Breastplate 1500? 17th c.?
Breastplate. Very heavy construction. Rounded form. Flare at the waist. Squared tapered outward rolls at the neck and arms. Holes for shoulder straps and turning hooks for use with plate covered shoulder straps like a trooper's breast in the 17th. century. 2 dents from bullet shots in the center left of the breast. The form and rolls are what you would expect of a breastplate of c. 1500. Weighs app 18 pounds. I know that I have seen a pile of similar breastplates that are associated with a group of 17th c. pieces. The weight, bullet marks and shoulder pin locations are reasonable for a 17th c. date. Outward turned rolls like this are very much not normal for the 17th c., but I have seen very heavy breastplates which are at least turned out. The square fom of the rolls is very odd. I don't see any reason to expect that this is a later piece, but attribution to a common type is difficult.
If you have any questions, please send them to Wade Allen
This site last updated Wed Jul 09 21:38:05 EDT 2025