Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 4).djvu/95

 ancient manor house were overhauled for public sale, that all parts of the armour that remained reappeared.

"It appears that when Holme Lacy was rebuilt in the reign of Charles II, a part of the older building, the 'Henry VIII tower,' remained untouched, where in the attic many objects had been stowed away for generations: here were found large decorative paintings, wood carvings from mantels and cornices, and stacks of Tudor doors. Under a litter of odds and ends stood a long chest and in this the armour was found packed away in a confused mass. Near by was a low window through which the rain had entered at various times, for the floor had rotted and the bottom of the chest had evidently been damp." This was clearly not the best storage place for armour, and one little wonders that some of the pieces had been greatly injured, especially at the points where they came in contact with the damp wood. In fact all the armour was sadly rusted, and evidently the first view of this collection of fragments roused no feeling of enthusiasm in the uninitiated. In the catalogue of the sale the lot was described in but few words; apparently none of the auctioneers or of their advisers realized the importance of the find. Certain disagreements between the Earl of Chesterfield and the purchaser of the armour arose after the sale, with the result that a lawsuit followed which ended in a verdict that the armour should be returned to the Earl. It was soon after this that the Metropolitan Museum of New York secured the objects privately at the instance of their late President, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. The armour purchased represented, as above noted, parts of two harnesses. Of one suit the head-piece was lacking, of the other the breastplate. In both several plates were missing, as well as the gauntlets, the pieces were rusty, detached, broken, and needing for their restoration special technical skill. Fortunately for the Metropolitan Museum, Monsieur Daniel Tachaux, their skilled armourer, was at hand to undertake the work of restoration, and the results have been excellent. At first it was thought that the suit had originally been given a russet colour over the bright areas, after the fashion of a number of late harnesses; but a more careful examination of the pieces showed that the armour was originally white, almost silver-like in its brilliant polish. This became clear when the helmet was taken to pieces and when various plates of arms and legs were unriveted; for here, on the inner plates of the elbow-cops (Fig. 1147), the surface appeared mirror-like, as if it had come fresh from the hand of the armourer although over three centuries had passed. The restoration of the Chesterfield armour was of necessity a laborious task. The etched surfaces were carefully cleaned, and the rust was removed by brushing and by