Shoulder–piece

The shoulder-piece consists of six plates fixed together by smooth rivets and includes a fixed gorget, also known as sovraspallaccio, which reinforces the defense of the neck (Gelli 1900, p. 210). Due to its small size, it has been suggested that this shoulder pad was part of a suit of armor intended for a boy and not an adult (di Carpegna 1969, p. 25, n. 125).
The shoulder-piece is a component of armor designed to protect the shoulder. As a structural element of plate armor, it emerged in the late fourteenth century when plate armor supplanted chainmail. Pauldrons were constructed by joining multiple plates together, enabling limited articulation of the shoulder while ensuring maximum protection from strikes in combat. They were secured to the arm with leather straps. Museums and private collections feature both smooth shoulder pads and elaborately decorated ones with engraved or embossed designs. Noteworthy examples include the shoulder pads in the form of wild animal protomes crafted by Milanese armorers in the mid-sixteenth century (Gelli 1900, pp. 301–303; Oakeshott 2012, pp. 85–87; La Rocca 2017, pp. 56–59).
This shoulder-piece closely resembles armor crafted by Hans Prunner, an Austrian active in Innsbruck between 1482 and 1499, for Philip of Habsburg, known as the Handsome (1478–1506), currently housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. A9; Thomas, Gamber 1954, plate 18). It can be hypothesized that this piece may have a similar origin. A chest plate in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. 29.150.70; Terjanian 2019, pp. 244–245, n. 137) is also attributed to Prunner.
Additionally, the holes around the perimeter may suggest locations where silver or gilded brass decorations were affixed, similar to those observed on certain pieces crafted for the Habsburgs (Scalini 2018, p. 81, n. II.10).
This shoulder pad is part of the collection of Prince Ladislao Odescalchi (1846–1922), purchased by the Italian State in 1959 and placed in Palazzo Venezia in 1969. This extensive collection was not a family armory but was formed through targeted purchases from national markets, such as Florence and Rome, and international markets, such as Paris and London, beginning in the late nineteenth century, reflecting Odescalchi’s personal taste (Barberini 2007).

Giulia Zaccariotto

Good.

Collezione Ladislao Odescalchi (Odescalchi, no. 1636);
acquired by the Italian State, 1959;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, 1969.

Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, Antiche armi dal sec. IX al XVIII. Già Collezione Odescalchi, May–July 1969;
Rome, Castel Sant’Angelo; Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, Armi e potere nell’Europa del Rinascimento, July 26–November 11, 2018.

Gelli Jacopo, Guida del raccoglitore e dell’amatore di armi antiche, Milano 1900;
Thomas Bruno, Gamber Ortwin, Die Innsbrucker Plattnerkunst, catalogo della mostra (Innsbruck, Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, giugno settembre 1954), Innsbruck 1954;
di Carpegna Nolfo (a cura di), Antiche armi dal sec. IX al XVIII. Già Collezione Odescalchi, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, maggio-luglio 1969), con schede a firma del curatore, Roma 1969, p. 25, n. 125;
Di Carpegna Nolfo, Le armi Odescalchi, Roma 1976;
Barberini Maria Giulia, La collezione Odescalchi di armi antiche: storia della raccolta del principe Ladislao, in «Bollettino d’arte», s. VI, XCI, 2006 (2007), 137/138, pp. 101-114;
Fossà Bianca, Studio conservativo delle armi e armature Odescalchi. Nuove metodologie per la schedatura di una collezione, in «Bollettino d’arte», s. VI, XCI, 2006 (2007), 137/138, pp. 115-142;
Oakeshott Ewart, European Weapons and Armour. From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, Woodbridge 2012;
La Rocca Donald J., How to Read European Armor, New York 2017;
Scalini Mario (a cura di), Armi e potere nell’Europa del Rinascimento, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo; Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo  Venezia, 26 luglio-11 novembre 2018), con schede a firma del curatore, Cinisello Balsamo 2018, p. 81, n. II.10;
Terjanian Pierre, The Last Knight: the Art, Armor and Ambition of Maximilian I, New York 2019.