A NORTH EUROPEAN HARQUEBUSIER'S BREASTPLATE, MID-17TH CENTURY, PROBABLY DUTCH

A NORTH EUROPEAN HARQUEBUSIER'S BREASTPLATE, MID-17TH CENTURY, PROBABLY DUTCH of heavy construction, formed with a medial ridge, a V-shaped waist-line, a raised neck-opening and an outward-flanged lower edge, each side of the chest fitted with a stud for the attachment of a shoulder-strap, the right of the belly bearing a shallow proof-mark of a bullet, the edges finished with plain turns, the arms opening, waist flange and medial ridge all bordered by double incised lines, with later copper alloy lining rivets throughout (three missing, areas of pitting, worn), the inside reinforced with a contemporary iron plate rivetted over the greater part of its surface, 37.0 cm high The reinforce on the inside appears to be contemporary, perhaps an emulation of duplex construction. See de Reuck et al 2005 pp. 5-26.