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LOT 1252
- Crafted c. the 20th century by a gifted artisan, this is a
highly attractive armour harness that would make for a
fantastic display piece. This beautiful harness is blackened
with embossed fleur-de-lis and floral designs on the major
components with embossed facial designs on the couters and
poleyns which are all highlighted in a gold finish, along with
the edges of the lames and the floral rivet bosses. The outer
edges are roped. The armet helmet also has floral and fleur-de-
lis embossed designs along with roped edges and a ferule for a
plume on the back. The anime style breastplate is in the style of
Caremolo Madrone and is composed of nine lames with a fleur-
de-lis at the top center. The gauntlets have fully articulating
fingers and also feature fleur-de-lis embossed designs. There
is a dark purple velvet fringe attached to the backside of most
of the components at the edges. The sabatons also have an
embossed fleur-de-lis motifs on the fronts and have riveted
spurs on the backside with pierced cross shaped rowels. With
a 102 1/2 inch tall ceremonial or decorative Chinese style
spear having a 37 1/2 inch unsharpened cast brass head with
geometrical designs and Chinese characters. This harness is
mounted on a stand and measures 75 inches tall x 22 inches
wide x 19 inches deep and has a 12 1/2 inch tall x 22 inch
wide x 22 inch deep two-step walnut base with carved floral
scroll designs. A highly detailed and desirable suit of armour
smithed in the 20th century by a master craftsman in the style
of Felippo Negroli.
CONDITION: Fine, the suit retains most of the blackening
with a brown aged patina on the remainder with some small
areas of wear. There are some scattered minor dings, dents
and spotting/pitting overall. Much of the original gold finish
remains with some minor touch ups overall. There is a weld
repair on the front of the helmet bevor with a small hole at
the chin. Most of the components retain almost all of the
replacement purple velvet tassels. The replacement leather
straps are good with some stretching and age cracks. The
walnut base is very good with some scattered wear and a few
pieces of trim have started to pull away. The spear is very good
with some verdigris and a protective coating overall. This would
make a fantastic display piece for your study!
Provenance: The William Ashby Collection;
A Private Collection.
Estimate: 18,000 - 27,500
Intricate Harness of Armour in the Style
of Filippo Negroli’s Masks Garniture
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