Cavalry three-quarter armor, entirely painted with gold moti - Lot 80

Lot n° 80
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Estimation :
45000 - 65000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 108 138EUR
Cavalry three-quarter armor, entirely painted with gold moti - Lot 80
Cavalry three-quarter armor, entirely painted with gold motifs on a black background. Northern Italy, c. 1630 H. 178 cm - Weight : 15.945 kg Three-quarter cavalry armor, fully painted with golden motifs on a black background. Northern Italy, c. 1630 H. 70 in - Weight: 562 oz 99 CH Provenance: - Karsten Klingbeil Collection (l.1925-2016), Kleinen Wannsee, Berlin (Germany) until 2011 - Bergé and Hermann Historica sale, Brussels, December 13, 2011, lot 83 Exhibition: Lisbon, May-October 1983, XVII Exposição Europeia de arte, ciência e Cultura - Torre de Belem. Catalog Os Descobrimentos Portugueses e a Europa do Renascimento. Armaria dos Seculos XV a XVII, 1983, n°71, p.77, illustrated p. 78. Closed, round-stamped "Savoyard"-type bourguignotte, extended into a gorgerin at the front and rear. Mezail with two-part face, the front rounded into a two-arched visor above the eye openings of the lower part, pierced by a smile-shaped slit at mouth level. Plastron with slight median ridge, extended by a two-bladed poacher, held at the waist by pivoting cleats passing through hinges. The poacher is mistakenly attached below the base of the breastplate, instead of over it. Long tassettes with ten blades each are suspended from the poacher by loops and straps, extended by five-blade, winged, articulated knee pads, decorated at the front with an embossed star motif highlighted by gold paint. At the bottom of the backplate is a five-blade breech strap, originally suspended by straps and buckles, replaced by a modern screw and wing nut. Pair of arms comprising large six-blade shoulder pads with decorative brass rivets at the front and rear in a circular pattern, front and rear arm barrels, and finned cubiters. Six-blade gauntlets, fingers missing. The gilded decoration, painted over a thick black varnish, consists mainly of a succession of polylobed medallions with interlacing fleurons, surrounded by corded bands and vegetal elements. Straight or interlaced rope and cord motifs give structure to the overall decoration, and emphasize the edges of the pieces. On the mézail, which is left black, squared gold stripes mark the human features of the bourguignotte. This painted decoration seems to imitate the highly luxurious engraved and gilded cuirassier armor produced in northern Italian workshops, such as the fine example in the Wallace Collection, probably made for a member of the House of Savoy (A63). This piece features the same cord motif as the painting of the armor shown here, as well as the same colorful combination of repeating gold motifs on a black background. In both cases, these corded motifs could be a reference to the cordelière of the Savoy order of the Annonciade, of which the commissioner of the painted armor may have been a member. Although originally less expensive and precious than their engraved and mercury-gilded counterparts, painted armors like these have more often than not lost their original colors and are now extremely rare. Some paint damage, missing colletin and finger blades. Translation at the end of the catalog
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