The elements of armor exhibited here represent parts of several closely related garnitures, the etched ornament of which can be attributed to the Augsburg etcher Jörg Sorg the Younger. Three similar armors made for Spanish knights in 1551 and 1553 were recorded in Sorg's pen-and-wash album of armor designs that is now preserved in the Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. The numerous exchange and reinforcing pieces indicate that the armor was adaptable for use not only in battle but also in several forms of tournament.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Reinforce for the Left Elbow
Etcher:Jörg Sorg the Younger (German, Augsburg, ca. 1522–1603)
Date:ca. 1550–55, some etched decoration, possibly 19th century
Geography:Augsburg
Culture:German, Augsburg
Medium:Steel, gold
Dimensions:L. 11 1/2 in. (29.21 cm); W. 8 1/2 in. (21.59 cm)
Classification:Armor Parts-Elbow Plates
Credit Line:Anonymous Gift, in memory of Cornelius Stevenson, 1923
Object Number:23.58
Ralph Bernal, London (until d. 1854; his estate sale, The Celebrated Collection of Works of Art…of that distinguished collector, Ralph Bernal, Esq, Christie and Manson, London, March 5–April 30, 1855, no. 2711); Albert Denison, 1st Lord Londesborough, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England (1855–d. 1860; by descent to his son, the 1st Earl Londesborough); William Henry Forester Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England (1860–88; Armour and Arms…of the Right Hon. Earl of Londesborough, Christie, Manson & Woods, July 4–9, 1888, no. 145, no. 7, entire lot sold for 1000 gns, to Bachereau); [Bachereau, Paris, 1888–before 1892]; Louis Moritz Richard Zschille, Großenhain, Germany (by 1892–1894; sold to Stevenson ); Cornelius Stevenson, Philadelphia (1894–d. 1922; his estate sale, The Valuable Collection of Arms and Armor formed by the late Cornelius Stevenson, Samuel T. Freeman & Co., Philadelphia, January 22–23, 1923, no. 226)
Freeman's. Valuable Collection of Arms and Armor formed by the Late Cornelius Stevenson. Philadelphia: Freeman's, January 22 – 23, 1923. p. 40, no. 226 c, ill.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Illustrated Catalogue of the Distinguished Collection of Works of Art and Vertu from the Byzantine Period to that of Louis Seize, Collected by the late Ralph Bernal, Esq.. London: Christie's, London, March 5–April 30, 1855. p. 232, no. 2711.
Fairholt, Frederick, and Thomas Wright. Miscellanea graphica: representations of ancient, medieval, and renaissance remains in the possession of Lord Londesborough. London: Chapman and Hall, 1857. Pl. XLIII, no. 7.
Forrer, Robert. Die Waffensammlung des Herrn Stadtrath Rich. Zschille in Grossenhain (Sachsen). Vol. 1. Berlin: E. Mertens, 1892. p. 4, no. 80, pl. 19, ill.
World's Columbian Exposition, 1893. Catalog of the Collections in the Museum of the "Wasserburg" (German Village). Chicago, 1893. p. 2, no. 80 (see also 04.3.280, 04.3.282).
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. p. 15, no. A.6, pl. IV, ill.
Dean, Bashford, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, February the Sixth to April the Sixteenth. New York: Gilliss Press, 1911. p. 27, no. 43, pl. XXXVI, ill.
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. 311–313, fig. 1068.
Cripps-Day, Francis Henry. A Record of Armour Sales, 1881–1924. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1925. p. 13, no. 145.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "Swords from the Dresden Armory." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (February 1929), p. 98.
Thomas, Bruno. "Die Harnischgarnitur Maximilians II. von Jörg Seusenhofer (Innsbruck 1549/50)." Belvedere: Monatsschrift für Sammler und Kunstfreunde 13 pp. 73–82.
Mann, James G. "The Etched Decoration of Armour: A Study in Classification." Proceedings of the British Academy (1940), p. 13 (MMA endorsed crescent armor noted among pieces decorated in manner of Jorg Sorg).
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 74, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 122, ill.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Collection of Armour and Arms, Carvings in Ivory. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, July 4–6 and July 9–11, 1888. p. 15, lot 145.
Attributed to Jörg Sorg the Younger (German, Augsburg, ca. 1522–1603)
ca. 1550
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