1590
Given details of the decoration and fit of the pieces, this breast and back were most likely originally manufactured as a pair. With recessed borders at the neck and arms. Neck with additional pair of narrow recessed flutes dropping to a point at the center on both the breast and back. Rolled edges at the neck and arms turned in and roped. Base of the breast and back cut in the form of picadils. Surface blackened overall with old paint. Breast and back with 3 radiating white bands with no paint. These bands are not recessed. The white bands with fine engraved decoration in the form of interlaced wavy bands of "wiggle-work". The breastplate has additional decoration at the neck above and below the double flute. Back marked with a triple crown at the center of the neck and with filed notch decoration on the edge of the shoulder between the neck and arm rolls. The breast retains 2 buckles at the shoulders (one probably original, one a similar replacement). 2 shoulder straps on the backplate connect to the buckles on the breast. Straps each with 3 plates secured by a single brass-capped rivet and decorated brass washer. These straps probably original.
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This site last updated Fri Aug 14 18:42:19 EDT 2009