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Fig. 214. Suit of armour

It bears upon several of its plates a Milanese armourer's mark. Comprehensively about 1460-70. Metropolitan Museum of New York

Vercelli to King Carlo Alberto, who placed it in the Royal Collection. According to the tradition preserved in that hospital, this suit belonged to a knight who was present at the battle of Pavia in 1525. He, along with one of his comrades-in-arms, was wounded in the battle and, both being taken to the Hospital of Vercelli, died there, leaving their suits behind them. Although an early Missaglia harness of about 1460, it is quite possible that it was in use at the battle of Pavia. There is, however, one discordant note in this otherwise very interesting tradition. The other harness given to King Carlo at the same time is a production of the third quarter of the XVIth century (B 39 of the official catalogue), and so could not have possibly figured in the battle of Pavia, a circumstance which somewhat disturbs our belief in the traditional history of the first suit, for both are credited with the same provenance. The headpiece on this Missaglia suit is a fine armet à rouelle with a reinforcing buffe; while the plain globose breastplate is of those robust proportions which armour students have learnt to associate with the works of Tomaso da Missaglia. The taces and garde de rein are short and have attached in front small tuille tassets with rounded ends, these being duplicated by similar but smaller plates depending from the sides and garde de rein. The pauldrons are very large with the upright shoulder guards. They are, however, dissimilar in form, the right being cut away to allow free passage