Shaffron and crinet plate, ca. 1555
Kunz Lochner (German, 1510–1567)
German (Nuremberg)
Steel, etched, gilt, and painted; gilt brass
Shaffron: Wt. 4 1/2 lb. (2034 g)
Shaffron: Rogers Fund, 1921 (21.42)
Crinet plate: Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913 (14.25.854)
This shaffron forms part of an important garniture of armor for field and tournament use made for Nicolas "the Black" Radziwill (1515–1565), duke of Nieswiez and Olyka, Prince of the Empire, Grand Chancellor and Marshall of Lithuania, one of the wealthiest and most important nobles in Poland and Lithuania. Several elements of the garniture survive, six of which (including this shaffron) are preserved in the Museum's collection. Made by the famous Nuremberg master Kunz (Konrad) Lochner, the armor can claim to be the most colorful example of the sixteenth century. Reminiscent of an oriental carpet, its unusual and distinctive decoration must surely have been prescribed by the patron and was guaranteed to impress. The right eye-guard and portions of the left are modern; the majority of the polychrome is repainted.
