This armor was made for Henry Herbert (1534–1601) in the royal workshops at Greenwich. Originally, it consisted of a garniture for field and tournament. The present burgonet (helmet) and falling buffe (face defense) were designed for light cavalry and infantry use. Among the garniture’s missing elements are two close helmets and several reinforcing pieces for the tournament, similar to those preserved with the Cumberland garniture also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 32.130.6a–y).
Herbert’s antiquarian and heraldic interests are reflected in the armor’s decoration, which traces the lineage of the great Pembroke family through its complex coat of arms, consisting of twenty-two quarterings. The complete arms are displayed on the cheeks of the helmet, while individual quarterings are found on every element of the armor. The Order of the Garter, awarded to Herbert in 1574, also figures prominently in the decoration.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
3/4 Right
Back
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Armor of Henry Herbert (1534–1601), Second Earl of Pembroke
Armorer:Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich (British, Greenwich, 1511–1640s)
Date:ca. 1585–86
Geography:Greenwich
Culture:British, Greenwich
Medium:Steel, gold
Dimensions:Wt. 60 lb. 1 oz. (27.24 kg)
Classification:Armor for Man
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1932
Accession Number:32.130.5a–p
Marking:
Ex. coll.: The Earl of Pembroke, and Montgomery, Wilton House, Salisbury, Britain; Clarence H. Mackay, Roslyn, Long Island, New York.
London. New Gallery. "Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor," 1890–April 6, 1890, no. 574 (suit whose description tallies with ours, called suit of William, 1st Earl of Pembroke).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor," August 3–September 27, 1931, no. 21.
London. H. M. Tower of London. "Exhibition of Armour Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich," May 22–September 29, 1951, no. 12.
Meyrick, Samuel Rush. A Critical Inquiry into Antient [sic] Armour: As It Existed in Europe, Particularly in Great Britain from the Norman Conquest to the Reign of King Charles II.... Vol. III. 2nd ed. London: H. G. Bohn, 1842. p. 115.
New Gallery. Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor: The New Gallery, Regent Street. London: The Gallery, 1890. no. 574 (catalogued as "Suit of William, 1st Earl of Pembroke").
Topf, Jakob, and Harold Arthur Lee-Dillon. An Almain Armourer's Album: Selections from an Original MS. in Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. London: W. Griggs, 1905. no. 25, ill.
Laking, Guy Francis, Charles A. de Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. IV. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920–1922. pp. 35–38, figs. 1105a, 1116.
Sotheby's, London. Catalogue of Armour from Wilton House, Salisbury, the Property of the Right Hon. the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. London: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 1921. no. 118.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Swords from the Dresden Armory." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (February 1929), pp. 85–90.
Beard, Charles R. "New Light on the Pembroke Armoury." The Connoisseur (October 1931), p. 276.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. no. 21.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Historical Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (March, 1933), p. 52, ill.
Cripps-Day, Francis Henry. "An Introduction to the Study of Greenwich Armour." Fragmenta Armamentaria (1934), pp. 81–82.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. pp. 5–6, pl. 22.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1946. pp. 5–6, pl. 22.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 3rd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. pp. 5–6, pl. 22.
Tower of London Armouries. Exhibition of Armour Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich, 22nd May–29th September, 1951. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1951. no. 12, pl. XV.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 4th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1957. pp. 5–6, pl. 22.
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 74, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. "Orders of Chivalry." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1973–74), p. 104, ill.
Schedelmann, Hans. "Ein Rückblick auf den Waffenmarkt des letzten halben Jahrhunderts." Waffen– und Kostümkunde: Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für historische Waffen– und Kostümkunde, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 32, ser. 3 v. 15, no.1 p. 25, no. 2, ill. (incorrectly identified as the harness of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland).
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. Arms & Armor: Essays by Stephen V. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 111–116; fig. 43.2.
Williams, Alan R. "The Gilding of Armour." Historical Metallurgy (1991), p. 86.
Williams, Alan, and Anthony de Reuck. The Royal Armoury at Greenwich 1515–1649: A History of Its Technology. Royal Armouries Monograph, Vol. 4. Leeds: Trustees of the Royal Armouries, 1995. pp. 93–94, ill.
Reuck, Anthony de. "Greenwich Revisited: or Gunpowder and the Obsolescence of Armour." The Journal of the Arms and Armour Society 15, no. 7 pp. 426–43.
Williams, Alan. The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period. History of Warfare, Vol. 12. Leiden: Brill, 2002. pp. 778–79.
Norman, A. V. B., Ian Eaves, and Howard L. Blackmore. Arms & Armour In The Collection Of Her Majesty The Queen: European Armour. 1st ed. ed. London: Royal Collection Trust, 2016. pp. 137, 143.
Southwick, Leslie. "The Greenwich Armour of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, and others presented to and commissioned by the Prince between 1604 and 1612." Park Lane Arms Fair (Spring 2016), pp. 56–57, fig. 52.
Richardson, Thom. "Pieces of Advantage: Tournament Armour in Tudor England." In Tournaments: A Thousand Years of Chivalry, edited by Stefan Krause. London: Thomas Del Mar Ltd., 2022. p. 128, n. 35.
Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608)
ca. 1595–96; restored and completed, 1915
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
