Historical Consultancy

My areas of Expertise

As an artist and Master Craftsman, I can speak with authority on how works of art were originally created, from personal experience. In my time, I have worked in wrought iron, steel and non-ferrous metals, cast iron and bronze, solid gold and silver, and organic materials including textiles, wood and leather. I am the first modern Master Armourer in the West to have their mastership formally recognised as Master Armourer to the Royal Armouries (UK).

As an independent historian, I have spent many years studying the art, history and culture of Italy in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, particularly Florence in the 15^th century. I also specialise in the little-known art of Piedmont. Military history is another important element of my studies, principally the Italian mercenary captains and their companies: the condottieri. I am a specialist in the relationship between Medieval and Renaissance art and arms.

All this is backed up by an extensive knowledge of Medieval and Renaissance Europe and the Classical World.

Services

Historical Consultancy:
I use my expertise to advise public museums and galleries, from research work on individual pieces to much larger projects, and I have designed the layout of complete museum galleries (see photo above). I also advise businesses and private individuals.

Scholastic Research:
As a specialist in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, I am also used to translating and properly interpreting Italian historical documents. When working from originals in archives, this can be particularly challenging, as they are often written in a mixture of local dialect and Latin, and use non-standard spelling and abbreviations. I translate them into an English which is readily understandable to the modern reader, and also does justice to the original text.

Writing Commissions:
I accept commissions for written work, such as articles for blogs and publications, museum catalogues and more exhaustive books. I will also consider adapting any of my published books for broadcast with myself as presenter.

I charge a fee for all these services. For consultancy rates, please get in touch via the Contact page.