





Late 15th Century Gothic Floating Discs, 1.6mm Steel, Pair
Este productos se enviará: 7-10 Day Shipping
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Este productos se enviará: 7-10 Day Shipping
Este productos se enviará: 7-10 Day Shipping
Late 15th Century Gothic Besagews, 1.6 mm Steel, Pair
Late 15th century Gothic besagews, 1.6 mm steel, pair
When the increasing effectiveness of offensive weapons heightened the need for protection in the late Middle Ages, attempts were made to cover vulnerable gaps between plate armor as best as possible. Although often very decorative, the floating discs of Gothic or late medieval plate armor (besagews) served primarily to protect the armpits and upper arms from heavy blows and strikes. < br>
These beautiful Gothic-style besagews 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 1913 replica of a late 15th-century German besagew, originally acquired from the workshop of Ernst Schmidt in Munich (Ident. No. 1913.09.0002e, see last image).*
Our slightly inward-curved and ornate besagews are made of approximately 1.6 mm (16 gauge) steel and blackened on the back for better corrosion protection. Each consists of a fluted disc perforated with trefoils, a smaller openwork plate with plant or leaf motifs typical of the period, which is riveted to the larger disc, and a pointed spike. The back is equipped with a leather strap with a brass buckle for attachment to plate armor, an arming doublet, or mail. The strap, both plates, and the spike are held together firmly and securely 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 portrayal of a noble knight or European warrior look even more authentic.
This is a pair.
Details:
- Material: 1.6 mm (16 ga) steel sheet, dark brown leather strap, antique brass buckles
- Diameter: approx. 17 cm (center plate approx. 11 cm)
- Height: approx. 5 cm
- Spike length: approx. 4 cm
- 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 piece to piece.
The steel used here is not stainless and may show slight signs of corrosion. We recommend maintaining plate armor regularly, for example with Ballistol, a universal oil ideal for the preservation of steel products.
This is an Ulfberth® product.
* A photograph of this piece can be found in the Ernst Schmidt catalog, which was reissued in 1967 by Mowbray, E. Andrew in Arms and Armor from the Atelier of Ernst Schmidt, Munich (page 75 - plate 36). Similar besagews can also be seen, for example, on one of the high Gothic German field armors, which was made by Ernst Schmidt’s armorer Lorenz Kilian and sold to John Woodman Higgins in 1929.
Due to the shortage of original pieces and to meet the high demand of the time, Ernst Schmidt founded one of the few neo-Gothic arms and armor workshops in the late 1870s. His studio, specializing in fine, high-quality reproductions based on the traditional art of platemaking, supplied wealthy clients until approximately 1930. One of them was the American collector John Woodman Higgins. The first plate armor he bought from Schmidt formed the basis of the Higgins Armory Museum (1931–2004, now integrated into the Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts).
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