Ⓦ A COMPOSITE ENGLISH HARQUEBUSIER'S ARMOUR, MID-17TH CENTURY

Ⓦ A COMPOSITE ENGLISH HARQUEBUSIER'S ARMOUR, MID-17TH CENTURY

comprising pot with hemispherical skull formed in two pieces joined medially along a low comb, fitted at the brow with a slightly down-turned pivoted peak struck at its left side with the maker's mark ID (?) and supporting on its underside a triple-barred face-guard, at the nape with a one-piece neck-guard embossed to simulate three lames, and its sides with pendent cheek-pieces (the left detached), heavy one-piece breastplate formed with a medial ridge, a V-shaped waist-line, a raised neck-opening and a short outward-flanged lower edge, each side of the chest fitted with a stud for the attachment of a shoulder-strap, and one-piece backplate formed with an upstanding neck-opening and outward-flanged lower edge, and fitted with scaled shoulder-straps and waist-belt, the centre of the neck-opening struck with the maker's mark 'SK' and the cross of St George within an escutcheon, the government ownership mark of the time of the Commonwealth, the main edges of the armour decorated with plain inward turns and its surfaces retaining the greater part of a black from the hammer finish (now extensively pitted; the cheek-pieces of the pot and the shoulder-straps of the backplate replaced): on a wooden stand

83.5 cm; 32 7/8 in high

Property from the David Jeffcoat Collection (1945-2020)

Part proceeds to benefit The Wallace Collection

The Government Ownership mark on the backplate dates from the time of the Commonwealth, namely 1649-60. The maker's mark on the backplate may be that of Sylvester Keen, who worked in partnership with Rafe Boulter and received an order for '200 backs and brests and pots English at xxsp suite', together with an order for '200 headpieces at viis p piece' on 26th June 1645. The partnership between Boulter and Keen appears to have broken up as they both registered their own marks on 30th October 1648. Keen continued to work and was appointed chief hammerman of the re-established Almain Armoury at the Tower on 7th May 1660. His step brother was probably Henry Keen, one of the best known of the London Armourers of this period. See Richardson 2004, pp. 49-50 and p. 53.