Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Frontier cuirass c. 1720 believed Pueblo Indian in Spanish Style

Jim McDougall · 18th March 2025, 08:34 PM

Thank you so much guys! This is very important.
I have browsed through everything I can find online, but absolutely nothing I can find comes close to this unusual example. It has a long history in the American Southwest, but was only rediscovered in recent years in an obscure estate sale, and has since been both on display in several venues as well as enduring notable controversies.

As there is not a single example of comparable armor anywhere of this material and from the Spanish frontiers of the 17th into 18th c. it is not possible to evaluate on this basis. The Philippine suggestion I take as rather a 'drawing at straws' solution which has yet to offer any supported evidence.

The most important comparison, virtually the only one, is depictions of Spanish soldiers and Pueblo allies in an obscure event in 1720 in Nebraska (the Villasur expedition) where they were massacred by Pawnee and Oto warriors under French forces. These type cuirasses with skirted rawhide in place of tassets are seen in the Indian produced hide painting. There are numerous details in these iconic works which were unknown in America until the 1980s when they were brought back from their holding in Lucerne, Switzerland since 1750s.
This is why this form of cuirass in cuir boulli has remained unknown, as the first notable reference to Spanish colonial arms and armor I am aware of is Curtis (1927). Obviously the well known cuera jackets (sewn hides) are described in various sources since, but this rare form has never been noted.There are few references on these topics, so this is most important.

18th March 2025, 08:34 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,175	Thank you so much guys! This is very important. I have browsed through everything I can find online, but absolutely nothing I can find comes close to this unusual example. It has a long history in the American Southwest, but was only rediscovered in recent years in an obscure estate sale, and has since been both on display in several venues as well as enduring notable controversies. As there is not a single example of comparable armor anywhere of this material and from the Spanish frontiers of the 17th into 18th c. it is not possible to evaluate on this basis. The Philippine suggestion I take as rather a 'drawing at straws' solution which has yet to offer any supported evidence. The most important comparison, virtually the only one, is depictions of Spanish soldiers and Pueblo allies in an obscure event in 1720 in Nebraska (the Villasur expedition) where they were massacred by Pawnee and Oto warriors under French forces. These type cuirasses with skirted rawhide in place of tassets are seen in the Indian produced hide painting. There are numerous details in these iconic works which were unknown in America until the 1980s when they were brought back from their holding in Lucerne, Switzerland since 1750s. This is why this form of cuirass in cuir boulli has remained unknown, as the first notable reference to Spanish colonial arms and armor I am aware of is Curtis (1927). Obviously the well known cuera jackets (sewn hides) are described in various sources since, but this rare form has never been noted.There are few references on these topics, so this is most important.