A MID-17th CENTURY ENGLISH MULTIPLEX CAVALRY BREASTPLATE

Good quality with raised rolled edge neck, rolled arms and bottom edge. The neck and arms line bordered. Medial ridge with well-formed pendulant terminal. The rolls showing considerable triple lamination and one edge of the base flare with five distinct laminations. The "raw" edges, waist and shoulders, each made with the outer layer extended and folded over forming a finished lapped edge. The Royal Armouries report describes examples with partial laminations from the inclusion of less that full coverage plates, evidently reused from older armor. This example is either partially or completely pentaplex (five layers) throughout. Either is exceedingly rare. 17" height along ridge. Provenance: Hengrave Hall, near Bury St. Edmund, Suffolk.