Oruzhie zapadnoi evropy XV – XVII vv. Dospekhi, klinkovoe oruzhie, oruzhie na drevkakh, orudiia pravosudiia, kniga 1 (Western European Arms of the 15th to the 17th c.. Armor, blades weapons, weapons on handles or poles, weapons used in execution, book 1)
St. Petersburg: Atlant, 2009. sewn cl. The Military-Historical Museum of Artillery in St. Petersburg has a rich collection of arms and armor dating to Peter the Great's reign. For over 250 years it has grown more diverse and voluminous, so that its works suffice to document with much newly published visual material the history of offensive and defensive military gear of the late medieval and early modern period. Expertly photographed and printed, the illustrations reveal the works as both an eminently practical branch of applied art and an aesthetic achievement akin to the jeweler's art. The formation of the collection is traced in detail from its origin in gifts to Peter the Great to the most recent major acquisition: a collection previously belonging to the Academy of Sciences given to the museum in the 1970s. The authors note specific Russian aspects of arms collection, such as the lack of a chivalric tradition and hence the belated fascination with arms and armor: from the early eighteenth century the Russian emperors often posed for portraits in suits of armor, and the garb of medieval warriors became part of their burial ceremonies. Besides the crisp illustrations of the arms and armor in the collection, many paintings and manuscript illuminations depicting military scenes contemporaneous with the arms are reproduced. The first volume comprises armor, blade weapons, spears and lances, and instruments of execution. The majority of which are published here for the first time. Book 1: 398 pp., 27 cm, approx. 400 illus. (chiefly color), Rus. Item #388
ISBN: 9785986550220
Price: $138.00