The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Frontal plate from a shaffron

Art Object

Program Information

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

Program information

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.

Video/Audio (6)

Dressing in Steel: Part One

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

Dressing in Steel: Part Two

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

A Visit to the Armor Galleries

A Visit to the Armor Galleries
(00:30:21) 4369 views

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

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) 209 views

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Frontal plate from a shaffron

Date:: ca. 1550–1650
Culture:: Tibetan
Medium:: Iron, gold, and silver
Dimensions:: 16 1/4 x 5 3/8 in. (41.3 x 13.7 cm)
Classification:: Equestrian Equipment
Credit Line:: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2008
Accession Number:: 2008.291

This artwork is not on display

40014137