Pommel Plate for a Saddle

Culture Southern German , Augsburg or Nuremberg

Dateabout 1520

Mediumsteel and brass

Dimensions35.6 × 57.2 cm (14 × 22 1/2 in.), 2 lb. 2 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.959

DescriptionIron. Formed of 3 pieces, each decorated with pairs of inlaid riveted latten strips, themselves with twin engraved fillets. Edges of plates are embossed & roped. Central plate is irregularly truncated wedge shaped with oblate spheroid embossing for saddle-horn, having transverse embossed roped rib, bordered by engraved lines, below which is single sunken band. Lower portions of plates are uniformly fluted, bordered with engraved lines.
Label TextA knight's war saddle was often armored with a "pommel plate" in front and a "cantle plate" in back, decorated to match the rider's armor. The plates protected the knight's groin and thighs. The pommel plate might also be fitted with hooks for hanging extra weapons such as a mace or war hammer.ProvenanceArmory of the Radziwill, Niewiez Castle, Poland Theodore Offerman of York Galleries, NY. See Higgins Armory Museum Records; Personal correspondence of Theodore Offerman; Radziwill sale, 1926; Dean sale, 1928, lot 43. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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