Beaded steel hilts were an English specialty, beginning about 1775. This example retains its original fitted storage box, which would have been provided by the goldsmith or jeweler who sold it.

Harquebusiers were the last type of cavalry to wear armor in England before it went out of use in the mid- to late seventeenth century. This harquebusier's helmet is rare and important for its richly engraved bands of decoration covered in silver and for the high quality of its workmanship overall. These features suggest it was made in the royal workshops at Greenwich, which were established by Henry VIII in 1511 and were in service until the 1640s.

This figure has been assembled based on photographs taken in the 1930s and 1940s in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa during the Great Prayer Festival. The photographs showed troops of ceremonial armored cavalry, who wore a standardized set of equipment as stipulated by the central government of Tibet probably from the mid-seventeenth or eighteenth century onward. The equipment included a helmet, a mail shirt, a set of four mirrors, an armored belt, a bow case and quiver, a matchlock musket, a bandoleer with gunpowder and bullets, and a short spear for the rider, as well as a saddle, saddle rug, and tack for the horse. Armed and equipped in a similar fashion, Tibetan government officials were periodically required to demonstrate proficiency on horseback with musket, bow and arrow, and spear until as late as the mid twentieth century.

This impressive armor was made for Henry VIII (reigned 1509–47) toward the end of his life, when he was overweight and crippled with gout. Constructed for use both on horse and on foot, it was probably worn by the king during his last military campaign, the siege of Boulogne in 1544, which he commanded personally in spite of his infirmities. Originally, the harness was fitted with a detachable reinforcing breastplate, to which a lance-rest was attached, and a reinforce for the left pauldron (shoulder defense). A pair of exchange vambraces (arm defenses) remains in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.The armor is described in the postmortem inventory of the king’s possessions, drawn up in 1547, as “of italion makinge.” Possibly, it was supplied by a Milanese merchant known in England as Francis Albert, who was licensed by Henry to import luxury goods, including armor, into England for sale. Subsequently, the armor was given to William Herbert (ca. 1507–1570), first earl of Pembroke, Henry’s esquire and an executor of his will. It is recorded at Wilton House, seat of the Pembroke family, from 1558 until it was sold in the 1920s. By the end of the eighteenth century, and until very recently, the armor was erroneously identified as having belonged to Anne de Montmorency (1493–1567), Constable of France, its royal English ownership having been forgotten.The armor is an early example of the “anime” type, in which the breastplate and backplate are constructed of horizontal overlapping plates connected and made flexible by rivets and internal leather straps. The decoration, consisting of foliage, putti, running dogs, and Renaissance candelabra and grotesque ornament, is typically Italian.

This figure has been assembled based on photographs taken in the 1930s and 1940s, in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa during the Great Prayer Festival. Part of the festival included troops of ceremonial armored cavalry, who wore a standardized set of equipment as stipulated by the central government of Tibet from about the mid-seventeenth or eighteenth century onward. This included a helmet, shirt of mail, set of four mirrors, armored belt, bow case and quiver, matchlock musket, bandoleer with gunpowder and bullets, and short spear for the rider, as well as a saddle, saddle rug, and tack for the horse. Armed and equipped in a similar fashion, Tibetan goverment officials periodically were required to demonstrate proficiency on horseback with musket, bow and arrow, and spear until as late as the mid-twentieth century.

Heraldry, or coat-of-arms, were vitally important in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Heraldic emblems were used to identify noble families, cities, regions, and even countries. In addition to being displayed on shields and flags, heraldry was incorporated into architectural decoration on the interior and the exterior of buildings, on furniture, works of art, clothing, and horse equipment. Harness pendants, like this example, would have been attached to a headstall, bridle, or other straps making up the tack of a horse ridden by a nobleman or noblewoman, or a member of their household. Many harness pendants also have decoration that is simply ornamental, or have symbols that are not specifically heraldic in nature.

The three lions, masterfully embossed in low relief, refer to the heraldic arms of the shield's owner, who unfortunately is not identified. Since the shield is recorded as having come from Spain in the early nineteenth century, its owner was undoubtedly a Spanish nobleman. Cuts across the surface of the lions indicate that the shield saw active use, most likely in a tournament on foot.

The Arabic inscriptions include the names of the maker and the owner, the latter apparently a descendant of the ruling house of the Crimean Tartars.

1785~ / 1800~, United Kingdom

1785~ / 1800~, United Kingdom

Description