Mitten Gauntlet
Armorer Missaglia workshop Italian
Not on view
The gauntlet of mitten type is constructed of four plates held together by dome-headed iron rivets (modern) and comprises a long pointed cuff plate with sharp medial ridge, the edge turned over outward and flattened, with lining rivets below; a single metacarpal plate extended at one side to accomodate the thumb (the thumb plates are lost); and two plates covering the fingers, embossed slightly to accomodate the knuckles, the lowermost plate pointed and fitted with lining rivets. This gauntlet would originally have been fitted with a leather glove (perhaps covered with mail or thin plates of steel to protect the exposed ends of the fingers) sewn to the lining straps. Stamped at the base of the cuff plate on the inner side just above the thumb are three armorer's marks: (above) the letters MY beneath a crown, and (below) the letter M beneath a split cross, twice repeated.
The marks on this gauntlet identify it as a product of the Missaglia workshop, the most famous Milanese armorers in the fifteenth century, and are of the type believed to have been used by the shop under the direction of Antonio Missaglia and his brothers from 1452 until at least the end of the century. The shape of the gauntlet, with its long pointed cuff, medial ridge, and turned edge, suggests a date early in this period, probably before 1460, and can be compared to gauntlets associated with armors dating from the period about 1450–60 in the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie, at Curatone near Mantua.
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