“Hercules obeys the wishes and seconds the impulses of the Emperor, uprooting, in order to advance them to new limits, the columns which he once planted on the mountains Calpe and Abyla; while Neptune, leaning on his trident, beholds with astonishment the expansion of his dominions.
“The woman fastened by her hair to the trunk of a palm, on which is a turban, seemingly represents Africa subjugated by the then recent conquest of Tunis; and that of the man lying at the feet of Neptune, is possibly only an allegory of the Betis, called to be the intermediary river between Spain and her new possessions.
“The skill of the composition and the richness of the whole contrast singularly with the simplicity of the work. Forged in one piece of steel, somewhat convex, the gilded figures stand out more because of the deep impressions so splendidly engraved by the chisel than on account of their dimensions and difference of colour.”
Though less elaborate in design than the preceding, the next shield (D64) is considered the gem of the whole collection (plate 150A). It was probably made for Charles by the Negrolis about the time of his entry into Milan (1541). On a separate plate in the centre is daringly and vigorously embossed the head of Medusa, serpents coiling above and below. The head and serpents are confined within a broad laurel wreath. Outside this again are three concentric bands, the first narrow and richly inlaid with silver and gold; the second, broad and hammered roughly, and divided into sections by shields bearing the inscription, IS TERROR QVOD VIRTVS ANIMA E FOR--TVNA PARET; the third, damascened like the first, showing sirens supporting four circular medallions with the Double Eagle, Pillars of Hercules, and Golden Fleece. Round the circumference of the shield runs a second laurel wreath.
Space does not permit us to describe in detail the many beautiful shields attributed to the Emperor. That numbered D66 (plate 151) is an example of the Moorish style of decoration so successfully imitated by the Italian artificers; D68 (plate 153) is of Augsburg make, and represents Strength as a nude woman steering the ship of Humanity across the sea of life, her shield being Faith and her haven of refuge Divine Grace.