An army of mannequins

Armour used by the Knights of Malta, who ruled the island from 1530 to 1798, is getting back the sheen it lost over the years as part of a restoration programme.

A small army of 20 foot soldiers in full armour is slowly being given new life with the help of specially modified mannequins in the project under the patronage of Gasan Mamo Insurance.

“Custom-made mannequins cost thousands of euros, so, instead, we’re taking stock mannequins and customising them to our needs and the required poses,” said Michael Stroud, a member of the team engaged on the project.

The mannequins are being dressed up in different coats of armour using parts from the Palace Armoury’s substantial reserve stocks.

“Whereas, before, the idea was to have all the armour on display, as a show of force, nowadays the practice is to have a sample of each on display,” curator Robert Cassar said.

Since the coats of armour were individually made, it is quite difficult to match different parts together. And once the match is found, some parts need extensive restoration, a job being carried out at Heritage Malta’s Bighi conservation centre under the supervision of Mr Cassar.

Apart from the armour, the team is also working on small details such as the leather accoutrements and daggers, which are being built from scratch at the armoury workshop and aged to match the rest of the items, which, after being restored, are being treated with a reversible acrylic varnish.

Heritage Malta chairman Joseph Said thanked Gasan Mamo for taking the armoury under its wing. He called on other companies to do the same with the sites managed by Heritage Malta because “we can never have enough money”.