Italian or Flemish Breastplate 1500
Formed of a single piece with a medial crease, flared bottom edge and large triangular rolls at the arms and neck. The roll at the arm with engraved/filed decoration in the form of lines. There are a set of holes on the right side for the attachment of the pins for a lance rest. This is a fine example of a rare type of breastplate made at the turn of the 16th century. Examples like it may be found in the Waffensammlung Vienna, Metropolitan Museum NY, another in the current collection - item number A-321, etc. For a very similar example see Kienbusch Collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art #1977-167-132 formerly in the Dean collection.
Size measurements: Width of neck hole - 8 1/2 in. Height of arm hole - 9 in. Arm hole to waist- 4 1/2 in. Center from top of roll to waist - 12 3/4 in. Waist flare - 3/4 in.
The metal varies in thickness. Within an inch it can vary about .01 inch. All measurements in inches. Thickness measurements:Sides - .028-.052 - mostly in the .030-.040 range. Upper area between arm and neck (right side) - .035-.050.Mostly around .040. Same thing (left side) - .059 - .075 (thicker than the other side). At the lance rest holes - .040 - .052. At the top crease area - .070 - .080 (mostly .080). At the center near crease - .080 - .11. Center near the waist - mostly .040 - .050. Height of upper roll at the center (measured with a gauge from the back of the material)- .66. Max height of right arm roll - .84. Max height of left arm roll - .71. Measuring from the front of the breastplate the rolls height and width at the widest spot are: right 3/4x13/16 inch, left 11/16x3/4 inch, neck 11/16x23/32. To generalize, the armourer was aiming for a roll about 3/4" high and about the same in depth (19mm).
If you have any questions, please send them to Wade Allen
This site last updated Mon Dec 27 11:29:14 EST 2021