Chris Dobson

Master Armourer

Appraisal: One of the services offered by Chris Dobson is the appraisal of pieces in your collection.This might be to check the authenticity of certain objects, or for an insurance valuation. In some cases, clients or their families wish to disperse a collection, and here Chris's extensive knowledge of arms and armour, combined with his knowledge of art history, can be employed: not only to appraise and value the collection, but also to advise how best it might be dispersed. Prior to dispersal, it might be that certain pieces need conservation or restoration, in order to present them at their best for sale, and here Chris's unique ability to cover both academic and 'hands-on' restoration work really comes to the fore.

Chris can also catalogue your collection, if neccessary for publication (see also Museum Consultancy below).

Left: A portrait of Oliver Cromwell, after Robert Walker 1607-58, from the Harvey Collection. Photo: Sotheby's.

Acquisitions: Chris Dobson can also advise you about pieces for your collection prior to acquisition. This is always done with the caveat that while photography is very useful for a general idea of a piece, to be sure about the authenticity and quality, Chris needs to have the piece in his hands. Then it is possible not only to appraise the piece as it stands, but also to advise on possible restoration or conservation. Below are two examples.

This burgonet (or what was left of it), came up at an auction that Chris was viewing for Castlerock Museum. The helmet had lost its peak, the nape of the neck and its cheek pieces, along with most of the gold and silver decoration that once covered it. It was mistakenly catalogued as the work of the Negroli family. On Chris's advice, it was acquired by the museum, with a view to restoring it.

Using his extensive research library, Chris identified the maker as Giovan Battista Panzeri, called Zarabaglia, who was working with Giovan Paolo Negroli in Milan in the mid 16th Century. A visit to Vienna with the helmet, to compare it with pieces known to be by Zarabaglia, confirmed Chris's attribution. Using iconography from those other pieces the helmet was then restored using reversable techniques. The losses were rebuilt, embossed, decorated, and blended into the surviving areas to create a truly spectacular effect.

Right: Burgonet 'all'antica' by Giovan Battista Panzeri, called Zarabaglia. Milan, circa 1560, with restorations by Chris Dobson, assisted by Scott Fletcher. Castlerock Museum.

These Gothic gauntlets came up for private sale, and on examination, Chris was able to identify the maker as Küntz Judenspiess from two marks on the surviving original cuff. He was also able to identify two phases of 20th Century restoration. This appraisal of the pair as genuine, with later restorations, was subsequently confirmed for the client by metallographical examination. Next, Chris used surviving evidence from the armour by Lorenz Helmschidt made for the Emperor Maximilian I (A60 Vienna, Künsthistorisches Museum) to show that these gauntlets originally had small plated extensions protecting the fingertips. Using this evidence (and based also on the other two surviving pairs by Judenspiess), he then completed an accurate restoration of the gauntlets, complete with gloves.

Left: A pair of gauntlets by Küntz Judenspiess. Landshut, circa 1490-95, with 20th Century restorations. Later restorations (including gloves) by Chris Dobson. Private Collection.

Chris has assisted with acquisitions and restoration for Castlerock Museum for some years now, and as we move towards the opening of the museum, he has been going through the collection and designing the layouts of the gallery displays. Soon he will begin work on fully catalogueing the collection. Publications of important pieces from the museum's collection will then follow, and will be available from this website.

Right: Chris Dobson organizing the layout of one of the displays in the new Castlerock Museum (aluminium stepladder essential), ably assisted by Dewey MacElwaine.

Media Consultancy: Chris Dobson is available for interviews for television and radio productions. As author of the book "San Romano, the Art of War", he was used in 2005 as a consultant for the television programme "The Battle of San Romano", part of the series "The Private Life of a Masterpiece", produced by Fulmar television for the BBC. He also appeared in the programme.

Chris can also ensure that your film, television or stage productions look the way they should, combining period accuracy with a flair for designs which capture the spirit of the period in question. If neccessary he can then oversee sourcing or production of arms and armour for costume departments. Given enough warning, it is also possible for him to personally make one-off special reproductions for your leading characters to wear.