Bottom Lame of a Fauld (skirt for a breastplate)

Date1490–1500

Mediumsteel

Dimensions5.1 × 36.8 × 16.5 cm (2 × 14 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.), 11 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

MarkingsTriangular grouping of 3 very worn marks of Milanese character is stamped to right of medial ridge. That at apex appears to be upper-case "O" or "A" surmounted by a crown. The 2 marks forming base have slightly differing split crosses within the legs of which are indecipherable characters, possibly 1 on right & 2 or 3 on left. See photograph of mark in digital file.

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.899

DescriptionSteel. Relatively narrow & curved to body, dipping down towards mid-length where broadened & embossed with low ridge rising into central cusp. Terminals squared & cusped at rivet holes on top edge for attaching the lame to that above. Unturned basal edge, pierced at broad intervals with locator holes for now-lost lining-rivets. Centered at the basal edge is a single hole for the medial articulating leather from the lames above. Near right end, upper edge has single, flat-headed rivet; there is no corresponding fitting nor hole opposite, indicating not for tasset strap, & may in fact be crude, field-expedient repair. There are 3 holes in triangular group at left terminal; these are old, but apparently not of period.
Label TextMost armor has a story to tell, if one looks carefully. This piece has a maker's mark, and a series of holes along the bottom edge that were used to attach a lining, to prevent the steel plates from chafing against each other. The rivet on the upper left side has no mate on the right, which suggests that it may have been added as a repair, probably during the working life of the piece. In fact, this lame was one of the pieces of old armor left behind on the island of Rhodes when the Knights of St. John (Hospitalers) were forced out in 1522, and it may have seen a very active working life.ProvenanceRhodes Beshiklash his brother in Paris Louis R. Bachereau Bashford Dean Purchased by John W. Higgins on September 28, 1929 from estate of Bashford Dean (Riverdale, NY), odd lot #3, price paid for lot, including #928, 929, 1671. Given to the Museum on January 8, 1947. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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