Barbute

ca. 1475

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 373

By the end of the thirteenth century, the armor-producing cities of northern Italy had gained an international reputation and were exporting arms and armor throughout Europe. Milan was preeminent through the sixteenth century, followed by Brescia. The greatest Milanese armorers were members of the Missaglia family, a dynasty of merchant-armorers active from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth century. During the fifteenth century, the Italians perfected complete armor of plate. Probably developed in Milan around 1400, it covered the wearer from head to foot. The advanced technical and stylistic features of Milanese armor influenced local craftsmen wherever it was exported. Thus, in the fifteenth century, armors worn across western Europe from Spain to Flanders displayed Italian characteristics. Thriving local centers of armor-making were found at Burgos and Calatayud in Spain; Paris, Tours, and Lyons in France; and Arbois in Burgundy.

Artwork Details

Title: Barbute
Date: ca. 1475
Geography: probably Milan
Culture: Italian, probably Milan
Medium: Steel
Dimensions: H. 10 5/8 in. (27 cm); W. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); D. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); Wt. 5 lb. 15 oz. (2682 g)
Classification: Helmets
Credit Line: Gift of Alan Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, 1949
Object Number: 49.163.2
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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Armet, LIONARDO Italian, Steel, copper alloy, Italian, probably Milan — Armet
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Field Armor of King Henry VIII
of England (reigned 1509–47), Steel, gold, textile,
leather, Italian, Milan or Brescia — Field Armor of King Henry VIII of England (reigned 1509–47)
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Elements of an Italian Light-Cavalry Armor <i>alla Tedesca</i> (in the German Fashion), Steel, gold, copper alloy, leather, Italian, Milan — Elements of an Italian Light-Cavalry Armor *alla Tedesca* (in the German Fashion)
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