A 16th-century Italian arm shield for competitive sword fighting, painted wood, of tapering

A 16th-century Italian arm shield for competitive sword fighting, painted wood, of tapering rectangular form and convex in cross-section, the face painted with a nimbate disc of light blue with 'I.H.S.' in red against a sunburst of alternating straight and wavy red rays, the border with repeated red fleurs de lis, all against a cream ground, the back with upper and lower leather arm strap, the lower end set with an iron parrying spike.

The Cristogram 'I.H.S.' (Iesus Hominum Salvator) against a sun is similar to the emblem of the Jesuits from their founding in 1540.