Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 4).djvu/272

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Fig. 1315. Shield

The work of the Greenwich school. Belonging to the harness of Sir John Smythe, third quarter of the XVIth century, now in the Tower of London (Class II, No. 84) Dino Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York

shield to the suit, as it is mentioned in the inventory of 1611 and again in that of 1629, which is the last record of it until shortly before 1888. The shield in question is circular and convex, and has three broad etched bands diverging from the centre, which divide the field into three sections. At the middle of each section is a large medallion surrounded by a well-*designed strap border containing allegorical figures—Fortune, Justice, and Strength. Other smaller figures, accompanied by interweavings and foliage, are finely etched upon the three radiating bands and upon the wide border band. All these ornaments are gilt upon a black ground stippled in relief. This shield, though it is certainly part of the harness we have mentioned, is not drawn in the Jacobe MS., which gives an illustration of the suit. The author has endeavoured to trace its history before Monsieur Bachereau of Paris sold it in 1888 to the late Duc de Dino. It appears that Monsieur Bachereau purchased it from Messrs. Willson Brothers of London, in July 1888, who in turn had acquired it from Mr. J. M. Hodgkins of London.