Unknown Armour -- myArmoury.com

Jeremy Cady · Posted: Sat 06 Nov, 2004 2:56 pm Post subject: Unknown Armour

I recently aquired this suit of armour and can find nothing about it.

The person I got it from said he bought it in 1965. He said he was told that it was a Spanish piece from the late 1600's/early 1700's.

The name Marco Barbarigo is on the chest plate. The only such person I know of was a Doge of Venice in 1485. That's all I know of him.

Also, on the neck guard of the helmet is written:
Pax Evan
Tibi Gelis
Marce Mues

I believe this is very close to the saying on the Venetian Coat of Arms, but I have also heard that many German suits have a similar saying.

Either way, I don't know if this is a reproduction or if it is an original. Even if it is a reproduction it looks pretty aged. I don't really know what to look for or where to find information about it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jeremy Cady · Posted: Sat 06 Nov, 2004 2:59 pm Post subject: unknown armour

Here are a few more pics

If there is anything else you would like me to get pics of, let me know.

Allan Senefelder · Industry Professional

Jeremy , could you post some pics of the inside of the helmet the arm and the leg . I'm guessing this suits a Victorian era piece but a look at the inside to see some constructional details would help .

Jeremy Cady · Posted: Sat 06 Nov, 2004 6:39 pm Post subject: more pics of construction

Here are some more pics of the inside construction of the armour. Someone has gone through and made repairs at some point. You can see in various places, screws with square nuts where a rivet used to be. Also, for ease of displaying the armour, I've seen some drilled holes rather than punched holes that was used to chain the pieces together.

Jeremy Cady · Posted: Sat 06 Nov, 2004 6:42 pm Post subject: more pics

Here are some more pics

Russ Thomas · Industry Professional

Jeremy,

The piece is very clearly a ' Venetian' harness,probably dating to the latter Victorian era.These were made (and still are !),in quite large quantities.Even the famous German dealer Ernst Schmidt sold them in addition to the products of his own workshops.They are shown in his catalogues. Also the other famous dealers of the era,Pidgeon and Pratt also sold them .
Possibly the holes for the chains etc.may have been where it may have been secured ,perhaps for display in a restaurant or somewhere similar where security might have been a problem.

Hope that this helps..........

Regards as ever,

Russ

Allan Senefelder · Industry Professional

What Russ said . Victorian suits like this have some value in the antique market as just that antiques . They were popular
for decorating foyers and studies and such during the Renaissance/Gothic revival of the Victorian era.