Hi- can anyone explain to me the purpose of the little hinged post on the left shoulder of this collar?

Thanks!

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Too high and wrong side for a lance rest, but a few speculations come to mind: 1) a place to stick your helm, faceplate, etc. when removed from one's head; 2) a form of protection that might impede a blade swung toward the neck - of course, if that were the case, one might expect one on the other side; 3) a catch to keep one's musket or polearm from sliding off one's shoulder when marching or riding; 4) a post to which a lanyard might be hung to retain a weapon within arm's reach when dropped in favor of another weapon (thinking of some of the breastplates I've seen with chains attached to the front for similar purposes).

Curious as to the real answer from someone that actually knows, assuming the real answer isn't lost to history and all we have left is reasoned speculation. ;)

A quick Google image search for 'Almain collar' shows they come in pairs. Christie's says they're for attaching pauldrons.
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/a-burg...ID=1480614
http://www.higgins-collection.org/object_phot...2961.4.jpg
http://users.wpi.edu/~virtualarmory/Collectio...61.4-2.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d3/00/ab/d300abcb5ee292277f9256b953a63319.jpg

The Earl of Cumberland's armor in the Met shows the post. The collar is worn beneath the breast and back, so the length is needed.
http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/aa/original/DP295743.jpg

its the wifi antenna.

(sorry, I cant resist the joke).


I'm actually a bit (read: very) sceptical of the pauldron attachment idea. Those tend to be a lot smaller, maybe 20-25mm high. Here's a surviving example from Wade Allen's collection:

http://www.allenantiques.com/A-25.html


I cant help but wonder is is a later addition, trying to add to a part to increase its value.

My first thought was, could it be an attachment point for a grandeguard or ecranche for the joust? but that harness looks way too low a quality for that sort of stuff.
its quite puzzling.

The attachment post explanation, while plausible, does seem to lose points based on the length of the post and the fact that the pauldrons do seem to be attached at other points. This larger post looks as though it might possibly be affixed to one of the smaller "arming point" posts. Also, the conical point on top of the post would seem to be much larger than the hole you would expect to find in the pauldron - although, without detailed photos, it is impossible to tell whether the tip is removable. Since there is no apparent pin beneath it, that would suggest a screw-on/in type of set-up - that seems unlikely to me, but I'm not an expert.

Is there a higher resolution version of the photo which might show more detail of the post and whether it is a single piece or composed of assembled elements?

More photos available:
http://www.ashokaarts.com/shop/german-nurembe...circa-1560