The elements constituting this armor bear the marks of different armorers, all of whom were active in Innsbruck in the 1480s and 1490s. The sallet is by Jörg Wagner (recorded 1485–92), the breastplate and backplate are by Hans Prunner (recorded 1482–99), and the rondel by Kaspar Riederer (active 1455–99). The elbow bears an effaced Innsbruck-style mark, while the left gauntlet is unmarked but of an Innsbruck type.
The armorers of Innsbruck, capital of the Austrian Tyrol, thrived under the patronage of the Habsburg court and produced armor that was internationally renowned for the strength of its steel and the beauty of its form. Located near the border between Austria and Italy, this center created armor that reflected the influence of north and south, combining the elongated and spiky German Gothic style with the rounded and more robust forms preferred in Renaissance Italy.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Composite Armor
Armorer:Sallet by Jörg Wagner (Austrian, Innsbruck, recorded 1485–92)
Armorer: Breastplate and backplate by Hans Prunner (Austrian, Innsbruck, recorded 1482–99)
Armorer: Rondel by Kaspar Riederer (Austrian, Innsbruck and Mühlau, active 1452–99)
Date:comprehensively ca. 1485–95
Geography:Innsbruck and Mühlau
Culture:Austrian, Innsbruck and Mühlau
Medium:Steel
Dimensions:14.25.1661b: Diam. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm); Wt. 8 oz. (226 g); 29.150.5a: D. of tail 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); 29.150.70: H. 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm); W. 15 in. (38.1 cm); Wt. 4 lb. 15 oz. (2240 g); 29.150.80: H. 19 5/8 in. (49.8 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 8 oz. (2948 g); 29.156.66k: Wt. 1 lb. (453.6 g); 29.158.255b: H. 14 1/2 in. (36.83 cm)
Classification:Armor for Horse and Man
Credit Line:Rondel (14.25.1661b): Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913; sallet, backplate, breastplate (29.150.5a, .70, .80): Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Bequest of Bashford Dean, 1928; couter (29.156.66k): Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1929; gauntlet (29.158.255b): Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929
William H. Riggs, Paris (until 1913; his gift to MMA).
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. 2 (29.150.5a).
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. 2 (29.150.5a).
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. 2 (29.150.5a).
Innsbruck. Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum. "Die Innsbrucker Plattnerkunst," June 26–September 30, 1954, nos. 22, 35 (29.150.5a, .70, .80).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "David and Bathsheba," May 14–September 3, 1970.
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. 6 (29.158.255b).
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. 6 (29.158.255b).
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. 6 (29.158.255b).
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. 6 (29.158.255b).
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. 6 (29.158.255b).
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. 6 (29.158.255b).
New York. New-York Historical Society. "A Pageant of Heraldry in Britain and America," October 20, 1984–January 27, 1985 (29.150.5a).
Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Museum of Art. "Songs of Glory: Medieval Art from 900–1500," January 22–April 29, 1985, nos. 153, 156 (29.150.80, 29.158.255b).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620," February 15, 2005–September 3, 2007, no. 5 (14.25.1661b).
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. 64–65, 66–68, 140, 142–43, nos. 4, 5, 56, 62, pls. IV, XII, XIII, XXXIV, XXXV (29.150.5a, .70, .80, 29.156.66k).
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. 7, no. 2, ill. (29.150.5a).
Thomas, Bruno, and Ortwin Gamber. Die Innsbrucker Plattnerkunst. Innsbruck: Tyrolia Verlag, 1954. nos. 22, 35, ill. (29.150.5a, .70, .80).
Aroldi, Aldo M. Armi e Armature Italiane Fino al XVIII Secolo. Milan: Bramante Editrice, 1961. fig. 109, ill. (29.150.5a).
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. 29–31, no. 6, ill. (29.158.255b).
Mickenberg, David. Songs of Glory: Medieval Art from 900–1500: An Exhibition. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 1985. pp. 366–67, 372–73, nos. 153, 156, ill. (29.150.80, 29.158.255b).
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "European Armor from the Imperial Ottoman Arsenal." Metropolitan Museum Journal (1989), pp. 86, 112, n. 6 (29.156.66k).
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. 6, 17, 23, 32, 34, 35, no. 5, ill. (14.25.1661b).
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