Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 5).djvu/146

 collection dispersed some years ago, was a complete suit of channelled armour for man and horse, which was described at great length in the elaborate catalogue of the collection, there being the following note as to its provenance: "This fine equestrian harness was formerly in the collection of an Italian retired officer in Milan by whom it had been carefully preserved for many years, and of whom the author succeeded in purchasing it after persistent overtures extending over a period of fifteen years." But alas! despite this interesting legend the whole suit was little more than twenty years old! It was of Nuremberg make, and of a type generally recognizable by the curious position occupied by the ocularia in the visor which slant downwards towards their outer extremities, lending a comic, surprised look to the helmet, as shown in our illustration (Fig. 1536 a and b). The metal of which these suits are made is displeasing in colour; while the channelling that occupies the surface is not such as is found on the true fluted armour. Nearly all the genuine channelled armour has a section of concave grooves between each ridge evenly and carefully rendered; but in the false armour this section is simply flat, the appearance of fluting being lent only by the ridges that run in a parallel manner over the surface. We give illustrations of two suits of this particular make, a fluted and a plain example, the former purporting to be of somewhat later date (Fig. 1537 a and b).

(a) Etched fluted close helmet in the style of the Maximilian period.

(b) Plain fluted close helmet in the style of the Maximilian period.

Both these forgeries are of Nuremberg make, and show the curiously absurd positions of the ocularia

Another variety of false Maximilian harness of which the amateur