George Clifford (1558–1605) was appointed Queen’s Champion in 1590 and was made a Knight of the Garter two years later. A favorite of Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603), he chose for the decoration of this armor the Tudor rose, the French fleur-de-lis (then part of the English arms), and the cipher of Elizabeth, two E’s back to back.
The Cumberland armor is part of a garniture for field and tournament use. It was made in the royal workshops at Greenwich under the direction of the master armorer Jacob Halder (documented in England 1558–1608). The complete garniture is illustrated in the Jacobe Album, a late sixteenth-century manuscript of pen-and-wash drawings that records the decorated armors produced in the Greenwich workshops. The surviving pieces are the man’s armor and several exchange or reinforcing elements––a grandguard (defense for the lower face and upper left torso), passguard (defense for the left elbow), and four vamplates (hand defenses affixed to the lance) for the tilt; a close helmet with detachable visor reinforce for the tournament fought on foot––and horse armor, consisting of a shaffron (head defense) and saddle plates.
The Cumberland armor is the best preserved armor garniture from the royal workshops at Greenwich. It represents a technical and decorative high point of the Greenwich school.
#4425. Armor of George Clifford, Part 1
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4425. Armor of George Clifford, Part 1
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Title:Armor Garniture of George Clifford (1558–1605),
Third Earl of Cumberland
Armorer:Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608)
Date:1586
Geography:Greenwich
Culture:British, Greenwich
Medium:Steel, gold, leather, textile
Dimensions:H. 69 1/2 in. (176.5 cm); Wt. 60 lb. (27.2 kg)
Classification:Armor for Man
Credit Line:Munsey Fund, 1932
Object Number:32.130.6a–y
Clarence H. Mackay, Long Island, New York (1922–32; sold to MMA).
London. New Gallery. "Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor," 1890–April 6, 1890, no. 577.
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Exhibition of British Art," January–March, 1934, no. 1477.
London. H. M. Tower of London. "Exhibition of Armour Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich," May 22–September 29, 1951, no. 21.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "In the Presence of Kings: Royal Treasures from the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 19–September 4, 1967, no. 17.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, no. 250.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England," October 10, 2022–January 8, 2023.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England," February 26–May 14, 2023.
Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England," June 24–September 24, 2023.
Meyrick, Samuel Rush. A Critical Inquiry into Antient [sic] Armour: As It Existed in Europe, Particularly in Great Britain from the Norman Conquest to the Reign of King Charles II.... Vol. III. 2nd ed. London: H. G. Bohn, 1842. p. 115.
Strutt, Joseph, and James Robinson Planché. Complete View of the Dress and Habits of the People of England, from the Establishment of the Saxons in Britain to the Present Time.... Vol. 2. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1842. pl. CXLI.
Whitaker, Thomas Dunham. The History & Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven, in the County of York. London: Nichols and Sons, 1878. pp. 399–405 (Earl of Cumberland, and 1572 inventory of Skipton Castle discussed).
Chaffers, W. The Cap a Pee Suit of George, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, A.d. 1590: The Property of the Right Honourable Lord Hothfield, Appleby Castle, Westmoreland. Folkstone, England: English Press, 1885.
New Gallery. Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor: The New Gallery, Regent Street. London: The Gallery, 1890. no. 577.
Anonymous. "The Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor." The Portfolio: An Artistic Periodical (1890), p. 66 (Wilton House armors discussed).
Clay, J. W. "The Clifford Family." The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal (1905), p. 408.
Laking, Guy Francis, Charles A. de Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. IV. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920–1922. pp. 52–61, figs. 1132, 1135–1137.
Williamson, George Charles. George, Third Earl of Cumberland (1558–1605): His Life and His Voyages, A Study From Original Documents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1920. pp. xix, 106, 277, pls. XIX, XX.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Swords from the Dresden Armory." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (February 1929), p. 85, 97 (discussion and bibliography of Greenwich School).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. no. 22.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Historical Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (March, 1933), pp. 50, 54–56, fig. 3.
Cripps-Day, Francis Henry. "An Introduction to the Study of Greenwich Armour." Fragmenta Armamentaria (1934), pp. 86–87.
Llewellyn, William, W. G. Constable, and James G. Mann. Exhibition of British Art, C. 1000–1860: Short Catalogue. London: Burlington House, 1934. p. 106, no. 1477, ill.
Royal Academy of Arts. British Art: An Illustrated Souvenir of the Exhibition of British Art at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. London: Published for the Executive Committee of the exhibition by W. Clowes, 1934. p. 106, no. 1477, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Arms and Armor: Twenty Plates. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1935. fig. 5.
Royal Academy of Arts, W. G. Constable, Charles Johnson, Elizabeth Senior, and Olive Gertrude Vernon Briggs. Commemorative Catalogue of the Exhibition of British Art: Royal Academy of Arts, London, January–March 1934. London: Oxford University Press, 1935. p. 298, no. 1328, pl. 242.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "An Element of the Armor of the Queen's Champion." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (November 1936), pp. 233–35, fig. 2.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Arms and Armor: Twenty Plates. 2nd ed. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938. fig. 5.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 6, pl. 23.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1946. p. 6, pl. 23.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 3rd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. p. 6, pl. 23.
Tower of London Armouries. Exhibition of Armour Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich, 22nd May–29th September, 1951. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1951. no. 21, pl. XXIV.
Sotheby & Co. English Portrait Miniatures of the 16th and 17th Centuries. London: Sotheby's, Oct. 11, 1955. lot 74 (miniature by Nicholas HIlliard shows the Earl of Cumberland wearing this armor).
