Pommel Plate

This plate formed the center section of a three-part pommel, the sideplates of which are now missing. Its upper edge is embossed with a half-turn and roped. The decoration, now partially obscured by corrosion, consists of a wide band down the center etched with a repeating design of interlaced gilt strapwork forming knots and cartouches, the latter filled with gilt single-headed eagles, on a dotted, blackened ground; the narrow framing bands are etched and gilt with foliate scrolls. A band of identical ornament, but exactly halved, follows the roped edges. A small, circular hole at each side allowed the plate to be screwed to the saddletree.

This piece provides evidence for the existence of an important Augsburg armor, otherwise unrecorded, of exceedingly high quality. Its etched decoration closely resembles that on the so-called Lark Garniture in Vienna (Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A611), made in Augsburg in 1563 for Archduke Karl of Styria (1540–1590), the youngest son of Emperor Ferdinand I, who served as governor of the province of Inner Austria from that date. Named for the eagles (romantically identified as larks in the nineteenth century) on the coat of arms of Inner Austria, the armor has these birds etched within the strapwork cartouches that repeat over its surfaces. A third armor etched with a closely related strapwork design, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Kienbusch Collection, 1977-167-13), bears cartouches filled with a variety of wild animals. The Metropolitan Museum's pommel plate differs from the Vienna and Philadelphia armors in small but significant details, including the pattern of the strapwork, the contents of the cartouches, and the ornament within the gilt side bands. All three armors, however, exhibit the same precise etching with strong color contrasts and a harmonious balance between the decoration and the brightly polished steel surfaces. It seems likely that they were etched in the same workshop, but unfortunately neither the name of the etcher nor that of the armorer is recorded.