An incredibly rare Tudor shield once used by King Henry VIII and his men has been put up for sale at auction for £50,000.
The remarkable 'gun shield' dates back to the 16th century were used by the king's bodyguards to protect the monarch.
The metal armour, around the size of a dustbin lid, has a specially designed hole in the centre to poke a matchlock pistol through.
Rare Tudor 'gun shield' used by Henry VIII's bodyguards to protect the 16th century king is set to fetch £50,000 at auction
Rare metal armour is one of only 35 in the world and goes on sale on May 1
Shield comes with a specially designed hole to poke a matchlock pistol through
There hasn't been a Tudor gun shield on the market in more than 40 years
By CONNOR BOYD FOR MAILONLINE
17 April 2019
An incredibly rare Tudor shield once used by King Henry VIII and his men has been put up for sale at auction for £50,000.
The remarkable 'gun shield' dates back to the 16th century were used by the king's bodyguards to protect the monarch.
The metal armour, around the size of a dustbin lid, has a specially designed hole in the centre to poke a matchlock pistol through.
This incredibly rare Tudor shield once used by King Henry VIII and his men has been put up for sale at auction for £50,000
There is less than 35 of them in the world and they come with a specially designed hole in the centre to poke a matchlock pistol through
After Henry's death in 1547, an inventory of the Royal Armoury held on to 35 of them.
It's not known how many survive today but there are three on display at the Tower of London while another is at Windsor Castle.
The shield being sold by auctioneers Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, Wiltshire, is from a private collection.
Experts at the auction house have invested several hundred man hours establishing the shield's heritage.
Ned Cowell, arms and armour specialist at the firm, said their studies showed the item formed part of the same collection as the one in the Tower of London.
He said: 'This was always an exciting piece and the opportunity to compare it with shields held in the Royal Collection has shown just how historically important it is.
The remarkable 'gun shield' dates back to the 16th century and is identical to the defences known to be used by King Henry VIII's bodyguards
'To have an object so closely associated to a monarch that wrought such profound changes on English society is just incredible.
'To find these is extremely rare and as far as I know there has not been one of the market since the 1970s.
'It's even unusual for them to come up with dealers so I would be surprised if I see another in my lifetime.
'It's an amazing opportunity and we've been taking a lot of interest in it already.'
The convex circular shield has a diameter of around 20inches. There is gash near the centre - possibly caused by a spike or a halberd weapon
The convex circular shield has a diameter of around 20inches and would have been held using iron straps at the back.
It remains in generally good condition but comes with some battle damage. There is a large gash caused by a spike or a halberd weapon near the centre of the artefact.
Prior to coming into its current ownership, the piece was previously on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1931.
The sale takes place on May 1.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...IIIs-bodyguards-set-fetch-50-000-auction.html
The remarkable 'gun shield' dates back to the 16th century were used by the king's bodyguards to protect the monarch.
The metal armour, around the size of a dustbin lid, has a specially designed hole in the centre to poke a matchlock pistol through.
Rare Tudor 'gun shield' used by Henry VIII's bodyguards to protect the 16th century king is set to fetch £50,000 at auction
Rare metal armour is one of only 35 in the world and goes on sale on May 1
Shield comes with a specially designed hole to poke a matchlock pistol through
There hasn't been a Tudor gun shield on the market in more than 40 years
By CONNOR BOYD FOR MAILONLINE
17 April 2019
An incredibly rare Tudor shield once used by King Henry VIII and his men has been put up for sale at auction for £50,000.
The remarkable 'gun shield' dates back to the 16th century were used by the king's bodyguards to protect the monarch.
The metal armour, around the size of a dustbin lid, has a specially designed hole in the centre to poke a matchlock pistol through.
This incredibly rare Tudor shield once used by King Henry VIII and his men has been put up for sale at auction for £50,000
There is less than 35 of them in the world and they come with a specially designed hole in the centre to poke a matchlock pistol through
After Henry's death in 1547, an inventory of the Royal Armoury held on to 35 of them.
It's not known how many survive today but there are three on display at the Tower of London while another is at Windsor Castle.
The shield being sold by auctioneers Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, Wiltshire, is from a private collection.
Experts at the auction house have invested several hundred man hours establishing the shield's heritage.
Ned Cowell, arms and armour specialist at the firm, said their studies showed the item formed part of the same collection as the one in the Tower of London.
He said: 'This was always an exciting piece and the opportunity to compare it with shields held in the Royal Collection has shown just how historically important it is.
The remarkable 'gun shield' dates back to the 16th century and is identical to the defences known to be used by King Henry VIII's bodyguards
'To have an object so closely associated to a monarch that wrought such profound changes on English society is just incredible.
'To find these is extremely rare and as far as I know there has not been one of the market since the 1970s.
'It's even unusual for them to come up with dealers so I would be surprised if I see another in my lifetime.
'It's an amazing opportunity and we've been taking a lot of interest in it already.'
The convex circular shield has a diameter of around 20inches. There is gash near the centre - possibly caused by a spike or a halberd weapon
The convex circular shield has a diameter of around 20inches and would have been held using iron straps at the back.
It remains in generally good condition but comes with some battle damage. There is a large gash caused by a spike or a halberd weapon near the centre of the artefact.
Prior to coming into its current ownership, the piece was previously on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1931.
The sale takes place on May 1.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...IIIs-bodyguards-set-fetch-50-000-auction.html
