Pair of tassets, German? (16th century)

Title	Pair of tassets
Nationality	German?
Period	16th century

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These are almost certainly from a half armour, ie breast, back, tassets and morion or burgonet. Typically worn by an officer in the Spanish Netherlands campaigns and in fighting in France and Italy, the embossed detail, as well as the quality of the original rivets, all pointing to officer quality, probably of German manufacture.

These are not to be confused with pikemen's tassets, which are of much stouter construction, whether of other ranks' quality or officer's.

They have been extensively restored and patched, with many of the rivets and all the leather work having been replaced. This is not unusual for items of this age, particularly from combat armour. The red paint is obviously not original, but has probably been done to preserve the back of the piece from rust. This restoration work was all carried out professionally at the Tower of London Armouries in the 1950s.

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

[Militaria : Armour : German : 16th Century]

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