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The New Galleries of European Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (May 1956), pp. 211, 229, cover, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 4th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1957. p. 6, pl. 23.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "A Miniature Portrait of the Earl of Cumberland in Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (January, 1957), pp. 120–22, ill.
Reid, William. "The Sussex Arm." The Journal of the Arms & Armour Society (1959–61), pp. 269–70.
Thomas, Bruno, Ortwin Gamber, and Hans Schedelmann. Die schönsten Waffen und Rüstungen aus europäischen und amerikanischen Sammlungen. Heidelberg; Munich: Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1963. no. 56, ill.
Norman, A. V. B. Arms and Armour. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964. p. 88, fig. 89.
Blackmore, Howard. Arms and Armour. Dutton Vista Pictureback. London: Studio Vista, 1965. p. 88, fig. 89, ill. (color).
Nickel, Helmut. In the Presence of Kings: Royal Treasures from the Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1967. no. 17, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 74, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. "English Armour in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Connoisseur 172, no. 693 pp. 196–203, figs. 9, 11.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Kenneth Clark. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1970. pp. 52, 240, no. 250.
Nickel, Helmut. Arms and Armor Through the Ages. Revised ed. London: Collins, 1971. p. 79, ill.
Whitaker, Thomas Dunham, Alfred W. W. Morant, and L. C. Miall. The History & Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven, in the County of York. 3rd ed. Manchester: E.J. Morten, 1973. pp. 399–405 (Earl of Cumberland, and 1572 inventory of Skipton Castle discussed).
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 121, ill.
Abbot Hall Art Gallery. Lady Anne Clifford. London: Abbot Hall Art Gallery, 1976. (references to George Clifford, his portraits and his armorers).
Burkett, M. E. "Conclusions from the Lady Anne Clifford Exhibition." Quarto: Abbot Hall Art Gallery Quarterly Bulletin (October 1976), pp. 1–24 (discussion of Clifford family portraits).
Blair, Claude, and Lionello G. Boccia. Armi E Armature. Quaderni dell'antiquariato. Milan: Fabbri, 1982. p. 44, ill.
Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co. British Paintings, Drawings and Watercolours. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., September 21, 1983. no. 280 (a half-length portrait of George Clifford Earl of Cumberland, in what is probably meant to be this armor).
Blair, Claude. "Greenwich Armor." Transactions of the Greenwich and Lewisham Antiquarian Society (1985), pp. 6–11, pl. III.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. Arms & Armor: Essays by Stephen V. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 111–116, 439–42, figs. 43.3, 108.2.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 22–23, 64, ill.
La Rocca, Donald J. "An English Armor for the King of Portugal." Metropolitan Museum Journal (1995), p. 96, n. 37.
Williams, Alan, and Anthony de Reuck. The Royal Armoury at Greenwich 1515–1649: A History of Its Technology. Royal Armouries Monograph, Vol. 4. Leeds: Trustees of the Royal Armouries, 1995. p. 108, pl. 2.
Reuck, Anthony de. "Greenwich Revisited: or Gunpowder and the Obsolescence of Armour." The Journal of the Arms and Armour Society 15, no. 7 pp. 428, 430, tables 1, 3.
Koda, Harold. Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. p. 92, ill.
Williams, Alan. The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period. History of Warfare, Vol. 12. Leiden: Brill, 2002. pp. 797–98.
Pyhrr, Stuart W., Donald J. La Rocca, and Dirk H. Breiding. The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. pp. 28–29, n. 20.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Thomas P. Campbell. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 165, ill.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), p. 33, fig. 52.
Nickel, Helmut, William Reid, Ian Eaves, Mario Scalini, Claude Gaier, Álvaro Soler Del Campo, Jean-Pierre Reverseau, Jan Piet Pyupe, Donald J. La Rocca, Jeffrey Forgeng, Jonathan Tavares, Dirk H. Breiding, Pierre Terjanian, and Ronald S. Lauder. The Armorer's Art: Essays in Honor of Stuart Pyhrr, edited by Donald J. La Rocca. Woonsocket, Rhode Island: Andrew Mowbray Inc. – Publishers, 2014. p. 9, ill. (color).
La Rocca, Donald J. "Stuart Pyhrr, the Consumate Curator of Arms and Armor." In The Armorer's Art: Essays in Honor of Stuart Pyhrr. Woonsocket, Rhode Island: Andrew Mowbray Inc. – Publishers, 2014. p. 9, ill. (color).
Norman, A. V. B., Ian Eaves, and Howard L. Blackmore. Arms & Armour In The Collection Of Her Majesty The Queen: European Armour. 1st ed. ed. London: Royal Collection Trust, 2016. pp. 8, ill. pp. 176, pp. 177, ill. pp. 180 fig. 66, ill. pp. 186–187.
Southwick, Leslie. "The Greenwich Armour of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, and others presented to and commissioned by the Prince between 1604 and 1612." Park Lane Arms Fair (Spring 2016), pp. 34, 37–38, figs. 9–10.
Richardson, Thom. "Pieces of Advantage: Tournament Armour in Tudor England." In Tournaments: A Thousand Years of Chivalry, edited by Stefan Krause. London: Thomas Del Mar Ltd., 2022. p. 128, n. 36.
Identify moveable and static features of armor as well as functional and symbolic surface details and examine similarities and differences between human and animal "armor" through classroom viewing questions. Enhance the lesson with a sketching activity based on an English suit of armor in The Met collection.
Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608)
ca. 1587, restored and completed 1915
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