Arms and Armour

The work of curators, conservators and scientists is brought together to consider a range of historic weapons and armour held in collections worldwide. The pieces include not only those made for royalty, such as the helmet of the Black Prince, the armours of King Henry VIII and the jewel-encrusted dagger of Shah Jahan, but also the apparently more mundane and those created to deceive. Through careful study and hands-on experience, each of the contributors provides an eye-opening insight into the history, science and interpretation of these important objects.

This volume brings together papers written by curators, conservators and scientists who have worked very closely with European and Oriental arms and armour from some of the world’s finest collections. The pieces, which have been examined in detail, include not only those made for royalty, such as the helmet of the Black Prince, the armours of King Henry VIII and the jewel-encrusted dagger of Shah Jahan, but also the apparently more mundane and those created to deceive. Through careful study and hands-on experience, each of the authors provides an eye-opening insight into the history, science and interpretation of these important objects. The essays in this title were written in honour of David Edge. Published by Archetype Publications Ltd in association with the Arms and Armour Society

Foreword Preface and acknowledgements Introduction

History of arms and armour 1 The 1520 foot combat armours of Henry VIII: design, technology and meaning Keith A. Dowen

2 Cloth of steel: elements of a Landsknecht armour in the Wallace Collection Tobias Capwell

3 Henry VIII's Italian armour of 1544: a metallurgical note on alterations and improvements by the Royal Workshops at Greenwich Simon Metcalf and Alan Williams

4 A lance rest from a Spanish royal garniture in the Wallace Collection Alvaro Soler del Campo

5 The remains of a rare Tibetan shaffron Donald J. La Rocca

Conservation and display 6 Mannequins for armours: a conservational and aesthetic challenge Petra Fuchs

7 Six armours of the National Museum of Finland Lasse Mattila

8 Pierced metalwork on Iranian vambraces and their cleaning Francesca Levey

9 Viking-era swords investigated by medical X-radiography and CT scanning: a new pommel classification and the assessment of blade geometry Robert A. Hill

10 The helmet of the Black Prince analysed by neutron diffraction David Edge, Francesco Grazzi, Antonella Scherillo and Alan Williams

11 Shah Jahan and Mughal steel: recent studies on Indian blades by neutron diffraction Arthur Bijl, David Edge, Francesco Grazzi, Antonella Scherillo and Alan Williams

12 Indo-Persian axes and the faking of wootz David Edge, Richard Furrer, Francesco Grazzi, Antonella Scherillo and Alan Williams

13 Fakes and their detection by analysis Brian Gilmour

14 Metal woodscrews during the flintlock years: West European metal woodscrews from 1650 to 1830: an archival and metallurgical study Yannick Chastang,

Foreword
Preface and acknowledgements
Introduction

History of arms and armour
1 The 1520 foot combat armours of Henry VIII: design, technology and meaning
Keith A. Dowen

2 Cloth of steel: elements of a Landsknecht armour in the Wallace Collection
Tobias Capwell

3 Henry VIII’s Italian armour of 1544: a metallurgical note on alterations and improvements by the Royal Workshops at Greenwich
Simon Metcalf and Alan Williams

4 A lance rest from a Spanish royal garniture in the Wallace Collection
Alvaro Soler del Campo

5 The remains of a rare Tibetan shaffron
Donald J. La Rocca

Conservation and display
6 Mannequins for armours: a conservational and aesthetic challenge
Petra Fuchs

7 Six armours of the National Museum of Finland
Lasse Mattila

8 Pierced metalwork on Iranian vambraces and their cleaning
Francesca Levey

9 Viking-era swords investigated by medical X-radiography and CT scanning: a new pommel classification and the assessment of blade geometry
Robert A. Hill

10 The helmet of the Black Prince analysed by neutron diffraction
David Edge, Francesco Grazzi, Antonella Scherillo and Alan Williams

11 Shah Jahan and Mughal steel: recent studies on Indian blades by neutron diffraction
Arthur Bijl, David Edge, Francesco Grazzi, Antonella Scherillo and Alan Williams

12 Indo-Persian axes and the faking of wootz
David Edge, Richard Furrer, Francesco Grazzi, Antonella Scherillo and Alan Williams

13 Fakes and their detection by analysis
Brian Gilmour

14 Metal woodscrews during the flintlock years: West European metal woodscrews from 1650 to 1830: an archival and metallurgical study
Yannick Chastang

• Edited by Alan Williams
• Edited by Keith Dowen