The decoration of the whole Mühlberg harness is simple and tasteful. It is composed of broad lengths of the metal in its native colour, inlaid with gold, scalloped or festooned on each side in low relief, and beautifully etched with figures, foliations, &c., down the middle. This ornamentation appears on all the pieces, the armet included.
The princes and commanders of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had a fondness for appearing in Roman garb, which, they fancied, lent dignity to their carriage. Charles V. was the possessor of a suit of Roman armour (A188), the work of Bartolommeo Campi, of Pesaro, and, in the opinion of the Conde de Valencia, the offering of Guidobaldo II., Duke of Urbino. That prince’s monogram, the Conde points out, is to be seen on the backplate gilded in relief. The date of the armour is 1546. We extract the following notes from the Catalogue:
“A. Angelucci, in his work Documenti inediti per la storia delle armi da fuoco italiane, Turin, 1869, p. 330, publishes a brief extract from the biography of Campi, written by Promis, which we can amplify, thanks to the documents which, by the kindness of the Dukes of Alba, we have been able to consult in their important historical Archives.
“Bartholomew Campi was born at Pesaro in the beginning of the sixteenth century, being in his youth a goldsmith and engraver of metals, and making arms and armour of great value, which merited the eulogies of the celebrated writer Pedro Aretino, in letters addressed from Venice to Bartholomew Egnazio (1545). At that time he made the armour of Charles V. In 1547 he directed the fêtes in Pesaro in honour of the wedding of Guidobaldo II. and Vittoria Farnese; and two years after, he finished the admirable work of art in gold and silver, which the Municipality of Pesaro presented to the new-born son of that Prince.
“From 1554 to 1560 probably, he was military engineer in the service of the Republic of Siena, Venice, and the French Monarch. He assisted at the siege of Calais. In the latter year, he solicited, unsuccessfully, in spite of the support of Cardinal Granvela, admittance to the Spanish Army, and then he returned to France, taking the side of the Catholics against the Huguenots.
“At last, in 1568, Campi served in Flanders, under the orders of the Duke of Alba. This illustrious leader gave him a commission, which is in the Archives of his house, as chief engineer of the fortification and investment of fortresses, at the monthly salary of 500 escudos (ordinary) and 50 (extraordinary), and to his son Escipion, besides his salary, 25 escudos a month as an allowance.
“The Duke of Alba had Campi in such esteem, that in a letter to the King, dated June 3rd, 1569, he says: ‘I tell Your Majesty that you have a good man in Captain B. Campi, because he is in truth a soldier and has art, although not so well-founded as Pachote ... and he is the best man I have met with since I have known men—I do not say only engineers, but men of any sort—very steady and happy in his work.’
“The death of Campi occurred, says Bernardino de Mendoza in his Commentaries, as the result of an arquebus-shot through the head, at the siege of Haarlem, on March 7th, 1573, the grief of the Duke and all his army being very great.”
This superb panoply (plates 40, 125A) is composed of seven pieces of blackened steel, decorated with gold and silver damascening, and with ornaments of gilt bronze. The burgonet is of elegant outline, and bears a close enough resemblance to a Bœotian casque. It has cheek-pieces in the Roman style. The comb, visor, and nape are adorned by a wide damascened band, showing up well on the blackened steel. The helmet is also girdled by a graceful wreath of oak-leaves in gilt, which terminates at the nape in two volutes, from which springs the plume-holder.
The cuirass is a triumph of art, and is moulded in the resemblance of the human torso, the outlining of the muscles proving that the artificer was well acquainted with anatomy. At the neck is a square piece, composed of bands of gold inlaid work. Beneath this is the Medusa’s head, from which spring two volutes, ending in small silver flowers. This constitutes the only decoration of the breastplate. Campi’s pride in his work, and the celerity with which he executed it, are testified by the inscription, BARTHOLOMEVS CAMPI AVRIFEX TOTIVS OPERIS ARTIFEX QVOD ANNO INTEGRO INDIGEBAT PRINCIPIS SUI NVTVI OBTEMPERANS GEMINATO MENSE PERFECIT.