Three Pommel Plates of a Saddle ca. 1520-40 German This set of pommel plates represents a particular variation on a basic type that appears to have been fairly widespread, judging from the surviving numbers of comparative examples. This specific form is characterized by a central pommel plate consisting of a top piece in the shape of a flattened oval, beneath which there is a boxed or faceted base, with the facets merging into a chamfered recess that ends in a sharp, upward curve near the top of each sideplate. Additional examples of this particular type include two other pommel plates in the Metropolitan Museum (acc. nos. 14.25.1643, and 29.158.398).In a closely related and apparently more common variant, the pommel plate has a raised notch embossed at the center of its top edge, in addition to the other features described above. Examples of this type include the saddles belonging to two elaborate armors for man and horse made in Nuremberg for Ottheinrich (1502-1559), Count Palatine o