This fluted armor is typical of the battle dress of the knightly cavalry of southern Germany and Austria in the 1520s. It is composed of elements from at least three very similar armors, all made in Nuremberg when fluted armor was at its peak of fashion. The armor is stamped on the pauldrons (shoulder defenses) with the mark of the city of Nuremberg, on the helmet with the letter N in a pearly circle, on the cuisses (thigh defenses) with a Gothic N, and on the right gauntlet with an unidentified maker’s mark. The left arm defense is a nineteenth-century restoration.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Field Armor
Date:ca. 1525; left arm defense, 19th century; rondels, 1923
Geography:Nuremberg
Culture:German, Nuremberg
Medium:Steel, leather
Dimensions:H. 67 in. (170.2 cm); Wt. 49 lb. (22.23 kg); Wt. of helmet 7 lb. 4 oz. (3289 g)
Classification:Armor for Man
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Object Number:04.3.289
Marking: Stamped on the pauldrons (shoulder defenses): the mark of the city of Nuremberg; on the helmet: the letter N in a pearly circle; on the cuisses (thigh defenses): a Gothic N; on the cuff of the right gauntlet: what appears to be a turnip within a shield (an unidentified maker's mark).
Raoul Richards, Rome (by 1886–90; Riche collection d’armes antiques, du moyen âge, de la Renaissance, et des temps modernes…appartenant à M. le Chev. Raoul Richards, Giacomini et Capobianchi, Rome, February 27–28, 1890, no. 1028 “Belle armure allemande,” sold for 2950 lire, to Brauer); [Brauer, in 1890]; [Bachereau, Paris, after 1890–before 1901]; Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, duc de Dino, Paris (by 1901–04; sold to MMA).
Allentown. Allentown Art Museum. "Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition from the Collection of Stephen V. Grancsay: with Important Contributions by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the John Woodman Higgins Armory, Worcester, Massachusetts," March 15–June 14, 1964, no. 2.
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 10.
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 10.
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 10.
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 10.
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 10.
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 10.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cranach's Saint Maurice," April 20–July 27, 2015.
Giacomini & Capobianchi. La Riche Collection D'armes Antiques, Du Moyen Âge, De La Renaissance Et Des Temps Modernes. Rome, March 3–29, 1890. no. 1028, pl. XXV.
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. no. A.5.
Laking, Guy Francis, Sir, Charles Alexander Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. III. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920. pp. 251, 253, fig. 1037.
Allentown Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and John Woodman Higgins Armory. Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition from the Collection of Stephen V. Grancsay: with Important Contributions by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the John Woodman Higgins Armory, Worcester, Massachusetts: March 15–June 14, 1964. Allentown, Pa.: Allentown Art Museum, March 15, 1964–June 14, 1964. pp. 15, 19, no. 2, fig. 19.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. pp. 39–40, no.10, ill.
Fallows, Noel. Jousting in Medieval and Renaissance Iberia. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010. pp. 136–37, fig. 78 (greave, 04.3.289q).
La Rocca, Donald J. How to Read European Armor. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. pp. 17–19, fig. 20.
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