Largest Medieval Armor Collection on Auction

A German octogenarian puts his lifelong fascination with armor under the hammer Tuesday when the largest private collection of medieval weapons goes on sale for millions of euros.

The collection valued at between three and four million euros ($4-5.4 million), goes up for auction in Brussels and includes not only classical armor and weaponry such as shields, helmets and swords, but also crustaceans.

"Man does not have a shell, he had to make one," collector Karsten Klingbeil, from Berlin, told AFP, of his interest in the art of defense.

"You really can't move in it because we have a totally different morphology from the period," he said, explaining that when he was younger he used to try on the armor.

After making his fortune in property in West Berlin, Klingbeil devoted himself from the 1980s to his two passions -- collecting and sculpting.

One of the highlights of the antique collection is an ornate piece of armor from the end of the 16th century engraved across its surface with foliage and battle scenes.

Attributed to the northern Italian craftsmen of Pompeo Della Cesa, it is estimated to be worth between 250,000 and 300,000 euros.

"This collection is remarkable for its size and its encyclopedic character," Philippe Missillier, one of two experts responsible for valuing the objects, said.

Crustaceans, bought or caught throughout the world by Klingbeil himself, will also be part of the sale Tuesday. They have been valued at between 100,000 and 150,000 euros by the Brussels auction house Pierre Berge & Associes.

These include a Japanese spider crab considered the biggest living crustacean which can reach three meters and in the Klingbeil collection is 1.80 meters (six feet).

"To transport it from Japan to Europe, I had a special container made in which the very fragile legs of the creature could be put on sheets of polystyrene," he said.

Klingbeil said that although it was heartbreaking to part with his treasures, he wanted his heirs to be able to benefit from the proceeds.