This beautifully decorated shield belonged to a small garniture made for the Elizabethan courtier Sir John Smythe (1534–1607). Most of the garniture appears to have been made in Augsburg, though additional pieces were made later in the English royal workshops at Greenwich. The interior of the shield is stamped with a mark consisting of the letter A within a pearled circle. Its extremely fine etched and gilt decoration includes large cartouches with allegorical figures representing Fortune, Justice, and Fortitude. Elements for a light cavalry armor and other portions of the Smythe garniture are preserved in the Royal Armouries, Leeds.
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Title:Shield of Sir John Smythe (1534–1607)
Date:ca. 1575–85
Geography:Augsburg
Culture:German, Augsburg
Medium:Steel, gold
Dimensions:Diam. 21 7/8 in. (55.6 cm); Wt. 7 lb. 15 oz. (3600 g)
Classification:Shields
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Object Number:04.3.277
Marking: Stamped on the inner face with an "A" encircled with a pearled border (the Augsburg guild mark).
Charles Maurice Camille de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, Paris (until 1904; sold to MMA).
London. H. M. Tower of London. "Exhibition of Armour Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich," May 22–September 29, 1951, no. 20 Shield included in description of armor of Sir John Smythe.
Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–March 18, 1953, no. 34.
San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 18–June 7, 1953, no. 34.
Pittsburgh. Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 1953–April 1954, no. 34.
Augsburg. Zeughaus. "Welt im Umbruch: Augsburg zwischen Renaissance und Barock," June 28–September 28, 1980, no. 939.
Augsburg. Rathaus. "Welt im Umbruch: Augsburg zwischen Renaissance und Barock," June 28–September 28, 1980, no. 939.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Defensive Display: Shields from The Met Collection," May 12, 2025–Ongoing.
de Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. p. 44, no. D.4, ill. fig. 11.
Laking, Guy Francis, Sir. "The Romance of Some Pieces of Armour." The Art-Journal (1907), pp. 33–36; ill. fig. p. 33.
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. 243–244, ill.fig. 1315.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Maximilian Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (April 1928), p. 198–200, fig. p. 199.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Swords from the Dresden Armory." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (February 1929), pp. 90–92, 98–99, figs. 8–10.
Cripps-Day, Francis Henry. "An Introduction to the Study of Greenwich Armour." Fragmenta Armamentaria (1934), pp. 82–85.
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. pp. 26–28; no. 20; ill. figs. XXII, XXIII, XXXIII(d).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1953. p. 16, no. 34, ill.
Gamber, Ortwin. "The Origin and System of Greenich Armour Garnitures." In 3rd Congress of the Association of Museums of Arms and Military History : Report. London: IAMAM, 1963. pp. 44–57 (sheild cited on pp. 54–55).
Dufty, Arthur Richard, and William Reid. European Armour in the Tower of London. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1968. pls. XLVIII, XLIX, XCVIII, XCIX, and CLV.
Gamber, Ortwin. "Armour Made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich: Style and Construction." The Scottish Art Review (1969), pp. 1–13, 30.
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 75, ill.
Hoefelmayr-Straube, Ingeborg, Annette Pfaff-Stöhr, Christof Spuler, and Kurt Gramer. Städtisches Museum Hans zum Cavazzen Lindau/B. Grosse Kunstführer ; Bd. 85. Munich: Schnell & Steiner, 1980.
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. 30–32, fig. 9.1.
Hammond, Peter. The Royal Armouries Official Guide. London: Trustees of the Royal Armouries, 1986. p. 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. pp. 99–100.
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