Coat

Object Type
The buff coat was a feature of military dress during the 17th century, usually worn under a breastplate. Originally these garments were made of European buffalo (or wild ox) hide, which is where the term 'buff' comes from. By the mid-17th century, they were most frequently made of oil-tanned cow leather. The thick leather made the coat good protection, not only against musket balls and sword cuts, but also from the friction of the armoured plate worn over it.

Materials & Making
The thickest parts of the hide (over five centimetres) are at the bottom of the coat, to protect the legs while riding. Special sewing techniques join the thick, tough leather; the holes through which the thread passed were first punched with an awl. The absence of a waist seam means that four hides were used to make this coat, adding to its expense.

Ownership & Use
Portraits illustrate that buff coats were frequently adorned with lace cuffs and collars and wide, brightly coloured silk sashes. The style of this buff coat with an inner sleeve of soft doeskin and the extensive embellishment with two types of silver-gilt braid indicates that it probably belonged to a high-ranking officer.

Cost
Buff coats were expensive items, as contemporary letters and diaries reveal. Writing to his father-in-law in 1640, John Tubervill observed: 'For your buff-coat I have looked after, and the price they are exceedingly dear, not a good one to be gotten under œ10, a very poor one for five or six pounds.'