Functional Large Steel Princely Hourglass Gauntlets Leather Gloves

These gauntlets exemplify the jewelry-like quality of early plate armors, which embody the technical and artistic repertoire of their craftsmen and the exuberant taste and wealth of the patrons who commissioned and wore them.

The acorn motif which decorates and reinforces the metacarpal protection is based on an example in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, as is the wiggle-work and decorative file-work across the knuckles. The brass trim on the cuff is etched, punched, and chased in an “amour” motif based on the 14th century gauntlets in the Wallace collection. Construction of the spiked gadlings and other finger elements is based on the funerary achievements and effigy of Edward, the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedral.