The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

A Visit to the Armor Galleries

In the 1920s the Metropolitan began to explore filmmaking as part of its educational program, and in 1924 it released two films about arms and armor. In preparation for this new undertaking, Bashford Dean, the head of the Arms and Armor department, sought the advice of Hollywood professionals D. W. Griffith and John Barrymore. Once the scripts were complete, Dean left most of the actual work to his young assistant curators, Stephen V. Grancsay and Thomas T. Hoopes, who also appear in the films. A Visit to the Armor Galleries was especially popular and includes memorable scenes: a Gothic armor steps out of its vitrine to answer visitors' questions about the collection, a seesaw with a small child on one end and a medieval mail shirt on the other demonstrates the relatively modest weight of armor, and a fully armored knight on horseback gallops through Central Park, with Belvedere Castle (the park's weather station) rising picturesquely in the background. When actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. viewed the film at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, he pronounced it "bully."

Dressing in Steel: Part One
(00:37:39) 858 views

Dressing in Steel: Part Two
(00:20:04) 379 views

A Visit to the Armor Galleries
(00:30:21) 4855 views

Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929
(00:30:12) 247 views

The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education
(00:33:09) 330 views

Curators, Collectors, and Dealers: The Growth of the Arms and Armor Collection, 1929 to the Present
(00:36:37) 222 views

Closed Burgonet

Date:: ca. 1560
Culture:: Italian
Medium:: Steel, gold
Dimensions:: Weight, 8 lb. 4 oz. (3755 g)
Classification:: Helmets
Credit Line:: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Miss Harriet M. Dean, 1929
Accession Number:: 29.152.2

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 380

Description

On cavalry helmets of this type, the face defense, called a falling buffe, can be lowered in three sections for better visibility and ventilation. This example has distinctive etched and gilded decoration featuring scrolling vines ending in dragon heads and cornucopias.
Provenance

Ex colls.: Marchesa de Salvo di Ferrara, Palermo; Bashford Dean, New York
See also
What
Metal (59,497)

Costume (43,523)

Gold (12,361)

Iron and iron alloy (7,006)

Iron alloy (3,426)

Steel (3,156)

Armor (2,072)

Body armor (1,063)

Helmets (761)

Burgonets (52)

Closed burgonets (7)
Where
Europe (150,419)

Italy (24,960)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,608)
In the Museum
Arms and Armor (13,090)
MetPublications
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