The etched decoration on this armour includes the crowned initials of Duke Julius of Brunswick and his father Duke Heinrich the Younger. The central circular panel contains Daniel in the lions den and the motto “ACH GOT BEWAR NICHT MER DAN LEIB SELE GVTVNDERE” (O God, preserve body, soul, possessions and honour alone).

The elaborate decoration was probably based on prints and book illustrations. One possible source may be illustrations to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, issued in numerous editions in the sixteenth century, from which the scene of Diana and Actaeon on the backplate may have been adapted.