A Neapolitan Patron of Armor and Tapestry Identified

Abstract

N ARMOR OF ABOVE-AVERAGE QUALITY was invariably an individually commissioned work, made to suit the tastes of a specific patron. The decoration of this class of armor might often include the heraldic arms of the patron or other symbols that were particularly meaningful to him; for instance, the insignia of a chivalric order, the image of a patron saint, or a personal emblem, such as an impresa, or motto. Yet, despite these and other indicators, the original owner of a given armor often remains unknown. A coat of arms may identify a family but not an individual family member. Many orders of chivalry, like the Garter or the Golden Fleece, were shared by an international brotherhood of noblemen, each with the right to display the order's insignia. Patron saints were likewise popular images; an image of the Virgin and Child might as easily appear on the breastplate of an armor made for a German patron as an Italian one. An impresa, if not that of an illustrious individual, often remains unidentified because these highly personalized emblems were not hereditary. Imprese were not bound by the conventional rules of heraldry and were, as a result, much less apt to be consistently recorded.1 Therefore, when the elements of a fine, latesixteenth-century Milanese armor came to the Museum on long-term loan in 1985, it was regrettable but not surprising that the original owner was unknown, despite the presence of a prominent impresa on the breastplate (Figures 1, 2).2 The elements of this armor consist of a gorget, a pair of pauldrons, and a breastplate with a single pendant fauld lame, all of which were once part of a complete armor for infantry use (corsaletto da piede).3 The surfaces of the plates are densely decorated with etched ornament