Germany, Prussia. A Cuirassier Regimental Body Armour, c.1875

This armour consists of two basic pieces, a breast plate and back plate, both of which are manufactured from steel. The breast plate incorporates a series of 36 brass rivets around the perimeter, the four on the shoulders flattened, the remaining 32 domed. There are also two brass bolts that rise above the body of the breast plate and are placed on either side of the central vertical ridge on the chest, designed to receive the keyhole-shaped receptacles placed within the brass shoulder straps attached to the back plate. It is marked with a "J" on the right shoulder and marked with a series of numbers on the left shoulder. The underside is hessian-lined, the breast plate measuring 360 mm in width x 425 in height x 190 mm in depth overall. The accompanying back plate incorporates a series of 36 brass rivets around the perimeter. It comes with a leather straps placed on either side at the waist, the right side strap with five holes for length adjustment, and when fed through the brass buckle on the left side strap, ensures a snug fit at the waist, each of the straps connected to the back plate via two of the aforementioned brass rivets on the back plate. It is marked with an "AA" and "1347" on the right side at the waist and marked with a crown and a maker's mark on the left side at the waist. The back plate has a brass strap on both shoulders, each of which is connected to a hinge and is firmly bolted in place to the body of the back plate via an ace-shaped bracket. The the left side strap consists of 15 scalloped plates, while the right strap consists of 14 scalloped plates, each of which have reinforced red cloth-covered leather straps affixed to the underside and are secured in place via a pair of brass rivets at either end. Both sets of scalloped plates are attached to a wavy-shaped plate bearing two keyhole-shaped receptacles, that are designed to attach to the aforementioned brass bolts on the breast plate. Both straps are finished with a leather tab at the end, which is held in place via two brass rivets, the straps measuring 50 mm wide x 315 mm in length, not including the leather tabs. The underside is hessian-lined, the back plate measuring 380 mm in width x 410 mm in height x 140 mm in depth overall. The steel on both pieces exhibits surface rust and is free of pitting and denting. As worn.