This armor is typical of a late form that developed toward the end of the sixteenth century in response to the increasing use and efficiency of firearms. The heavy cavalryman, or cuirassier, wore a three-quarter-length armor that included a close helmet and knee-length tassets, the lower leg defenses having been replaced by high boots. The knightly lance was abandoned in favor of pistols; the cuirassier typically charged and fired his weapons at close range. In response to the change in weaponry, the armorer increased the thickness of the plate and added reinforces. Our example retains two reinforces, one for the back of the helmet and another covering the breastplate, and it formerly possessed a third as well, for the visor front, rendering it one of the heaviest field armors known. In order to test armors, bullets were fired at them, with the resulting dents left as a guarantee of strength; the breastplate, backplate, and two reinforces exhibit these "proof marks."

This armor is typically North Italian in construction and decoration, notably the helmet, with its pivoted beak and slotted visor, and the bands of bright steel contrasting with blued steel surfaces. Despite practical considerations of defense, the harness retains graceful lines and good proportions as befitting its fashion-conscious owner.