Ave!
While searching and organizing my source pictures, I found the attached image which I like quite much and I'm thinking about building a full kit based on this. Now I'd like to know the exact date and country of origin of it - I guess early 17th century, but I have no ideas at the country.
I'd really appreciate it if anyone could help me a bit.
Thanks in advance!

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That harness, and the close helmet and burgonet behind it, look like elements of the Great Garniture for Field and Tournament of Kaspar Baron Vols-Schenkenberg, made by Michael Witz the Younger around 1560. It's housed in the Landeszeughaus in Graz.

The lighting washes out some of the details, but the harness in the Landeszeughaus has etched borders.

The book Imperial Austria: Treasure of Art, Arms, and Armour from the State of Styria by Kremm and Karcheski is where I found it.

Here are some pictures, if I got it right. Your picture appears to be comprised of the breastplate in my first picture with the reinforcing plackart over it (not shown in the pictures below but referenced in one of the diagrams at the bottom of the pictures), plus the non-barred burgonet below, and the arms and tassets. The tilting close helm and spiky barred burgonet from below are in the background of your pic.

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Hi Adam,

As Chad has already said, this harness is by Michael Witz, the younger. It was made in Innsbruck in about 1559-60, and it is believed to have been made specially for the Vienna freiturnier of 1560.
There are other elments of this harness in St.Petersburg and in Baltimore.

Regards,

Russ

Thanks! Seems my guess was off a bit... :D For some strange reason I thought that the helmet on it is a strange and more open variation of the totenkopf helmets... :D

I'm not familiar with certain samples as Chad and Russ are,but I found this almost identical one from this site except that this one was blackened and seems to be gilded in the border:
http://www.civilization.ca/milhist/austria/aus05eng.html
[ Linked Image ]

I know that totenkopfs are closed burgonets, I just didn't know that they existed as soon as 1560. I always thought them to be there from the beginning of the 17th century.
Help much appreciated.
...
Next question, if anyone can help in this as well. What clothes would one wear under these? My primary areas of focus were the German area 1470-1520 and middle east X-XVI century so I know very little about this era... :confused:

Russ, thank you for the correction! there's always something new to know!
Btw, what do you think about the quality of these armour? Since it was made by a famous Armourer, it should not be a munition grade armour, right? But as already mentioned, its form and outline, with the number of similar samples preserved in the armoury, always reminds me about those coarse 17th century armours, though I don't think the Totenkopf helmet is that ugly as Mr.Oakeshott suggested in his book as the most terrible one ever made in aesthetic senses.

Cheers,
Marc

It should be pointed out to Adam that the parts of the garniture shown in his picture are mounted on a Tappelbrust that does not belong to the garniture, but was apparently handy for purposes of display.

So easy for you all, having acces to books... :D Actual shipping times for books to Hungary are ridiculous, and I can't afford paying for a book that I'll receive a year later... :S
Thank you all!
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Pardon my ignorance but what's exactly a Tappelbrust? I searched it by Google and the only result was this thread... I get it that it's the breastplate, I just don't know this type.

Well noted James ! :)

Adam,

The tappelbrust is a form of breastplate,originating in Germany, where the front comes out into a point. They begin to develop in about 1530. Some of these were quite extreme in form, with a quite long and well defined point. Others were slighty flatter with a point lower down on the front. They were used, in various forms, more or less upto the end of the 16th century.

Russ