Jean Mignon et les armes : le fonds bellifontain d’un armurier milanais

Abstract

During the 16th century, Milan is the most important centre of production for arms and armours called all’antica, luxurious pieces inspired from the Classical world. Among these magnificent objects we identified nine pieces which can be attributed to the master MP, an unknown armourer who obviously specialised in parade sets each including a burgonet (a type of helmet), and a round shield. All these objects bear an embossed decoration of large historical and mythological scenes surrounded with borders of grotesques ornaments, the iron surface enriched with gold and silver damascening. If other Milanese armourers would mostly use Italian prints as models for their work, it seems that the master MP also owned an important collection of French prints from the School of Fontainebleau, mostly works by Jean Mignon. He used and combined these French prints in different ways in every single one of his surviving pieces, for the central scenes and the borders. Even if, not knowing the identity of MP, we cannot guess how such a set came into his possession, its case remains an exceptional and interesting early example of the spread, the reception, and the use of French prints from the School of Fontainebleau outside of France.