Subject: fidalgo nobleman as arcabuzeiro cavalry harquebusier
Culture: Portuguese
Setting: Restoration, Dutch wars, Portuguese empire mid-late 17thc
Object: armor
* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms & Armor
"Harquebusier's Armor of Pedro II, King of Portugal
Steel, engraved, blued, and gilt
Attributed to Richard Holden (recorded 1658-1708)
English (London), about 1683
This armor can be identified by its decoration as having belonged to Pedro II (reigned 1683-1706). The decoration includes the crowned monogram PR for Pedro Rex (Pedro the King) and the cross of the commander of the Order of Christ, a hereditary office held by the kings of Portugal.
"Harquebusiers were armored cavalrymen generally equipped with a carbine (known as a harquebus) carried at the right side on a shoulder belt, a pair of pistols holstered at the front of the saddle, and a sword. This form of armor, consisted of a triple-barred helmet, a cuirass with a bulletproof reinforcing breastplate, and an elbow gauntlet, was commonplace in England up to about 1645. The armor of King Pedro is significant not only as a very late example of this type but also as the probable work of a little-known armorer, Richard Holden of London. A very similar armor made by Holden in 1686 for James II of England (reigned 1685-88) is in the Royal Armouries in the Tower of London. "The armor is shown with an associated buff coat. This sturdy leather defense, which provided effective protection against sword cuts, was worn throughout the seventeenth century, first in conjunction with armor and later alone."* Museu Militar
"CAPELINA, COURAçA E ESPADA DE COPOS DE TIJELA Época: Século XVII
-Constituida por uma calva formada por duas calotes unidas numa pequena crista, com uma pala forjada em conjunto com as calotes. Guarda-nuca de uma única peça cujo formato levou a que este modelo de protecção de cabeça fosse também conhecido como 'capacete cauda de lagosta'.
"Este tipo de Capelina, de origem inglesa, era muito usada pelas unidades de Arcabuzeiros e Cavalaria durante a Guerra da Restauração."Dimensiões 21 x 41 x 24 cm"
"-Couraça constituida por peitoral e espaldar (costas) ligados entre si, por um cinto de cabedal.
"Peitoral e aba forjados numa só peça, com aresta central e orlado nas axilas, gola e aba. É decorado com uma estria que percorre o contorno das axilas e da gola. Espaldar ou costas com ornato idêntico ao do peitoral. "Esta couraça é contemporAnea da Guerra da Restauração."Dimensiões do peitoral: 43 x 43 cm Dimensiões do espaldar: 43 x 40 cm"
