>>7132941Actually less than half of the A21 is original. It looks good (from a distance) because most of the restorations had some effort put in.The history of the suit is a prime example of how badly antiques dealers handled historical arms and armour.
The gothic suits from Vienna are still the best preserved pieces and haven't been messed with as much as the A21 or other composite suits.
>In fact there are only three in the world, including this one.Let's see...
1. Wallace collection (saddle from 16th century)
2. Royal Armouries
3. Musée de l'Armée (saddle probably from 16th century)
4. DHM Berlin
5. Vienna (Emperor Frederick's horse armour is from the mid 15th century but it has been modified in the 16th)
6. Vienna Rathausmuseum (saddle missing)
That makes six surviving pre 16th century horse armours. Some pieces remained in storage for decades or haven't been properly dated for a long time.
>You can tell it's equestrian armor due to the fact that the knee wings are only on the outside.I haven't come across a single suit which has poleyn wings on the inside and I've been in all kinds of museums with armor collections. Even foot combat armors have the wings on the outside only.
