Hussar Breastplate, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 17th Century


A breastplatee measuring 50 cm in height and 38 cm in width, crafted from iron using forging and riveting techniques. The breastplate consists of a main plate protecting the chest and three riveted lames extending downward to guard the lower torso and abdomen. Mounted at the center of the breastplate is a Knight's cross made of brass, secured with four rivets.

Fragments of original buckles, riveted to the shoulders, remain in place—these were used to attach the frontplate to the backplate (backplate not preserved). The edges of the breastplate are characteristically flanged and adorned with decorative rosette-shaped brass rivets. The lower edge of the final lame is flared in a manner typical of hussar breastplates from this period and decorated with matching brass rivets.

The uppermost lame bears additional iron segments that were forge-welded or riveted on, indicating the cuirass was later enlarged. The central breastplate was forged from sheet iron with a thickness of up to 3 mm at its strongest point, which would have provided sufficient protection against a shot fired from a 17th-century pistol.