Kunz Lochner was one of the few Nuremberg armorers of the mid-sixteenth century to achieve an international reputation. His patrons included the Holy Roman Emperor, the dukes of Saxony, and the king of Poland. This man's armor bears the mark of Nuremberg; Lochner's personal mark, a rampant lion; and the date 1548. The armor was originally part of a small garniture that included exchange elements for field and tournament use. Restorations include the cuirass and the gauntlets.
The horse armor bears only the Nuremberg mark but can be attributed to Lochner on stylistic grounds. The elaborately embossed and etched decoration of the peytral (chest defense) includes an abbreviated inscription that may be interpreted: 1548 K[rist] I[ch] T[rau] G[anz] V[nd] G[ar] H[ans] E[rnst] H[erzog] Z[u] Sachsen (1548 In Christ I trust wholly, Hans [Johann] Ernst, Duke of Saxony). Duke Johann Ernst (1521–1553) may have commissioned the horse armor for his attendance at the Diet of Augsburg, a political assembly of the German nobility called in 1548 by Charles V to deal with the crisis of the Reformation.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Equestrian figures, Bloomberg Court, Arms and Armor View 3; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The John Pierpont Morgan Wing: The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Arms and Armor Court (Gallery 371)
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Dimensions:man's armor: Wt. approx. 56 lb. (25.4 kg); horse armor with saddle: Wt. 92 lb. (41.7 kg)
Classification:Armor for Horse and Man
Credit Line:man's armor: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, 1929; mail sleeves: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929; horse armor: Rogers Fund, 1932
Inscription: Inscribed on the central plate of the peytral (horse's chest defense): 1548 K[rist] I[ch] T[rau] G[anz] V[nd] G[ar] H[ans] E[rnst] H[erzog] Z[u] Sachsen (1548 In Christ I trust wholly, Hans [Johann] Ernst, Duke of Saxony); in cartouche on the cantle plate, appears to be purposely effaced: possibly I M I, which may be the initials of the etcher; on the pommel of the saddle: K L.
Marking: On the helmet: traces of the Nuremberg mark on the ventail; on the gorget: Nuremberg and Kunz Lochner marks on the front plate; also an N within a pearled border on the interior; on the right pauldron (shoulder defense): traces of the Nuremberg and Kunz Lochner marks on the upper lame; also an N within a pearled border on the interior; on the left pauldron (shoulder defense): Kunz Lochner mark on the upper lame; also an N within a pearled border on the interior; on the arm defenses: traces of the Nuremberg and Kunz Lochner marks on the upper lames; on the shaffron (horse's head defense): an N within a pearled border on the interior; on the crinet (horse's neck defense): the Nuremberg mark on the lower lame; on the peytral (horse's chest defense): the Nuremberg mark on the exterior; also an N within a pearled circle on the interior; on the left flanchard (horse's flank defense): an N within a pearled border on the interior; on the crupper (horse's rump defense): the Nuremberg mark on the upper narrow lame.
Théodore Fischer, Lucerne (until 1932; sold to MMA).; Armor for man: Princes of Liechtenstein; Bashford Dean, New York (until d. 1928; by descent to his widow); Mary Alice Dyckman Dean (1928–1929; her gift to MMA).; mail sleeves: Bashford Dean, New York (until d. 1928); and in turn, his widow Mary Alice Dyckman Dean (1928–1929; sold to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art Treasures of the Metropolitan," November 7, 1952–September 7, 1953, no. 171.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Gothic and Renaissance Art in Nuremberg, 1300–1550," April 8–June 22, 1986, no. 275.
Nuremberg. Germanisches Nationalmuseum. "Nürnberg 1300–1550: Kunst der Gotik und Renaissance," July 24–September 28, 1986, no. 275.
Schloss Erbach. Kurze Beschreibung des Rittersaales in dem Schlosse zu Erbach im Odenwalde und der in demselben aufgestellten Rüstungen und Waffen. Amorbach: H. W. Wolkhart, 1808. pp. 10–11, I. 4 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Schloss Erbach. Kurze Beschreibung des Rittersaales in dem Schlosse zu Erbach im Odenwalde und der in demselben aufgestellten Rüstungen und Waffen. Amorbach: H. W. Wolkhart, 1812. p. 10, I. 4 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Kresš, G. L. von. Rittersaal im Schlosse zu Erbach im Odenwalde: gezeichnet und in aqua tinta geätzt von G.L. v. Kresš. Offenbach a.M, 1832. p. 6, I. 4 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Gurlitt, Cornelius. "Deutsche Turniere, Rüstungen und Plattner des XVI. Jahrhunderts: Archivalische Forschungen." PhD diss., Gilbers'sche Königl. Hof-Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1889. pp. 79–80, no. 41 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Schaefer, Georg. Kunstdenkmäler im Grossherzogthum Hessen. Inventarisirung und beschreibende Darstellung der Werke der Architektur, Plastik, Malerei und des Kunstgewerbes bis zum Schluss des XVIII Jahrhunderts. A. Provinz Starkenburg, Kries Erbach. Darmstadt: A. Bergstraesser, 1891. p. 67, fig. 38 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Boeheim, Wendelin. "Nürnberger Waffenschmiede und ihre Werke in der kaiserlichen und in anderen Sammlungen." Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses (1895), pp. 388–99, ill. (armor, 29.151.2a–s).
