Sunday, November 5, 2017

Equestrian armour - Erik XIV of Sweden


Salve,
a quick post about one of the most beautiful armours ever made during the XVI century - the suit of armor for the rider and horse created  for the mad king of Sweden Erik XIV ( held presently at the Dresden Rustkammer, Saxony - Germany; nota bene I visited it first time when a kid).
This Labors of Heracles-themed suit of armor was made by armorer and goldsmith from Antwerp Eliseus Libaerts (fantastic shield attributed to this master craftsman, also a book in German - I have not seen it yet ) for the king  between 1560-65,  and he also made this suit of armor kept in Sweden. I have this book Arms and armor annual, which is a collection of articles written by researchers in history of arms and armor, and on page 104-113, French Royal Armour as Reflected in the Designs of Etienne Delaune,  author Bruno Thomas wrote about French artist Etienne Delaune, whose designs our master Eliseus copied and/or used extensively to create his Heracles-themed suits.





more fine images on this Wiki Commons page
enjoy


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