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Title Peascod breastplate
Nationality European
Period c 1570
Sold

This is a munition armour breastplate of the last half of the 16th century, carried throughout Europe and normally worn with a half armour, ie breast- and backplate and tassets. Typically worn at battles like Lepanto (1570), the great Christian victory against the Ottomans, and throughout the Spanish campaign in the Netherlands (late 16th century).

This particular example has had extensive patching (for instance, along the edges under the arms on both sides, where there had been substantial rust damage) carried out in the 1950s by an armourer working at the Tower of London in the traditional manner (ie rivetted rather than welded repairs). It weighs approximately 2 kilos.

'Peascod = variation of doublet (clothing)
The height and narrowness of the waist varied from country to country, as did the materials, which included rich fabrics such as velvet, satin, and cloth of gold. An extreme fashion, the peascod, or goose-bellied doublet, came to England from Holland in the 1570s; it was padded to a point at the waist and swelled out over the girdle. It survives in the traditional costume of Punch.'
Britannica Online Encyclopedia

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.


[Militaria : Armour : European : 16th Century]

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N T, Japan, 01.11.2012

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