Spanish Arms and Armour: Being a Historical and Descriptive Account of the Royal Armoury of MadridCalvert, Albert Frederick
History
Spanish Arms and Armour: Being a Historical and Descriptive Account of the Royal Armoury of Madrid
Calvert, Albert Frederick
Arms and armor -- Spain; Real Armería de Madrid
The harness, A291-294 (plate 54), seems to have been made in Milan by
Lucio Picinino, and was presented by the Duke of Savoy to Philip III.
“Although it belongs to the decadent period of the Italian Renaissance,”
remarks the Conde de Valencia, “it is assuredly one of the handsomest
pieces of work turned out by the Milanese armourers of the late
sixteenth century.” The panoply is unfortunately very incomplete, owing
to the strange course having been adopted of dressing with parts of it
the corpse of the Infante Carlos, who died in 1632.
The whole suit is profusely decorated with reliefs and gold and silver
damascene work. The burgonet displays three masks--on the visor (which
is in two pieces), and at the base of the skull. The upper edge of the
breastplate is roped. In the centre of the chest is an embossed mask;
beneath it a panel with the figure of Victory, seemingly held in
position by chains, and by two male figures. Below it and on either side
are grotesque masks. The pauldrons (one of which has a bufe or
passe-garde), the tassets, cuisses, genouillères, and demi-jambs are
similarly decorated with cartouches and medallions with martial and
allegorical subjects.
“The rich covering for the horse is also incomplete. It is composed of
pieces of the two distinct bards mentioned in the Inventory, one ‘inlaid
with gold and silver, fluted, and in relief, all adorned with blue
stones (lapis lazuli) and yellow stones and illuminated crystals’; and
the other, ‘with the same pieces as the one above, lacking nothing, and
this is of gilded iron in relief.’
“Saddles, chanfrons, and mainfaires of both bards are preserved, these
sets being that of the dragon chanfron on the horse A190, and that with
the inlaid work on the present figure; but the cruppers and poitrels of
both have been broken up, and their component parts have been mostly
dispersed abroad. What was preserved in the Armoury, now without stones
or crystals, together with other remains found in the ancient edifice
after the fire, constitute the crupper and poitrel of this horse.”
To the first decade of the seventeenth century belongs the suit
(A338-A346) attributed to the third Duke of Escalona. It has a tilting
helmet with visor in two pieces, and a shutter in the ventail; the
leg-armour is still complete. The elaborate ornamentation, consisting of
wide vertical bands etched, alternating with trophies, medallions, and
lacework, has lost much of its richness, owing to the disappearance of
the blackening and gilding.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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