"plain" breastplate

  

This "simple" breastplate is a very serious piece of armour.  The only pointless decoration on it is that fancy fan out in front.  But piercing is a nice decorative touch, there is no etching or other silly fripperies as a part of this piece.  

It is in Austria, and part of the collection there, it is generally considered to be "Gothic" on the basis of its fluting and pierce work.  Closer examination reveals it to be more Burgundian than German, the flutes are not s deep as is generally found in German work, and the fancy dented safety rolls are positively Belgian!  Sliding rivets allow this armour to tuck under the pot belly. Often there is a "turn in" at the top of the placquart which makes it look thicker than it is...this feature is totally lacking.

  

The more you look at this piece of kit, the more things you can learn from it.  Salient points might include the deep pot belly, the lack of a keel, the ninety degree out turn at the neck. 

This was a sort of "erratic", an unlabeled piece of armour in the Austrica Museum.  One could do worse than to make armour like this.   

This armour was better seen from the side like this.