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Spain. Cuirass of the Royal Guard Cuirassier Regiment, 1824–1841
Original cuirass or breastplate of the Royal Guard Cuirassier Regiment used during the reign of Ferdinand VII of Spain or that of Isabella II of Spain, including during the First Carlist War.
Cuirassiers in Spain were re-established in 1815 using cuirasses captured from the French during the Peninsular War, and they became one of the specialties of the Royal Guard.
On 1 May 1824 a decree reorganized the Royal Guard units, creating a Royal Guard of the Line and a Provincial Royal Guard. The Royal Guard of the Line was in turn divided into the Interior Guard and the Exterior Guard.
Within the Exterior Guard was the Cavalry Division of the Exterior Guard, which included a Cuirassier Regiment, better known as the Royal Guard Cuirassier Regiment of Ferdinand VII.
After the death of Ferdinand VII and under the reign of Isabella II, the Royal Guard Cuirassier Regiment played a significant role in the First Carlist War (1833–1840), becoming the backbone of the Isabeline cavalry.
At the end of the war, the cuirassier regiment, together with the rest of the Exterior Royal Guard units, was dissolved by General Baldomero Espartero in December 1841.
Burnished iron cuirass with a brass front plate; this consists of the letters “GR” for “Guardia Real” (Royal Guard), the royal crown at the top, and a radiating background.
It retains the 22 original rivets around the entire perimeter of the cuirass, as well as the two ornamental front studs used to secure the straps of the backplate.
The brass front plate retains three original hooks, one of them detached from the plate, and one replacement rivet.
