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Zach Luna
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 Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 10:49 am Post subject: Photos from the Tower of London |
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During the same journey where I visited the Cluny last month (thread below) I also visited the Tower of London.
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...highlight=
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress houses not only the Crown Jewels and the primary residences of the Yeoman Warders that guard it, but also a portion of the Royal Armouries collection (based in Leeds) on display in the keep.
The current exhibition is called "Fit for a King" and focuses on royal armor from the Tudor and Stuart dynasties.
I snapped a few photos of the pieces on display and thought I'd share them here. 
View of the Tower from the North as you emerge from under a bridge.
A shot of the outer ward, established in the 13th century, just beyond the moat that has been drained and filled since the 19th Century
"The White Tower" in the center of the structure where the weapons are displayed, a Norman keep built by William the Conqueror.
The "Fit for a King" exhibit at the entrance, beginning with armor made for Henry VIII after he established the royal armour workshop in Greenwich in 1511
A shot of Henry VIII's silvered and engraved armor from 1515, commemorating his marriage to Katherine of Aragon. It's accompanied by engraved Flemish-made horse armor.
Some of Henry VIII's more robust tournament armor. There are several examples, and they grow in size along with Henry's girth as the years pass!
The sword of Oliver Cromwell. A well-known piece that is intimidating in-person. The display mentioned that the hilt treatment is though to be a later addition.
A display showing the personal swords of a line of kings. I took closer shots of my favorites, but forgot to include which kings they belong to!  I'll try to find out and edit this later.
*EDIT* As far as I can tell, these are from left to right the swords of:
George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Edward VII, George V, and Edward VIII.
The Sword of George IV
George II
George V
A suit of Japanese armor given as a gift to James I around 1610.
...Continued in the next post
Last edited by Zach Luna on Mon 30 May, 2011 6:40 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Zach Luna
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| Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 11:28 am Post subject: |
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More photos!
A spectacular suit of gilt armor from about 1612, built for Henry Prince of Wales but inherited by his younger brother, who would become King Charles I four years later.
The engraved and punched foliage is incredible.
Some wooden horses and armor from the "Line of Kings" public display at the tower from 1600.
A couple of enormous ceremonial swords, built for visibility, not war.
A shot out the window in the chapel. 
Some more armor! Forgive me for not taking a more comprehensive look at the available pieces; I realize now that I forgot to take quite a few pictures of things I was too busy looking at. The piece on the right is a suit of boys armor made by a Dutch craftsman for the future King Charles I around 1615. It later passed to his son, the future King Charles II.
One of the smallest suits of armor next to the Worlds Largest, known as the "Giant and Dwarf." The "Dwarf" armor is just over three feet high, while the "Giant" was built for a warrior that stood 6 foot 9.
An Ethiopian shotel from the 19th century
And authentic nihonto. I tried to get a shot of the kissaki, but could not get it in focus.
A British enlisted cavalry service M1885 saber with an unknown musket above.
Look at the thickness of the spine!
An officer's sword said to have belonged to Peter the Great (1682-1725) of Russia. More likely, it belonged to an officer of Catherine the Great (1729-96).
More to come!
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Ian Hutchison
Location: Louisiana / Nordrhein-Westholland Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 626
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| Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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Great pictures!
Was there anything more about the 'dwarf' and 'giant' armors? I assume they were ceremonial in nature.
'We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose.' - Adrian Carton de Wiart
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Glen A Cleeton
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| Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for taking the time to upload and share these museum visits. It is a real treat for the vicarious tourists such as me.
Cheers
GC
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Nathan Robinson
myArmoury Admin
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Marc Ridgeway
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| Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Nathan Robinson wrote: | | I went there in 2005 and really enjoyed it. I recommend the visit to anyone. There's enough there to see that it extends well beyond just the subject of arms and armour. |
I was there in 05 as well... hope to go again soon.
Thanks for the pics Luna.
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
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Zach Luna
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| Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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Happy to share, folks.
Yea, a visit to the Tower is a very full afternoon. The history, the jewels, the architecture, the stories--I'd allow at least 4 hours to take it all in, and there's really something for everyone there.
I forgot to mention that the entry fee is a bit pricey--between 16-20 quid depending on your circumstances. Worth it, I think, but it shouldn't be rushed.
On the next batch of photos soon.
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Zach Luna
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| Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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More Swords! Including a rather wild swiss saber.
crazy blade detailing here
A rapier with filework that transforms the bars into chains
A hunting sword with a rather uncomfortable-looking antler grip
Two more japanese nihonto
If you look closely you can see the pattern of the tamahagane steel on the right
Again my camera does not want to capture the tip of the sword. But you can see some of the detail on the greaves behind!
My favorite rapier there, a vicious hollow-ground number.
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Zach Luna
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| Posted: Tue 31 May, 2011 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Ian Hutchison wrote: |
Was there anything more about the 'dwarf' and 'giant' armors? I assume they were ceremonial in nature. |
Can't say I know much about them--other than that the "giant" had a Guinness World Record certificate on display next to it. If it was indeed for combat, he would strike a very imposing figure coming at you across the battlefield! 
