[TheForge] Interesting Museums

[RIES NIEMI]

I have always wanted to go to the V&A- I have a great 3 volume set of books
about their ironwork collection. "Artistic Ironwork from the earliest
times".

But there is another museum I have gone to that is pretty unknown, but truly
amazing.
The Stibbert Museum, in Florence Italy. Most people go the Uffizi, see
David, and leave. But up in the hills, away from the city center, is one of
the most incredible museums I have ever seen.

Frederic Stibbert was the son of a British soldier who married an Italian
woman, and he was brought up in England and Florence. His grandfather was
Governor-General of India, and evidently accumulated quite a fortune in that
position. Both his grandfather and father left no other heirs, so at and
early age Stibbert had  substantial wealth, which he used to buy stuff.
Mostly metal stuff. In fact, mostly weapons and armor.
It was one of the best private collections ever. He died in 1906, but during
the peak times of his collecting, he was spending huge amounts on things few
other people were collecting. Sometimes he wouldnt get everything he wanted.
He has the helmet, the best piece, from a suit of armour from france circa
1590. The other parts of the suit are in the Louvre and the V&A.

He bought 3 huge villas in florence and had them connected into one, then
spent 30 years or so remodeling them to house his collection.
There are a few firearms- a couple of rooms with 2 or 3 hundred arquebuses,
muskets, Wheel lock pistols, rampart guns, pellet firing crossbows. Ivory,
gold, bronze inlays.

But the main collection is edged weapons, and particularly, armor. 14th and
15th century armor was one of his favorites. There is a hall with an entire
company of horses and riders, all of the horses wearing armor, of course,
mostly from the 1500's. Childrens armor (I think it belonged to a prince)
Islamic armor, I seem to remember some armor for camels and elephants as
well. 
Then there are the edged weapons- entire rooms full of swords, knives,
daggers, axes. The largest collection of pole arms I have ever seen-
hundreds and hundreds. Walls of crossbows, all ivory and inlaid with
precious metals.
Amazing Indian and islamic weapons. Real wootz, damascus from damascus,
Suits of armor for a horse that features engravings of the 99 names of allah
on it. The scale of this collection is unbelievable. There are probably 3 or
4 national museums that rival it, but this was one mans private collection.
Literally thousands of pieces. You come into a room, and there will be
shelves with say, 200 helmets, mostly from the 1500's. A case with 100 sets
of spurs. Roman, etruscan and lombard arms and armour, from archeological
digs. 

Stibbert was gay, and he loved dressing up. He had his own reproduction 15th
century armor made, in the 1880's, black with gold inlays, for both himself
and his horse. They wore it for many years in an annual parade and festival
in Florence. The museum also features his family tartans in elaborate
scottish costumes he wore, egyptian costumes, and a lot of uniforms from all
kinds of armies.
He collected paintings, but only if they showed people wearing interesting
clothes. The museum is scattered with old masters, but no nudes or
landscapes. He also collected all kinds of other things- Aubisson
tapestries, ceramics, books about armor and weapons and costumes, egyptian
mummies (he built his own egyptian temple in the backyard) He employed, full
time for something like 40 years, all kinds of craftsmen, from the armourers
who made his own armour, to a staff of wooden and paper mache mannequein
makers for his collections.

When he died, he left the whole thing to the city of Florence.

It is only open as a guided tour, as it is his house, pretty much as he
lived in it. Some of the collection is in glass fronted shelves, but mostly
it is just hung on the walls and out in the rooms. There is so much to look
at that the tour is over way to quickly. The next time I go, I think I will
try to do it two or three days in a row.
If you go to Italy, dont miss it.