Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 30, 2011 18:02:12 GMT
During the same journey where I visited the Cluny last month (thread below) I also visited the Tower of London. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4694Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress houses not only the Crown Jewels and the primary residences of the Yeoman Warders that guard it, but also a portion of the Royal Armouries collection (based in Leeds) on display in the keep. The current exhibition is called "Fit for a King" and focuses on royal armor from the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. I snapped a few photos of the pieces on display and thought I'd share them here. View of the Tower from the North as you emerge from under a bridge. A shot of the outer ward, established in the 13th century, just beyond the moat that has been drained and filled since the 19th Century "The White Tower" in the center of the structure where the weapons are displayed, a Norman keep built by William the Conqueror. The "Fit for a King" exhibit at the entrance, beginning with armor made for Henry VIII after he established the royal armour workshop in Greenwich in 1511 A shot of Henry VIII's silvered and engraved armor from 1515, commemorating his marriage to Katherine of Aragon. It's accompanied by engraved Flemish-made horse armor. Some of Henry VIII's more robust tournament armor. There are several examples, and they grow in size along with Henry's girth as the years pass! The sword of Oliver Cromwell. A well-known piece that is intimidating in-person. The display mentioned that the hilt treatment is though to be a later addition. A display showing the personal swords of a line of kings. I took closer shots of my favorites, but forgot to include which kings they belong to! :oops: I'll try to find out and edit this later. *EDIT* As far as I can tell, these are from left to right the swords of: George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Edward VII, George V, and Edward VIII. The sword of George IV George II George V A suit of Japanese armor given as a gift to James I around 1610. ...Continued in the next post
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 30, 2011 18:36:49 GMT
More photos! A spectacular suit of gilt armor from about 1612, built for Henry Prince of Wales but inherited by his younger brother, who would become King Charles I four years later. The engraved and punched foliage is incredible. Some wooden horses and armor from the "Line of Kings" public display at the tower from 1600. A couple of enormous ceremonial swords, built for visibility, not war. A shot out the window in the chapel. Some more armor! Forgive me for not taking a more comprehensive look at the available pieces; I realize now that I forgot to take quite a few pictures of things I was too busy looking at. The piece on the right is a suit of boys armor made by a Dutch craftsman for the future King Charles I around 1615. It later passed to his son, the future King Charles II. One of the smallest suits of armor next to the Worlds Largest, known as the "Giant and Dwarf." The "Dwarf" armor is just over three feet high, while the "Giant" was built for a warrior that stood 6 foot 9. An Ethiopian shotel from the 19th century And authentic nihonto. I tried to get a shot of the kissaki, but could not get it in focus. A British enlisted cavalry service M1885 saber with an unknown musket above. Look at the thickness of the spine! An officer's sword said to have belonged to Peter the Great (1682-1725) of Russia. More likely, it belonged to an officer of Catherine the Great (1729-96). More to come!
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Talon
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Post by Talon on May 30, 2011 19:17:52 GMT
nice its a shame you never had time to go to the royal armouries luna you'd love it,next time try and book it in
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Post by william m on May 30, 2011 19:35:23 GMT
Hmmm.. why have I not seen this? haha ok great now I know what I am doing next weekend! Thanks for the info on the expo.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on May 30, 2011 19:40:28 GMT
That's a lot of sweet images, Luna. You wouldn't happen to have any more info on that king's saber on the far left (the one with what looks like a horsehead pommel), would you?
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Post by demonskull on May 30, 2011 19:44:51 GMT
Very nice! Thanks for sharing these and the other photos.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2011 21:25:23 GMT
More photographic goodness. Thanks again for sharing the wealth.
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Post by 14thforsaken on May 30, 2011 23:07:14 GMT
The Tower of London was the favorite part of my trip when I went to London a few years back.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 31, 2011 2:29:36 GMT
Glad to share, guys. Sorry it's taking so long.
One thing to mention if anyone plans to go is that you need a whole afternoon to really see the Tower--I'd allow 4 hours to be safe. It's between £16-20 for entree.
Thanks, Vincent. Unfortunately I don't have more shots, but I believe it belonged to King George I. Perhaps some googling could garner more info?
More photos soon!
