Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
When I was in college I lived across the street from the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. I would often spend afternoons drawing the bones, meditating on the ancient creatures that seem fit for fairy tales. This is one of my pieces from that time, a mixed media painting in ink and charcoal.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Laethes design is based on the breastplate by Fillipo Negroli c. 1532-1535, made for Guidobaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. This gorgeous armor features two bat-like wings that flank the torso, finely covered with scales and wildly glaring eyes. There are many interpretations of this armor's decoration, some saying it resembles written descriptions of the goddess Fame ("a vast, fearful monster, with a watchful eye meticulously set under every feather which grows on her, and for every one of them an a tongue in a mouth which is loud of speech and and an ear ever alert," Aeneid 4.181-83), others that it is based on the dragon hide armor of the Islamic warrior Rodomonte, which was covered in eyes like the wings of a seraph. Inscribed on the plaque in the center of the sternum is the Latin phrase "NVLLA BIBAM LAETHES OBLIVIA FLVMINE IN IPSO," roughly translating to "May I not drink of Lethe, for in this river lies oblivion." In Greek mythology, once spirits of the dead arrived in the underworld they would first drink of the waters of the river Lethe to forget their past lives, as well as to allow the living to forget them. This powerful phrase at once proclaims, "I do not want to forget who I was while I was alive, and I do not want others to forget me: my life is indelible." I hope you feel precisely that awesome when you wear this armor.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Laethes design is based on the breastplate by Fillipo Negroli c. 1532-1535, made for Guidobaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. This gorgeous armor features two bat-like wings that flank the torso, finely covered with scales and wildly glaring eyes. There are many interpretations of this armor's decoration, some saying it resembles written descriptions of the goddess Fame ("a vast, fearful monster, with a watchful eye meticulously set under every feather which grows on her, and for every one of them an a tongue in a mouth which is loud of speech and and an ear ever alert," Aeneid 4.181-83), others that it is based on the dragon hide armor of the Islamic warrior Rodomonte, which was covered in eyes like the wings of a seraph. Inscribed on the plaque in the center of the sternum is the Latin phrase "NVLLA BIBAM LAETHES OBLIVIA FLVMINE IN IPSO," roughly translating to "May I not drink of Lethe, for in this river lies oblivion." In Greek mythology, once spirits of the dead arrived in the underworld they would first drink of the waters of the river Lethe to forget their past lives, as well as to allow the living to forget them. This powerful phrase at once proclaims, "I do not want to forget who I was while I was alive, and I do not want others to forget me: my life is indelible." I hope you feel precisely that awesome when you wear this armor.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Maximilian design is named after the eponymous style of armor popular in early 16th century Germany (which was, in turn, named for the Emperor Maximilian I). It was a transitional style between 15th century armors, which were typically plainer and worn with a surcoat, and the more ornate decoration of the Renaissance. The extensive parallel fluting, signature of this style, aided in the deflection of blows as well as added structural strength to the plates of the armor. Interestingly, fluting was usually applied all over the harness except for the greaves.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Sackville design is based on the field garniture of Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset. A beautiful armor currently part of The Wallace Collection, it bears significant resemblance to the armor of Sir James Scudamore but for its blued steel: both armors were crafted in the Greenwich Royal Armories under the supervision of master armorer Jacob Halder.
Thomas Sackville himself was a man of somewhat questionable politics: he was a great advocate of "sumptuary laws," which is to say laws that only permitted fancy people to wear fancy things (for example, he dictated that only soldiers holding the rank of colonel or above should be permitted to wear silk and velvet). I get a special kick out of adapting his armor for all of us plebeians. 
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Scudamore design is based on the field armor of Sir James Scudamore, currently on view at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Sir James was a prominent Elizabethan soldier, courtier, and enthusiastic jouster; he was praised in Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene (published 1596) as an example of chivalry personified. Channel knightly nobility in our take on this gorgeous armor!
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Augsburg design is inspired by the Gothic style of plate armor popularized in the 15th century Holy Roman Empire (and draws particularly from A21 of the Wallace Collection). During this period, centers of armor production included Nuremburg, Landshut, and Augsburg — guess where we got our name? This German style was characterized by fluted metal, which aids in the deflection of crushing blows and also looks really snazzy. 😮
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
"Maharaja" was a royal title used by some Hindu monarchs since ancient times through the 19th century. Our Maharaja design is based on the lavish pangolin scale coat presented to King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, during his tour of India in 1875-76 by Bhavani Singh, Maharaja of Datia. Each scale of the original piece was hand-painted with a gold-edged floral design and jeweled border, encrusted with rubies and turquoises. While this piece isn't quite as shiny as the exquisite original, may it give you the same royal feeling!
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
"Maharaja" was a royal title used by some Hindu monarchs since ancient times through the 19th century. Our Maharaja design is based on the lavish pangolin scale coat presented to King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, during his tour of India in 1875-76 by Bhavani Singh, Maharaja of Datia. Each scale of the original piece was hand-painted with a gold-edged floral design and jeweled border, encrusted with rubies and turquoises. While this piece isn't quite as shiny as the exquisite original, may it give you the same royal feeling!
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Henry VIII design is based on the field armor of the notorious king of England, a piece currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. This intricately designed suit was crafted for the king late in his life (what I like to call his “fat Elvis” period), which he wore into battle during his last military campaign despite his infirmities at the time. But you can get all of the artistry without any of the gout in our take on this beautiful armor. 😉
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
By the late 16th century, the German city of Nuremberg was a known capital of armor production, where they specialized in high-quality infantry armors of simple but bold design. These armors were typically painted black to protect against corrosion, with contrasting bright steel bands.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Daimyo Punk design might look a bit familiar to the Daft Punk fans out there—it's a play on the album cover of Random Access Memories, their fourth studio album, with a historical twist! The musical duo's signature futuristic silver and gold helmets have been replaced by Japanese kabuto helmets and men-yoroi face guards, an iconic symbol of samurai armor since the 10th century.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Daimyo Punk design might look a bit familiar to the Daft Punk fans out there—it's a play on the album cover of Random Access Memories, their fourth studio album, with a historical twist! The musical duo's signature futuristic silver and gold helmets have been replaced by Japanese kabuto helmets and men-yoroi face guards, an iconic symbol of samurai armor since the 10th century.
Vendor: suttonscoop
Type: Tops
Price:
54.00
Our Yumi design is based on a late 18th or early 19th century Japanese cuirass in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, beautifully decorated in silver and gold with archery-related imagery. The Japanese character for bow, "yumi," takes center stage, while roiling waves and clouds dance with dragons and rain creatures called "shachikoho."