Set of Saddle Plates thumbnail 1
Set of Saddle Plates thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Set of Saddle Plates

ca. 1550 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

These 'saddle steels' were fixed to the front of a saddle for both protection and decoration. They were once part of an elaborate field armour (an armour for fighting) made in around 1550 for the Spanish nobleman, Don Alba de Bemont Dassa.

The steels were made by Anton Peffenhauser (1525-1603), one of the most renowned of the south German armourers of the sixteenth century. He worked not only for the Spanish nobility but also for the Electoral Courts of Saxony. A good armour by Peffenhauser would cost around 200 thalers, in contrast to an ordinary foot soldier's armour which would cost around 6 thalers.

The steels were etched by a specialist, Jorg Sorg (working 1517 - ca. 1564), whose album of work survives in the State Library in Stuttgart.

Arms and armour are rarely associated with art. However, they were influenced by the same design sources as other art forms including architecture, sculpture, goldsmiths' work, stained glass and ceramics. These sources had to be adapted to awkward shapes required to perform complicated technical functions. Armour and weapons were collected as works of art almost as much as military tools.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Saddle Steel
  • Saddle Steel
Materials and techniques
Steel with embossed etched and gilt borders
Brief description
Two of set of three saddle plates from a field armour by Anton Peffenhauser and etched by Jörg Sorg of Augsburg, ca. 1550. With pommel, M.62-1959
Physical description
Two flanking steels from set of three saddle plates for the front of a saddle with roped edges decorated with embossed etched and gilt borders, from a field armour by Anton Peffenhauser, etched by Jörg Sorg for the Spanish nobleman, Don Alba de Bemont Dassa.
Dimensions
  • Whole height: 39.0cm
  • Whole length: 64.0cm
  • Left and right, each length: 28.8
  • Left width: 14cm
  • Left depth: 3.5cm
  • Right width: 13.8cm
  • Right depth: 7.4cm
Credit line
Bequeathed by Major Victor Alexander Farquharson
Object history
These saddle plates (M.62-1959 and M.545 & 545A-1927) are from a field armour made for the Spanish nobleman, Don Alba de Bemont Dassa. They were etched by Jorg Sorg (working 1517 - ca. 1564), an album of whose work survives in the State Library in Stuttgart.

The pommel plate (centre piece) was obtained in Madrid in 1959 while the two side plates were acquired by bequest in 1927. The striking difference in preservation suggests that they must have been separated for a long time.

Historical significance: Anton Peffenhauser is one of the most renowned of the south German armourers of the sixteenth century, working not only for the Spanish nobility but also for the Electoral Courts of Saxony. He was born in around 1525 and began working in Augsburg by the mid 1540. He was also a great arms and armour merchant and was not above circumventing guild regulations to fulfil orders. He grew so rich that in 1556 he became a member of the Great Council of Augsburg. The guild, which had no power to enforce its restrictions on him, elected him to the position of warden in 1563. A good armour for the joust made by Peffenhauser would cost around 200 thalers, in contrast to an ordinary foot soldier's armour which would cost around 6 thalers.
Summary
These 'saddle steels' were fixed to the front of a saddle for both protection and decoration. They were once part of an elaborate field armour (an armour for fighting) made in around 1550 for the Spanish nobleman, Don Alba de Bemont Dassa.

The steels were made by Anton Peffenhauser (1525-1603), one of the most renowned of the south German armourers of the sixteenth century. He worked not only for the Spanish nobility but also for the Electoral Courts of Saxony. A good armour by Peffenhauser would cost around 200 thalers, in contrast to an ordinary foot soldier's armour which would cost around 6 thalers.

The steels were etched by a specialist, Jorg Sorg (working 1517 - ca. 1564), whose album of work survives in the State Library in Stuttgart.

Arms and armour are rarely associated with art. However, they were influenced by the same design sources as other art forms including architecture, sculpture, goldsmiths' work, stained glass and ceramics. These sources had to be adapted to awkward shapes required to perform complicated technical functions. Armour and weapons were collected as works of art almost as much as military tools.
Associated object
Bibliographic references
  • J.F. Hayward, European Armour, London, 1965, cat. 13
  • J.F. Hayward, "Some Augsburg Armours Etched by Jörg Sorg", The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 90, No. 546 (Sep.1948), pp. 253-257
  • M. Pfaffenbichler, Medieval Craftsmen; Armourers, British Museum Press, 1992, p.33
Collection
Accession number
M.545&A-1927, M.62-1959

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Record createdMarch 29, 2004
Record URL
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