28/06/2022
An Important Augsburg Light Field Armour, embossed, etched and gilt
Dated 1545
Attributed to the Habsburg Court Armourer Desiderius Helmschmid (1513-79) and to the etcher Jörg Sorg (1522-1603)
Germany, Augsburg
Steel, gold, copper alloy, leather
Provenance
Private Collection, Florence, Italy.
The Charles Hummel collection, Genoa. Included in the subsequent auction sale of the collection in Gênes (Genoa), lot 6, pl. XIV, May 1908.
Sold Gallerie Fischer, Lucerne, August 18-20th 1931. Purchased by Hans von Schulthess (1885-1951), Schloss Au, near Zurich; most probably acquired at the 1931 Gallerie Fischer sale.
Included in the private sale of the von Schulthess Collection by his heirs, 2008.
This armour is likely the earliest known collaboration between Desiderius Helmschmid, court armourer to the Emperor Charles V, and the etcher Jörg (II) Sorg, acclaimed masters of their respective disciplines working in Augsburg in the 16th century. The armour is etched on the helmet visor with the date 1545, the year of its completion, which pre-dates by three years the previously held start of their collaboration.
Come see it on stand 206, until Thursday, at TEFAF Maastricht 2022