Boeheim, Wendelin. Meister der Waffenschmiedekunst vom XIV. bis ins XVIII. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Kunst und des Kunsthandwerks. Berlin: W. Moeser, 1897. pp. 118–20 (armor, 29.151.2a–s).
Hortstein, O. v. "Reisenotizen eines Waffensammlers." Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde, (1906–08), pp. 245–246 (armor, 29.151.2a–s).
Hortstein, O. v. "Der Bund der 'Wildensteiner Ritterschaft zur blauen Erde' (Fachnotizen)." Zeitschrift Für historische Waffenkunde, Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 4 pp. 286–87 (armor, 29.151.2a–s).
Lehfeldt, Paul, and Georg Voss. "Herzogthum Sachsen–Coburg und Gotha. Landrathsamt Coburg. Amtsgerichtsbezirke Neustadt, Rodach, Sonnefeld, Königsberg, Coburg. Die Stadt Coburg. Die Veste Coburg." In Bau– und Kunst–Denkmäler Thüringens. , Vol. [4], Vol. 4, no. 32/33. Jena: Fischer, 1907. (general information about the Coburg armor collection).
Müller-Hickler, Hans. Die Waffensammlungen in Erbach i. O. K. F. Bender, 1923. pls. 6, 8 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Müller-Hickler, Hans. Bezeichnung der Rüstungen und Waffen in dem Rittersaal Sr. Erlaucht des Grafen Konrad zu Erbach, Erbach i. O. Darmstadt, 1926. pls. 6, 8 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Haenel, E. "Johann Heinrich Merck, Die Lukrezia und Die Deutsche Renaissance." In Karl Koetschau: Von Seinen Freunden Und Verehrern Zum 60. Geburtstag Am 27. März 1928. Düsseldorf: Verlag des Kunstvereins für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, 1928. pp. 62–63 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Grancsay, Stephen V. "A Historical Horse Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (July 1932), pp. 169, 176–78, figs. 1–2, ill. cover page.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Stephen V. Grancsay, and Carl Otto von Kienbusch. The Bashford Dean Collection of Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Portland, ME: Southworth Press for the Armor and Arms Club of New York City, 1933. pp. 89–91, no. 12, pl. XXIII (armor, 29.151.2a–s).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. pp. 2–3, pl. 16 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1946. pp. 2–3, pl. 16 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 3rd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. pp. 2–3, pl. 16 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Francis Henry Taylor, and Edith Appleton Standen. Art Treasures of the Metropolitan: A Selection from the European and Asiatic Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, edited by Marshall Davidson. 1st ed. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1952. pp. 175, 236, no. 171, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The New Galleries of European Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (May 1956), p. 227, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Historical Armor: A Picture Book. 4th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1957. pp. 2–3, pl. 16 (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Schedelmann, Hans. "Ein Rückblick auf den Waffenmarkt des letzten halben Jahrhunderts." Waffen– und Kostümkunde: Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für historische Waffen– und Kostümkunde, Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 32, ser. 3 v. 15, no.1 p. 26, no. 14, ill. (horse armor, 32.69a–q).
Gamber, Ortwin. "Der Plattner Kunz Lochner - Harnische als Zeugnisse Habsburgishcer Politik." Jahrbuch Der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien (1984), pp. 35–60.
Angerer, Martin, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Nürnberg, 1300–1550: Kunst der Gotik und Renaissance. 1st ed. Munich: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 464–66, no. 275, ill.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Gothic and Renaissance Art in Nuremberg, 1300–1550. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 1986. pp. 464–66, no. 275, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 19, 64, ill.
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. frontispiece, 24–25, figs. 18–20.
Fallows, Noel. Jousting in Medieval and Renaissance Iberia. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010. pp. 243–44, fig. 145.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. 5, 31–32, fig. 48.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
