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A Visit to the Armor Galleries

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A Visit to the Armor Galleries

Program information

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

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

Dressing in Steel: Part Two

Dressing in Steel: Part Two
(00:20:04) 279 views

A Visit to the Armor Galleries

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

Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904&ndash;1929

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

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

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

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Messenger's Badge and Shield

Date:
badge, 1400–1450; shield, ca. 1800
Culture:
probably Italian
Medium:
badge, bronze, gilt and enameled; shield, iron, copper
Dimensions:
Badge length, 4 3/4 in. (12.07 cm) Badge width, 3 3/4 in. (9.53 cm) Shield length, 15 in. (38.1 cm) Shield width, 12 1/8 in. (30.78 cm)
Classification:
Miscellaneous
Credit Line:
Gift of David G. Alexander, 1984
Accession Number:
1984.26a, b

This artwork is not on display

40003136

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