AntiqueWeaponStore.com
828-507-7160
Use browser's back button to return to the previous page
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Italian Half Suit of Armour, Pisa ca. 1580
Composite armour from the Pisan armoury, later used in the Gioco del Ponte, the mock combat initiated by the Medicis in 16th C Pisa. The armour consists of burgonet, breast and back plates, gorget, short tassets, and full arms. Burgonet with high comb, the skull forged in one piece with roped borders and comb. Pitted overall with several small rust-throughs and old repairs to the neck and comb. Breastplate with roped collar and gussets, featuring incised double line borders and chevron. The back plate with later engraved design and punched "G P" to signify its use in the Gioco del Ponte. Tassets with 6 simulated lames. Complete arms featuring pauldrons (each stamped with a maker’s mark), couters, and vambraces. Pitted overall with a few tiny rust-throughs; the leather straps being replacements of varying periods.
This is a well-matched armour composed entirely from original elements coming from the armoury in Pisa. As was customary from the late 16th C to the early 19th C, pieces were taken from the armoury to be used in the Gioco del Ponte, or "Games of the Bridge". This mock combat has its origins in antiquity, evolving into a battle for mastery of the bridge over the River Arno between residents of Tramontana
on the north bank and Mezzogiorno on the south. The original games reached their height of popularity in the 18th C, but were banned for over 100 years after the Queen of Etruria attended in 1807. This was due to its brutality (participants often died of wounds). The games were revived in 1932, but with many revisions designed to reduce injuries. Today there is no combat and the competition is largely a tug-of-war.A678 $13,995
Click here for Currency Conversion