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Post by Vincent Dolan on May 31, 2011 2:45:38 GMT
Thanks, Luna. No luck so far, but I did come across something rather interesting: a Hungarian saber with a wheel-lock pistol attached to it, circa 1565, effectively making a pistol-saber. Anyways, interesting discovery aside, perhaps Talon or one of the residents of jolly ol' London will chime in if they recognize it. By the way, those giant ceremonial swords are eerily similar to the Japanese odachi: ridiculously huge, purely ceremonial, most likely awkward as hell to hold or even contemplate swinging, but could probably rend a man in two through their sheer weight if used as a weapon.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 31, 2011 2:59:01 GMT
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Post by randomnobody on May 31, 2011 9:29:57 GMT
Very nice. I wanted to visit the Tower when my family went to England back in '97, but the fee kept mother uninterested. I think back then it was only £8 per, though... At least we got to mess around on the bridge.
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Post by chuckinohio on May 31, 2011 14:03:20 GMT
I heard that it was falling down :?
Another fine set of pics of some very interesting pieces Luna, I am envious of your excursion. :mrgreen:
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Post by Kilted Cossack on May 31, 2011 14:13:53 GMT
That file work rapier is in-SANE. Lunaman, you da man.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 31, 2011 16:20:58 GMT
Thanks guys! @kc, just wait till you see some of the rapiers from the Wallace Collection. Heh. Actually London Bridge is the next one upstream--Random was talking about Tower Bridge, the one we all recognize: People mix them up all the time. Rumor has it that when an American businessman bought London Bridge in the 60's, he thought he was buying Tower Bridge. The city happily sold it to him, packed up all the stones in boxes and shipped them out, and used the money to build a new bridge. Here's what London Bridge looks like: MORE PHOTOS SOON!
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Post by randomnobody on May 31, 2011 19:32:24 GMT
Yep, incredible bridge, that one. One of my favorite sites in England, a few cathedrals topping it. Of course, my museum experiences were limited...
Poor guy, I bet he was furious.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 31, 2011 20:30:40 GMT
Well the guy (Robert McCulloch of McCulloch Oil Corporation) has denied several times that it was a mistake. But he bought it with the purpose of turning it into a tourist attraction in Arizona, so I dunno. The English like to think he made a goof. At any rate, he did indeed turn the bridge he bought into a tourist attraction, complete with open-air mall and museum. Made a tidy profit off it, so I don't feel too bad for him:
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Post by randomnobody on May 31, 2011 22:04:28 GMT
I think I remember hearing that bit of the story now. Either way, good times.
I seem to also recall having seen a photo from the Tower Bridge with a brief note that the bridge is closed between certain hours of the early morning due to some odd shadows...but then again, I can't remember who sent me that email or if I take it for anything of value. :roll:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2011 15:10:46 GMT
i was visiting the tower not so long ago, but unfortunatly they where just setting up this collection, so the armor rooms where closed for production :cry: . i only got a quick vieuw of some horse armor when i tried to sneak trough a closed door london is a very beautiful city, i will visit there many more times.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on Jun 1, 2011 21:41:51 GMT
Here's the last of the bunch. Some of the more odd things I saw there. Some fancy handguns, not sure why they're there. The leaf decorations on this Smith & Wesson model 29 centerfire are meant to represent five different woods used in gun-making. This customized .357 magnum with red gold, enamel and diamonds was in possession of the Metropolitan Police for a while before it was transferred to the Royal Armouries. Nifty. This is a dragon made of weapons. The claws are made of pistols, the wings are cannons and guns, the horns are pole arms, etc. etc. There was no explanation provided for this thing, it was just THERE. On top of a bunch of barrels. I have no idea why. Military Dress sword of the Duke of Wellington, 1948. Executioner's axe and block. A double-sided interactive display with a couple of blunted Albion Gaddhjalt swords. Each weapon had a sensor attacked to the pommel-end that would change the information displayed to the side when you picked them up. A norman toilet! A Del Tin 2153 hand-and-a-half. It had some sort of dark surface treatment all over to protect from rusting. A shot of the grounds of the inner ward, why not? A portcullis! And finally, a sentry guarding the Crown Jewels. No photos allowed in there, unfortunately. Seems I forgot to grab a shot of the beefeaters, but members of the Queen's Guard have better hats anyway. Thanks for looking!
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