Schloss Ambras Detail: Asymmetric Thumb Construction

[Sean M]

Gauntlets are a popular topic right now (14th century gauntlet knuckle plate find Wisby gauntlet thumb problems). So this December I decided to pull an old post out of my drafts file.

I think we all have a vague idea about 15th century Italian armours and specialized jousting armours which use a more protective, less nimble style of gauntlet on the left hand and a less protective, more nimble style on the right hand. In July I had a look at some of the armours in Schloss Ambras and noticed one detail.

Right gauntlet (click to see photo from which this was cropped and scaled 50%)



Left gauntlet (click to see photo from which this was cropped and scaled 50%)


One thumb is of scales/lames. The other is of shaped plates with a knuckle rider. The shape and lack of fluting on the middle plates of the left thumb make me wonder if it could be a restoration. I wish I had taken a better photo of it.

Does anyone know of other evidence for pairs of gauntlets with the left thumb built differently than the right thumb?

[wcallen]

Fingers and thumbs are often messed with over time. I expect at least one of those is either a restoration, or it came off of a different gauntlet originally.

There are plenty of examples of asymmetric gauntlets, the more extreme ones definitely include asymmetric thumbs. I am not sure I have ever seen a case where just the thumb was (originally) different.

Wade

[Sean M]

Thanks Wade. It does not take much for those little plates to get lost or mangled and replaced, especially if they are just attached to the leather but not each other.

[wcallen]

These gauntlets were on a suit that came up for sale. The suit was evidently broken up (it was a pretty aggressive composition) and the gauntlets came up for sale separately. I picked them up:

http://www.allenantiques.com/A-104.html

The gauntlets themselves are pretty similar, but not quite a pair. The thumbs are really not even similar. They would still look OK hanging off a suit. Most armour we see has been messed with in some way over the years. Even when things come from a really reliable source it is pretty hard to keep everything together in just the right way over 400+ years.

Wade

[Kristoffer]

The right thumb originally posted here is one of maximilian form with a knuckle plate. I do not think I have seen that before and I believe it to be rare. Very common for late 15th century but rare in the early 16th century. Most gauntlets are missing the thumbs and the existing ones are often tampered with so it is hard to say. Do we have any art from this period showing thumbs with anything but scale thumbs?

[Sean M]

I can have a look next time I am in the Schloss, but could you define "scale thumb" for me? Do you mean a thumb of many narrow lames plus a large shaped plate over the tip (eff. of Niccolò Acciaiuoli, Bernabo Visconti), or does any thumb where each plate is overlapped on one side and underlapped on the other count?

[Kristoffer]

Good question! I have not put energy into defining the different versions available. That would however be interesting.

Most thumbs from this period seem to consist of three or more plates overlapping in the same direction, more or less decorated, articulated on leather.

[wcallen]

Good question! I have not put energy into defining the different versions available. That would however be interesting.

Most thumbs from this period seem to consist of three or more plates overlapping in the same direction, more or less decorated, articulated on leather.

No matter how cute it may be, the thumb on my left gauntlet is "just" scales overlapping in one direction. One is highly decorated on the end so it looks like it might be a knuckle plate, but it isn't one. All of the fingers I have are just scales on leathers. This does appear to have been most common. The lovely examples of 14th c. articulated thumbs and fingers, and the other few exceptions aside.

Wade

[Kristoffer]

Found one in my pinterest gallery. If you browse the other images of the armour you see the other gauntlet being of different construction.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thoog/424 ... 330606163/