10/06/2021
An upcoming online Arms and Armour Lecture for charity takes place next week:
Dr Tobias Capwell, Curator of arms and armour at The Wallace Collection in London will be doing an ONLINE TALK for the charity West London Action for Children entitled ‘Acolytes of Athena. The Renaissance Art of Armour’ on the 16th June at 7pm. Tickets are £10. To book visit: https://bit.ly/2RKfwVM
Dr Capwell, who is a broadcaster of considerable experience says ‘Armour was one of the great Renaissance art-forms, but today it is often forgotten, perhaps because we tend to forget that functional objects can be works of art at the same time. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries almost all of the richest, most powerful noblemen in Europe were dedicated patrons of armourers as well as painters and sculptors. Armour was an intensely personal medium, both expressive and decorative. Its essence was the creation of a living sculptures, a process which demanded not only fantastic skill in the sculpting of iron and steel, but also mastery of all decorative techniques available to the Renaissance metalworker. The achievements of virtuoso master armourers were not however just about splendour and richness. They also embodied more complicated messages and told stories, about status and the world, divine power, and personal identity.
Tobias has written and spoken extensively on both the historical and the practical aspects of his subject. He is a champion jouster and has published several books relating to his speciality. Among them is Armour of the English Knight 1400–1450 (2015) and the very recent book of the same name covering the dates 1450-1500 which can be pre-ordered on Olympia Auctions
This Talk supports the tireless work of the charity West London Action for Children who didn’t stop for a second over lock down continuing to support families in trouble.
