Zischägge and Pair of Pauldrons
Not on view
These pieces are the remnants of an armor of the highest quality, for use on horseback by a nobleman. They exemplify a style that emerged in the former Low Countries in the 1620s, a region then divided between the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic and the opposing provinces of the Southern Netherlands, which were ruled by the Habsburgs, and that was popular in other parts of Europe, notably Spain and Spanish-ruled territories such as the Duchy of Milan, through the 1640s. In the current state of research, it can be difficult to tell the armors that were wrought in the former Low Countries apart from those that were made in the Netherlandish style elsewhere, as all surviving works are unmarked, and as the iconography––chiefly portraits––does not provide decisive clues. However, strong similarities to a boy's armor made for Don Balthasar Carlos (1629–1646), son and sole heir of King Philip IV of Spain (reigned 1621–1665), which appears to be of Italian make, suggests that this helmet and pair of pauldrons were perhaps also made in Italy.
