From about the third century B.C. through the early fourteenth century A.D., mail, also called chain mail, was the predominant and most effective type of body armor known in Europe. From about the mid-fifteenth century onward, mail was used in conjunction with full plate armor to fill the gaps between plates.
Separate mail sleeves were made to be worn with a cuirass (breastplate and backplate); shaped panels of mail called gussets, covered the armpits or the crooks of the elbows and were attached to arming jackets, garments specially tailored to be worn under armor; and mail breeches, called brayettes or pairs of paunces, could be worn by men fighting on foot.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Cape of Mail
Date:ca. 1530
Culture:Italian
Medium:Steel, iron, copper alloy (latten), brass
Dimensions:W. 43 11/16 in. (111 cm); H. 22 in. (56 cm); Diam. (outside) of collar links 3/8 in. (9.9 mm); Diam. (inside) of collar links 1/4 in. (6.0 mm); Diam. (outside) of cape links 3/8 in. (9.9 cm); Diam. (inside) of cape links 9/32 in. (6.5 mm); Wt. 14 lbs. 13 oz. (6.7 kg)
Classification:Mail
Credit Line:Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number:14.25.1534
William H. Riggs, Paris (until 1913; his gift to MMA).
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. 11.
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. 11.
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. 11.
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. 11.
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. 11.
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. 11.
Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. Portland, ME: Southworth Press, 1934. pp. 115, 116, fig. 150 (1).
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 62, ill.
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. 40–41, no. 11, ill.
Left reinforcing elbow stamped with marks belonging to the Missaglia workshop (Italian, Milan, recorded 1430–1529)
ca. 1450–1525 and later
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