The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Helmet, Breast and Backplate

Art Object

Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929

As part of a special Sunday at the Met program held in conjunction with the exhibition Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, Donald J. La Rocca explains the founding and history of the department.

A zoologist by training, Bashfod Dean was for a time simultaneously a full professor at Columbia University, Curator of Fishes at the American Museum of Natural History, and Curator of Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan Museum. At the Met, he worked initially as a guest curator in 1904, when he was invited to install and catalog the Museum's first significant acquisitions of arms and armor. He continued on as honorary curator until joining the staff full time in 1912 as head of the newly created Arms and Armor Department, rapidly building the collection into one of international importance.

Dressing in Steel: Part One
(00:37:39) 690 views

Dressing in Steel: Part Two
(00:20:04) 280 views

A Visit to the Armor Galleries
(00:30:21) 4362 views

Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929
(00:30:12) 227 views

The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education
(00:33:09) 321 views

Curators, Collectors, and Dealers: The Growth of the Arms and Armor Collection, 1929 to the Present
(00:36:37) 208 views

Helmet, Breast and Backplate

Signed on the backplate by D. G. V. Lochorst (Flemish, possibly Antwerp, active ca. 1575)

Date:: ca. 1575
Culture:: Flemish, possibly Antwerp
Medium:: Steel
Dimensions:: Overall Weight, 12 lb. 3 oz. (5529 g) Overall height as mounted, 30 1/4 in. (36.8 cm) Weight of helmet, 3 lb. 12 oz. (1.695 kg) Weight of breastplate, 4 lb. 9 oz. (2.073 kg) Weight of backplate, 3 lb. 14 oz. (1.765 kg)
Classification:: Armor for Man
Credit Line:: Gift of Christian A. Zabriskie, 1938
Accession Number:: 38.137a–c

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 374

Description

Although inspired by French examples, the ornament of this armor is distinctly Flemish. This is the only recorded work by Lochorst, possibly a goldsmith rather than an armorer, whose signature is found on the backplate.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: Signed on the backplate: D G V LOCHORST FECIT.
Provenance

Ex. coll.: possibly Duc de Guise; possibly Brocas; Duc de Luynes, Paris; Antiquaire Bachereau, Paris; William Randolph Hearst.
See also
Who
D. G. V. Lochorst (1)
What
Metal (59,364)

Costume (41,678)

Iron and iron alloy (6,952)

Iron alloy (3,389)

Steel (3,119)

Armor (2,071)

Body armor (1,057)

Helmets (756)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Flanders (1,586)

Belgium (1,232)

Antwerp (122)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,545)
In the Museum
Arms and Armor (13,084)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Famous Makers and European Centers of Arms and Armor Production

Low Countries, 1400–1600 A.D.

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Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929

Helmet, Breast and Backplate

Signed on the backplate by D. G. V. Lochorst (Flemish, possibly Antwerp, active ca. 1575)

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Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929

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Helmet, Breast and Backplate

Signed on the backplate by D. G. V. Lochorst (Flemish, possibly Antwerp, active ca. 1575)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store