Late 15th Century Gothic Floating Discs, 1.6mm Steel, Pair

Late 15th Century Gothic Floating Discs, 1.6mm Steel, Pair

Late 15th century Gothic floating discs, 1.6 mm steel, pair

When the increasing effectiveness of offensive weapons increased the need for protection in the late Middle Ages, attempts were made to close the vulnerable gaps between armor plates as best as possible. Although often highly decorative, the floating discs of Gothic or late medieval plate armor ( besagews or besagues in English) served primarily to protect the armpits and upper arms from blows and heavy blows.

These beautiful Gothic-style floating discs are based on the design of an artifact from the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures , University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The artifact in question is a replica of a late 15th-century German floating disc made in 1913 and originally purchased from Ernst Schmidt's Munich workshop (ID No. 1913.09.0002e, see last image) .

Our floating discs, slightly curved inward and ornate, are made of approximately 1.6 mm (16-gauge) steel and blackened on the back for improved corrosion protection. Each consists of a grooved disc pierced with trefoils, a smaller openwork plate with period-typical plant or leaf motifs riveted to the larger disc, and a pointed spike. The back is fitted with a leather strap with a brass buckle for attaching to plate armor, armpit armor, or mail. The strap, the two plates, and the mandrel are held firmly and securely together with a sturdy steel rivet in the center of the back.

These round steel discs are ideal for late medieval and Renaissance settings and will make your depiction of a noble European knight or warrior look even more authentic.

It's a couple.

Details:

- Material: 1.6 mm (ga 16) steel plate, dark brown leather strap, antique brass buckles

- Diameter: approx. 17 cm (center plate approx. 11 cm)

- Height: approx. 5 cm

- Chuck length: approx. 4cm

- Leather strap dimensions: approx. 8 x 1.6 cm / approx. 2 mm thick

- Buckles suitable for a maximum strap width of 2 cm

- Weight (pair): approx. 640 g

The above specifications may vary slightly from copy to copy.

The steel used here is not stainless and may show slight signs of corrosion. We recommend regularly maintaining plate armor, for example with Ballistol, a universal oil ideal for preserving steel products.

This is a ulfberth ® product.

* A photograph of this piece can be found in the Ernst Schmidt catalogue, reissued in 1967 by Mowbray, E. Andrew, in Arms and Armor from the Atelier of Ernst Schmidt, Munich (page 75 - plate 36). Similar floating discs can also be seen, for example, on one of Ernst Schmidt's High German Gothic field suits, made by Ernst Schmidt's arms and armor smith, Lorenz Kilian, and sold to John Woodman Higgins in 1929.

Faced with a shortage of original pieces and to meet the high demand at the time, Ernst Schmidt founded one of the few workshops for Neo-Gothic arms and armor in the late 1870s. His studio, specializing in fine, high-quality reproductions based on the traditional art of platemaking, supplied wealthy clients until around 1930. One of these was the American collector John Woodman Higgins. The first plate armor he purchased from Schmidt formed the basis of the Higgins Armory Museum (1931–2004, now part of the Worcester Art Museum , Massachusetts).


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