A FINELY CONSTRUCTED MINIATURE FIELD ARMOUR IN THE GERMAN STYLE OF CIRCA 1580, LATE 19TH CENTURY

A FINELY CONSTRUCTED MINIATURE FIELD ARMOUR IN THE GERMAN STYLE OF CIRCA 1580, LATE 19TH CENTURY/EARLY 20TH CENTURY comprising close helmet with roped comb, visor with a pair of vision slits, bevor with three circular arrangements of breathes on the left and lower bevor retained by a press stud, gorget of a pair of articulated lames front and back, breast and backplate, the former with medial ridge and carrying a skirt of two lames, a pair of tassets each of five lames, full arm defences, fingered gauntlets, full leg defences with winged poleyns, articulated sabatons, and a single pointed besagew, the principle lames decorated with central notches, and with recessed borders and roped turns throughout: on a wooden stand, complete with a two-hand sword in contemporary style 76.2cm; 30in high Inv. no. A204. A strikingly similar miniature armour formerly in the Renwick Collection was sold Sotheby & Co., 21st May 1973, lot 32. It would appear that they are both based on an armour in the former Imperial Collection in Vienna.