Changes in the shapes of breastplates in the 16th century Main Page Previous Page Next Page

Breast and back plates circa 1560 inv. num. A-291	Breastplate circa 1550-80 inv. num. A-279	Breastplate circa 1550-60 inv. num. A-241

In the third quarter of the century there are several competing breastplate shapes in use. These are examples of a style that rises to a point approximately one third of the way up from the waist. Sometimes this point is actually a point, other times it is more rounded - the latter shape commonly associated with Innsbruck. These illustrate very different decorative styles on breastplates of very similar overall shapes. The first would have been black when it was new - the rough hammered surface has not been ground smooth. The second illustrates a common lower end decorative style where much of the surface was left rough and black, but bands have been ground smooth and polished. The last shows a higher end example of "black and white" decoration.