NORTH ITALIAN IRON SHIELD C.1600

23 ¼” diameter of deeply domed form with broad recessed border and rolled and roped edge. Fine four piece floral center spike and radially fluted rosettes anchoring the enarme rings on the back.  The perimeter with rivets, securing gussets and remnants of the leather liner to the reverse. The surface. Decorated in the “Pisan” manner with six radial panels of warriors in full armor alternating with oval of armor and weapons displays. The recessed border decorated in large scrolling foliage. Of forged iron construction and full battle weight at #9:6, this shield would have served the personal guard of a noble or high ranking clergyman who, owing to the treachery and violence on the streets, would have been accompanied by such a retinue whenever in public. The armor and weapons of these elite guard groups have become known, naively, as “parade armor”. Their use, in fact, was critical in a culture where assassinations were common, to the safety of the aristocracy and clergy who provided order to the society they served. That this example is of full battle weight, capable of stopping even the firearms of the period, attests to their critical function.