Brigandine Fragment
Cultureprobably
Italian
Date1450–1500
Mediumiron and fabric
Dimensions13 × 30.5 cm (5 1/8 × 12 in.), 6 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
MarkingsTraces of an indistinct mark on the third plate from the bottom, and the second from the bottom has a centered large dot.
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.819
DescriptionNine tinned iron plates, all either rectangular or of parallelogram form, with rounded or cut corners. Viewed from within, all plates overlap downward. All are held to a coarse outer canvas covering by iron rivets, now heavily corroded but once with heads decorated with an eight-pointed star motif. The rivets are found along the upper edges. A seam in the fabric suggests the fragments are from the side of the body, under the armpit. Unused holes and cuts in the plates suggest they have been reused from earlier brigandines.Provenance(Perhaps) Fortress at Xalkis Dr. Bashford Dean (Riverdale, NY) Purchased as part of lot no. 14 of the Bashford Dean estate on 28 September 1929. Purchase price of $15.00 for lot. Given to the Museum on 26 December 1946. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on view
Southern German
about 1550