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Zach Luna
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| Posted: Wed 01 Jun, 2011 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Here's the last of the bunch. Some of the more odd things I saw there.
Some fancy handguns, not sure why they're there.
The leaf decorations on this Smith & Wesson model 29 centerfire are meant to represent five different woods used in gun-making.
This customized .357 magnum with red gold, enamel and diamonds was in possession of the Metropolitan Police for a while before it was transferred to the Royal Armouries. Nifty.
This is a dragon made of weapons. The claws are made of pistols, the wings are cannons and guns, the horns are pole arms, etc. etc.
There was no explanation provided for this thing, it was just THERE. On top of a bunch of barrels. I have no idea why.
Military Dress sword of the Duke of Wellington, 1948.
Executioner's axe and block.
A double-sided interactive display with a couple of blunted Albion Gaddhjalt swords. Each weapon had a sensor attacked to the pommel-end that would change the information displayed to the side when you picked them up.
A norman toilet!
A Del Tin 2153 hand-and-a-half. It had some sort of dark surface treatment all over to protect from rusting.
A shot of the grounds of the inner ward, why not?
A portcullis!
And finally, a sentry guarding the Crown Jewels. No photos allowed in there, unfortunately.
Seems I forgot to grab a shot of the beefeaters, but members of the Queen's Guard have better hats anyway. 
Thanks for looking!
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Philip Melhop
Location: Wokingham, Berkshire, UK Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 132
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| Posted: Fri 03 Jun, 2011 3:32 am Post subject: |
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| Ian Hutchison wrote: | Great pictures!
Was there anything more about the 'dwarf' and 'giant' armors? I assume they were ceremonial in nature. |
The "giant" armour is attributed to John Of Gaunt, the 1st Earl of Lancaster.
Phil
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Reece Nelson
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| Posted: Fri 03 Jun, 2011 9:27 am Post subject: tower of london |
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Wow! Thanks for posting My favorite out of all of them has got to be the ceremonial bearing swords, those are insanely huge!
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Adam D. Kent-Isaac
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| Posted: Sat 04 Jun, 2011 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Philip Melhop wrote: | | Ian Hutchison wrote: | Great pictures!
Was there anything more about the 'dwarf' and 'giant' armors? I assume they were ceremonial in nature. |
The "giant" armour is attributed to John Of Gaunt, the 1st Earl of Lancaster.
Phil |
Which is totally impossible, since the giant armour is obviously early 16th century (probably German) and John of Gaunt died in 1399.
Pastime With Good Company
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Anders Backlund
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| Posted: Tue 07 Jun, 2011 10:21 am Post subject: Re: Photos from the Tower of London |
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| Zach Luna wrote: |
A display showing the personal swords of a line of kings. I took closer shots of my favorites, but forgot to include which kings they belong to! I'll try to find out and edit this later.
*EDIT* As far as I can tell, these are from left to right the swords of:
George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Edward VII, George V, and Edward VIII.
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I would love good picture of that first one, George I's saber? That one looks beautiful.
The sword is an ode to the strife of mankind.
"This doesn't look easy... but I bet it is!"
-Homer Simpson.
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Zach Luna
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| Posted: Tue 07 Jun, 2011 11:19 pm Post subject: Re: Photos from the Tower of London |
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| Anders Backlund wrote: |
I would love good picture of that first one, George I's saber? That one looks beautiful. |
Aye, 'tis a beautiful saber indeed. Unfortunately I took fewer photos than I realized, so I don't have a closer picture of it. Must have been too busy gawking at other things, my apologies. I've posted all the tower pics I could find on the memory card, but still sorting through stuff from the Wallace Collection, British Museum, and V&A to post soon.
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Shahril Dzulkifli
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| Posted: Thu 16 Jun, 2011 8:51 am Post subject: Photos from the Tower of London |
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That red pistol looks impressive!
“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength”
- Marcus Aurelius
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Michael Curl
Location: Northern California, US Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 487
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| Posted: Thu 16 Jun, 2011 10:09 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Philip Melhop wrote:
Ian Hutchison wrote:
Great pictures!
Was there anything more about the 'dwarf' and 'giant' armors? I assume they were ceremonial in nature.
The "giant" armour is attributed to John Of Gaunt, the 1st Earl of Lancaster.
Phil
Which is totally impossible, since the giant armour is obviously early 16th century (probably German) and John of Gaunt died in 1399. |
hahah, oh, if you don't laugh its just sad. The more I learn about armor, the more depressing the ignorance.
E Pluribus Unum
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Adam D. Kent-Isaac
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| Posted: Thu 16 Jun, 2011 10:47 am Post subject: |
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The smaller armour, by the way, is not made for a dwarf but for a child, in this case, King Charles I (Prince of Wales when he was a child.)
Pastime With Good Company
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This is a standard topic