Breastplate for a Harquebusier

Artistpossibly by Hans Michel (Nuremberg, Germany, 1539 – 1599)

Date1620–1625

Mediumsteel

Dimensions40 × 36 × 15 cm (15 3/4 × 14 3/16 × 5 7/8 in.), 3 lb 12 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

MarkingsBreastplate: below neck to either side of medial line is Nuremberg "Beschau" and the mark identified with Hans Michel (1539-1599), the mark of a cherub's head (not really visible) surmounted by the upper-case letters "HM", the whole within a shield-shaped frame (see photo in digital file); within, at the base of the medial line is the red-painted "N. 5.", matching the number on the backplate.

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.1148.3

DescriptionAssociated to backplate, German (Nuremberg), by Hans Michel (?) (1539-1599). Light, 1-piece, & high-waisted with low, medial ridge, which extends in a subtle curve down from a punched dot below the neck to another dot at the slightly dipped waistline. Neck & arm openings are deeply curved without gussets, and are inwardly turned over a thick iron wire core, and are not roped. The terminals rise up just over the front of the shoulders where they are squared off and fitted with buckles added later. That of the right is a more modern replacement than that on the left. The right could be a working life replacement, as there is an old repair of the terminal within. The old buckle is rectangular in form, tongued, and with oblique punches that produce a roped effect to the edges. The shank is short and pointed, and is secured by an axial set of domed rivets.

Pierced on the upper half of the breastplate, to either side of the medial ridge, is a single small hole. These could have secured a decorative plate, or perhaps were the locations for studs of a backplate's plated straps. Punched below the arm opening is a single, small dot. The sides are slightly rounded to the high waistline that dips to the center, and is beaten out in a relatively deep flange that is gently rounded outward. The edge of the flange is unturned, and with the presence of partly filled holes centered on either side suggests that hinged mounts or threaded stud fittings were found here in order to mount cuirassier's tassets. The present associated tassets are secured here by later studs riveted near the ends of the flange. The breastplate has no provision for a lance-rest.
ProvenancePurchased by Museum from J. Gluckselig & Sohn (Vienna, Austria) on December 1, 1936. Paid $300 for lot HAM#s 2383-2387. Old record states this armor was dealer's number 28, and mentions another "tag 1145". Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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