1|Plaque, of steel, embossed and boldly chased with an equestrian figure in a slashed costume, bearing a sceptre, and wearing a crowned bonnet, probably representing the Emperor Charles V within a framework of scrolled strapwork with cornucopias at the base; at the top three rivets with heads shaped as bearded masks; at the bottom is an oblong slit governed by a spring-catch. The plaque, which is oblong in shape, with the lower part rounded, must have formed the lid of some utensil not yet identified. It is too large for a bullet pouch, as formerly suggested.
German, about 1550. A1345|1|1|Of pine faced with walnut, rectangular in shape and closed at the top with a hinged lid. It stands upon a low base or plinth, and has two square, sunk, walnut panels in front, and a single sunk panel at either end. The lid is built up on stepped mouldings and has two square panels in the top. The back is of deal with two plain panels.

The decoration consists of intricate designs of flowers, foliage, birds and monsters inlaid in white and coloured antler in the manner employed in the ornamentation of the stocks of contemporary firearms. The composition on the front panels consists of a central cluster of fruit and foliage from which radiate curving branches and tendrils, among which are small birds (hoopoes and parrots among others). The two panels on the lid are occupied by curled monsters terminating in cornucopias. The side panels have foliage and birds including wrens and kingfishers. The frame containing the front and side panels is ornamented with an inlay of tendrils and conventional foliage executed in brass wire, the spaces between being filled with small rosettes of mother-of-pearl. On the plinth are two marine monsters and a plaque of antler inscribed with the maker's signature:

Fait en Massevaux par Jean Conrad Tornier Monsteur d'harquebisses L'en 1630

The interior of the box is lined with crimson velvet and gold galoon. Shaped steel hinges decorated with modern red and gold paint.

Alsatian, dated 1630.

A.N. Kennard, Burlington Magazine, LXXVII (October, 1940) p. 127.

Provenance: Mylius sale, Genoa, 1 and 3 Nov., 1879, lot 712; purchased by Sir Richard Wallace from Messrs. Durlacher, 2 May, 1881, for £300 cash (George Durlacher stated in 1926 that he and his brother, Alfred, had obtained it in Italy on their first tour in search of antiques).

Apart from the fine quality of its decoration, this box is of prime importance for the information which it gives on the decoration of firearms of this period, very few of which are ever signed. Among exceptions are the craftsmen who put their initials on the stocks of guns chiselled by the Sadelers, such as Hieronymus Borstorffer (see A1090) and Adam Vischer. A. N. Kennard has pointed out (loc. cit. above) that the style of the decoration, with its use of brass wire, among other details, closely resembles the stocks of several firearms which can thus be attributed to Tornier's hand, namely, the wheel-lock rifle A1099 in this Collection, which is dated 1645, a wheel-lock gun, formerly in the collection of W. R. Hearst at St. Donat's Castle, and now in the Royal Armouries, and probably a third gun, which was sold in the Bourgeois sale, Cologne, 1904, lot 1006. The date of the rifle shows that Tornier's style had altered little in fifteen years.

There was an almost exactly similar box, differing only in minor details and bearing the same inscription and date, in the sale of Eugen Felix of Liepzig, Cologne, 29 October, 1886, lot 1055. H. Schedelmann, in the Journal of the Arms and Armour Society (vol II, pp. 261-2 and pls. LXII-LXIV), has drawn attention to two more boxes which can be attributed to Tornier on grounds of style: one now in the Kienbush Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and another once in his own collection. See also an article in The Times, 21 January, 1961, for boxes of this kind. There is a smaller box in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (no. 21306), with decoration somewhat similar (illustrated in Lenk's Flintlåset, 1939, pl. 106), and the style of ornament is akin to some designs by an unknown hand in the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek, Berlin (Kat. Ornamentstichsammlung, pl. 147, no. 1014).

Massevaux (German, Massmünster) is a town in Alsace, about fifteen kilometres from Belfort. Its geographical position explains the mixture of French and German styles in the decoration of A1345. The characteristics of gunstock decoration can also be traced in other contemporary articles, such as a tailor's measuring rule in the Wallace Collection, S295, and also in backgammon boards.

This box was formerly catalogued in 1920 with the furniture and objects of art, inv. no. III 2.