Carried in one hand and used together with a sword for personal defense, this buckler is one of a distinctive group made near the English-Welsh border town of Wrexham. The construction melds the decorative and the functional by using brass-capped iron rivets to attach concentric steel rings to a central domed boss over a wood and leather backing. The result is both eye and sword catching.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Dimensions:Diam. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm); Wt. 5 lb. (2.27 kg)
Classification:Shields
Credit Line:Gift of Alberta M. Welch, in memory of Alexander McMillan Welch, 1945
Object Number:45.160.1
Bashford Dean, New York (said to have been purchased in London, by May 31, 1912; given or sold to his brother-in-law, Welch); Alexander McMillan Welch, New York (by 1931–d. 1943; by descent to his sister); Alberta M. Welch, New York (1943–45; her gift to MMA).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor," August 3–September 27, 1931, no. 104.
Jamestown, VA. Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. "The Arms and Armor of the Seventeenth Century," May 1, 2000–October 31, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Defensive Display: Shields from The Met Collection," May 12, 2025–Ongoing.
Dillon Viscount Dillon. Illustrated guide to the armouries, Tower of London. London: H.M.S.O., p. 96, v.16, pl. 25 (a similar buckler).
Ffoulkes, Charles J. European arms and armor in the University of Oxford. Oxford: Methuen, 1912. no. 162, pl. XVII (a similar buckler, and depictions of this type in painting entitled "Embarkation of Henry VIII from Dover, May 31, 1520," British School, 16th century, and preserved in Hampton Court.).
Dean, Bashford. The Collection of Arms and Armor of Rutherford Stuyvesant, 1843–1909. New York: privately printed, 1914. no. 42 (a similar buckler).
Robiquet, Jacques. Catalogue des armes & armures de souverains français & étrangers. Paris: Frazier-Soye, 1916. p. 75, no. 55, pl. XIX (a similar buckler, described as having belonged to Henry VII (?) of England).
Laking, Guy Francis, and Charles Alexander Cosson. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries, edited by Francis Henry Cripps-Day. Vol. II. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920. p. 345, fig. 616.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Catalogue of a Collection of Arms and Armour: The Property of Sir Achibald Lamb. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 15, 1922. p. 3, no. 2 (a similar shield).
Grancsay, Stephen V., Thomas T. Hopes, George C. Stone, and Fred G. Blakeslee. [Boxed Set Containing "Brief Essays on Armor and Arms," Nos. 1–4 and a Series of 17 Pamphlets of Photographs of Arms and Armor in Members' Collections, Nos. 1–85]. New York: Armor and Arms Club, 1925. photographs 51–55 (this buckler, said to have formerly been in an English collection).
Christie, Manson & Woods. Choice Collection of Arms and Armour. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 5, 1931. no. 66 (a similar buckler illustrated, but with 14 rows of rivets, from the Lamb collection).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. p. 32, no. 104 (lent by Alexander McMillan Welch).
Blair, Claude, and Ifor Edwards. "Welsh Bucklers." The Antiquaries Journal (1982), pp. 74–115 (this type of buckler discussed, attributed to Welsh manufacture at Wrexham during the period ca. 1440–1580; this shield listed among the later 16th-century type).
Lavin, James D., Thomas Davidson, and Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. Arms & Armor of 17th-century Virginia. Jamestown: Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, 2000.
Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608)
1586
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
