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Armor of Sir James Scudamore (1558–1619)

Armorer Made under the direction of Jacob Halder British
Armorer Breastplate, backplate, and gauntlets made by Daniel Tachaux French
ca. 1595–96; restored and completed, 1915
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 371
Sir James Scudamore (1558–1619) was a prominent Elizabethan soldier and courtier. Also an enthusiastic jouster, he was praised in Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene (published 1596) as an example of chivalry personified.

This armor was part of a large garniture, which probably had exchange pieces to adapt it for cavalry, infantry, and possibly also tournament use. It was made in the royal workshops at Greenwich about 1595–96, perhaps in anticipation of Scudamore’s participation in the 1596 naval attack on Cadiz, Spain. Scudamore’s portrait, still in the possession of his descendants, shows him wearing this armor.

The remains of this and the earlier Scudamore armor (Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 11.128.1)were found, badly damaged and incomplete, in 1909, in Holme Lacy, the ancestral home of the Scudamores. The armors were restored and completed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1915, by the armorer Daniel Tachaux. The parts made by Tachaux include the breastplate, backplate, and gauntlets.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Armor of Sir James Scudamore (1558–1619)
  • Armorer: Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608)
  • Armorer: Breastplate, backplate, and gauntlets made by Daniel Tachaux (French, 1857–1928, active in France and America) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Armor Workshop
  • Date: ca. 1595–96; restored and completed, 1915
  • Geography: Greenwich
  • Culture: British, Greenwich
  • Medium: Steel, gold, leather
  • Dimensions: H. 70 1/4 in. (178.5 cm); Wt. 50 lb. 7 oz. (22.88 kg)
  • Classification: Armor for Man
  • Credit Line: Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
  • Object Number: 11.128.2a–n
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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1586
Armor of Henry Herbert (1534–1601), Second Earl of Pembroke, Royal Workshops at Greenwich British, Steel, gold, British, Greenwich
Armor of Henry Herbert (1534–1601), Second Earl of Pembroke
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Elements of an Italian Light-Cavalry Armor <i>alla Tedesca</i> (in the German Fashion), Steel, gold, copper alloy, leather, Italian, Milan
Elements of an Italian Light-Cavalry Armor alla Tedesca (in the German Fashion)
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Harquebusier's Armor of Pedro II, King of Portugal (reigned 1683–1706) with Buff Coat, Richard Holden British, Steel, gold, leather, textile, British, London; buff coat, European
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Field Armor Probably of Sir John Scudamore (1541 or 1542–1623)

Armorer Made under the direction of Jacob Halder
Armorer Helmet, left pauldron, gauntlets, and right sabaton made by Daniel Tachaux
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