An extremely rare buckler or target, Germany or Italy, 16th century

Diameter: 43 cm.
Height: circa 13 cm.
Weight: 1390 g.
Wood, sinews, leather, painted. In the centre a forged iron cone.

Provenance: Uiberacker family, castle Sighartstein.

Published in: Schmidt, H.(2022): The Medieval and Renaissance Buckler, pp. 264 - 265.

The corpus of this buckler is made of wood, its surface being abraded in order to facilitate the adhesion of an applied layer of feazed sinews. In the centre a forged iron cone is riveted to the wood, showing a leather covered handle on the back side. Within the cone the wood is cut out ensuring enough space for the hand grabbing the handle. Above the layer of sinews there is leather, its surface with remains of paint. Leaves in white on a green background in triangular shape alternate with areas that appear red and brown and do show remnants of white colour. The iron cone has still an ornament comparable to a blossom in black, partially filled with white paint against a red background.

The manner in which this buckler is constructed can also be observed on 15th century pavises. It is examined in detail and published in an essay by the restorer Anja Alt.more