Shot-Proof Cuirass (Breastplate and Backplate)
This cuirass is an exceptionally rare example of late decorated armor of the highest quality, and is one of the few documented French examples bearing the crowned N mark of Besançon (either the town or maker in that town).
By the late seventeenth century the wearing of armor had largely been abandoned, though the French cavalry were sometimes fitted with cuirasses. This example, made for a high-ranking officer, probably a nobleman, was specially decorated and includes baroque trophies of arms and foliate ornament akin to that found on French firearms of the late 17th0early 18th century. Despite the decoration, the cuirass was functional. A shallow, round dent in the lower left side of the breastplate indicates that the cuirass was shot at in a test firing to prove that it was an effective protection against bullets, or, as it was called in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, shot proof.
By the late seventeenth century the wearing of armor had largely been abandoned, though the French cavalry were sometimes fitted with cuirasses. This example, made for a high-ranking officer, probably a nobleman, was specially decorated and includes baroque trophies of arms and foliate ornament akin to that found on French firearms of the late 17th0early 18th century. Despite the decoration, the cuirass was functional. A shallow, round dent in the lower left side of the breastplate indicates that the cuirass was shot at in a test firing to prove that it was an effective protection against bullets, or, as it was called in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, shot proof.
Artwork Details
- Title: Shot-Proof Cuirass (Breastplate and Backplate)
- Date: early 18th century
- Geography: Besançon
- Culture: French, Besançon
- Medium: Steel, gold, brass, textile, leather
- Dimensions: Breastplate (a): H. 18 3/4 in. (47.5 cm); W. 12 3/4 in. (32.3 cm); D. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm); Wt. 15 lb. (6804 g); backplate (b): H. 16 1/2 in. (42 cm); W. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm); D. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); Wt. 16 lb. 8 oz. (7484.4 g)
- Classification: Armor Parts-Cuirasses
- Credit Line: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2005
- Object Number: 2005.445a, b
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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hallmarked 1773–74
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ca. 1630
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