A Catalogue of the Armoury at Valetta. By G. F.
Laking (Brad- bury, Agnew, and Co. 10s. 6d.)—At the instance of Lord Grenfell while Governor of Malta, Mr. Laking rearranged the armoury and made a classified catalogue. Apart from the romantic interest of this "armoury of the invincible knights of old," the collec- tion is unique, inasmuch as it contains no forgeries. From
the artistic point of view, it is a great loss that none of the armour goes back earlier than 1500, for it was about 1450, and only for a short time, that those wonderful snits were made which so materially added to the beauty of the mailed archangels of Perugino and Mantegna. The later style—such as is shown in the illustrations in this catalogue—became ornate and clumsy, and the feeling of the lines of the human form was lost. The most striking things here seem to be the Saracenic helmets, the designs of which are splendid.
Previous page
