The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Tournament Shield (Targe)

Art Object

The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education

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, Dirk H. Breiding, Assistant Curator, discusses challenges faced by the Arms and Armor Department, including widespread misconceptions and the difficulties of displaying weapons and armor that were rarely intended to be viewed in a museum.

The Beyond Battle interactive game is now available for download on iTunes.

Special thanks to Kaos Historical Media for the use of their footage.

Dressing in Steel: Part One
(00:37:39) 700 views

Dressing in Steel: Part Two
(00:20:04) 288 views

A Visit to the Armor Galleries
(00:30:21) 4367 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

Tournament Shield (Targe)

Date:: ca. 1500
Culture:: German
Medium:: Wood, textile, leather, gesso, polychromy
Dimensions:: Overall Dimensions: 26 3/8 x 12 3/8 x 5 1/2 in. (67 x 31.5 x 14 cm) Outer Circumference: 19 5/16 in. (49 cm) Height of Lance Rest: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Classification:: Shields
Credit Line:: Purchase, Bashford Dean Bequest, 1969
Accession Number:: 69.196

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 307

Description

Shields of this shape were inspired by Hungarian light-cavalry shields and were adopted in Germany and Austria for the Hussarisch Turnier (tournament in Hungarian-style costume). The German motto around the owl reads in translation, "Although I am the hated bird, I rather enjoy that." Below this are the quartered arms of the Tänzl and Rindscheit families, which were united by marriage in 1499.
See also
What
Costume (43,644)

Textiles (32,918)

Leather (5,941)

Armor (2,072)

Polychromy (582)

Shields (380)

Gesso (361)
Where
Europe (150,013)

Germany (15,973)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,619)
In the Museum
Arms and Armor (13,089)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Central Europe (including Germany), 1400–1600 A.D.