Ah, The Wallace Collection! Even as I contemplate only tackling the highlights, including the European Armoury II, the vastness of this collection overwhelms me and I know that it is a practically impossible task.
Still, today I am in London and, after a long, long time, have returned to my favorite museum. Although I do love a good museum and have been fortunate enough to have browsed through many a fine collection, The Wallace Collection is firmly at the top of my list. So I am certainly not going to let a little thing like whittling the collection down to a select few get me down. And so, I begin.
European Armoury II
This armoury houses Renaissance arms and armour dating from the fifteenth to the seventeen centuries. All of the richest and most influential of noblemen commissioned weapons and armour. Although many a creation would have served in war or defense these beautifully crafted and decorated instruments were also used in tournaments, jousts and festivals. Considered as works of art both then and now, the Wallace Collection displays some of the most spectacular examples of arms and armour from this time in all of Britain.
One such fine example is Otto Heinrich’s field armour preserved and stunningly displayed on a full life figure of both horse and rider. Although the rider’s armour has been pieced together from two different sets belonging to Otto Heinrich, often called ‘Ottheirnrich’, it presents here a “convincing impression of this powerful German nobleman”. The information available in the gallery goes on to explain:
“The black and gold design is visually arresting but also contains an important double message about the wearer. The black areas have been left unpolished and ‘rough from the hammer’, a treatment typical of the workmanlike armour associated with battle-hardened professional soldiers. The etched and gilt strapwork, on the other hand, marks the wearer as a rich noble name, whose armour was a work of art as well as fighting equipment.
The two groups of original parts show subtle differences in their decorative motifs. The pauldrons (shoulder defences) and cuirass (body armour) share the same etched and gilt pattern, in which birds and infants figure prominently, which the helmet and other pieces feature scrolling foliage and flowers.”
From information displayed alongside the armour at the The Wallace Collection
Ottheinrich‘s heraldic coat of arms was black, gold and silver and his armour reflected this combination as many of his sets were decorated in this way. Much later, during the Napoleonic Wars, Ottheinrich’s castle at Neuberg on the Danube was invaded by the French and several of his armours were seized for Napoleon’s personal collection, some of which made their way to England to be eventually acquired by Sir Richard Wallace.
Next I find this magnificent ceremonial armour, elaborately decorated, in the High Mannerist style of metalwork. This type of decoration was producing using a combination of embossing, gilding and inlay (false damascening) with this particular example being produced in gold and silver. The decoration on this piece includes a diverse range of motifs – Hercules and the Neman Lion, Roman soldiers, allegorical figures and mythical beasts set against a complex background of twisting arabesques and cartouches.
Although this piece was made by Lucio Marliani of Milan, one of the most famous goldsmith armour era of the time, who it was commissioned for is unknown. It is generally attributed to Alphonso II d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara, Modena, Reggio and Chartres who was a great patron of the arts.
Good To Know
The Wallace Collection was established in 1897 from the private collection of the Marquesses of Hertford. Although he was illegitimate, Sir Richard Wallace, whom the collection was named for, inherited the collection and the house from his father the 4th Marquee. It was Sir Richard’s widow who bequeathed the collection to the British nation and a few years later the state purchased the house such that the collection remained on display here. The Wallace Collection opened to the public in 1900.
See some of the other rooms in the Collection or explore another of my favorite museums:
- East Gallery II
- The Front State Room
- Manolo Blahnik: An Enquiring Mind
- The Smoking Room
- National Museum of Beirut
- Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
- National Gallery of Australia
Would I Return?
Yes. Absolutely and unequivocally yes.
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