The horseman's armor and the horse bard, composed of elements from different sources, are associated here to provide a representation of the heavy cavalry as it is illustrated frequently in Persian miniatures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The armors are of distinctly Near Eastern type, composed of small steel plates connected by mail. Although the plates originally were polished mirror bright, armors for man and horse frequently were covered with colorful textiles. Among the associated pieces, the extremely tall conical helmet is noteworthy as an example of a type worn in Iran and Russia in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Similar helmets depicted in miniature paintings often show a small pennon attached to the long finial. The shield, engraved with large cartouches enclosing floral arabesques, may have originated in fifteenth-century Iran. The ax, with its long, faceted steel shaft and distinctively shaped blade, is typical of those carried by the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria in the late fifteenth to early sixteenth century. The shaffron (defense for the horses's head) is engraved with arabesques of a type suggesting an Ottoman Turkish origin between about 1525 and 1550.
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32.75.248a
32.75.248a, detail
32.75.248a, detail
Artwork Details
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Title:Armor for Man and Horse
Date:comprehensively ca. 1450–1550
Culture:Syrian, Iranian, and Turkish
Medium:Steel, leather
Dimensions:Wt. of man's armor, 31 lb. 2 oz. (14.12 kg); L. of shaffron 22 5/8 in. (57.5 cm); Wt. of shaffron 3 lb. 12 oz. (1694 g); Wt. of horse armor, 71 lb. 15 oz. (32.63 kg)
Classification:Armor for Horse and Man
Credit Line:Armor for man and horse: The Collection of Giovanni P. Morosini, presented by his daughter Giulia, 1932
Helmet: Rogers Fund, 1904
Shield, Ax, Saddle, Stirrups: Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935
Marking: Stamped on the side of the helmet (04.3.208), and the crinet (1973.320.1b: the Constantinople Armory mark.
Bloomington, Ind. Indiana University Art Museum. "Islamic Art Across the World: An Exhibition Prepared by Theodore Bowie in Partial Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Indiana University," June 17–October 1, 1970, no. 290 (36.25.610).
Bowie, Theodore Robert. Islamic Art Across The World: An Exhibition. Bloomington: Indiana University, June 18 to October 1, 1970. no. 290 (36.25.610).
Oxenham & Sons. A Matchless Collection of Ancient Armour and Arms Recently Imported from Constantinople. London, July 21–22, 1842. no. 237 (36.25.610; "A fine Turkish engraved shield," possibly this one?).
Beardmore, John. A Catalogue with Illustrations of the Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, at Uplands, Near Fareham, Hampshire. London: Printed by T. and W. Boone, 1845. p. 23, no. 383, pl. 17 (36.25.610).
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. p. 113, no. N. 12 (04.3.208).
Christie's, London and John Beardmore. Catalogue of the collection of arms & armour formed early in the 19th century by the late John Beardmore, Esq. ... Colonel H. Carey Batten, O.B.E. Christie, Manson and Woods, London: Christie's, London, 7/5/1921. no. 43 (36.25.610).
Grancsay, Stephen V., Thomas T. Hopes, George C. Stone, and Fred G. Blakeslee. [Boxed Set Containing "Brief Essays on Armor and Arms," Nos. 1–4 and a Series of 17 Pamphlets of Photographs of Arms and Armor in Members' Collections, Nos. 1–85]. New York: Armor and Arms Club, 1925. Photographs nos. 16–20, no. 3[18] (36.25.610).
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. 37, 110–11, 532, 534, figs. 50.1 (36.25.610), 142.5 (36.25.1829), 680.7 (36.25.576).
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. New York: Jack Brussel, Pub., 1961. pp. 37, 110–11, 532, 534, figs. 50.1 (36.25.610), 142.5 (36.25.1829), 680.7 (36.25.576).
Stone, George Cameron, and Donald J. La Rocca. 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. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1999. pp. 37, 110–11, 532, 534, figs. 50.1 (36.25.610), 142.5 (36.25.1829), 680.7 (36.25.576).
American Art Association. Arms and Armor; Valuable Gothic and Renaissance Tapestries, Paintings by Old Masters; Majolica; Stone Sculptures and Wood Carvings; Furniture; Wrought Iron; Books on Art: Collection of Frank Gair Macomber. Sold by His Order.. New York: American Art Association, December 10–12, 1936. no. 345, ill. (1973.320.1b, 2–.4).
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York. Collectors' Firearms. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 21–22, 1944. no. 395, ill. (1973.320.1b, 2–.4).
Nickel, Helmut. "A Mamluke Axe." In Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, edited by Richard Ettinghausen. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. pp. 213–25, fig. 13 (36.25.1829).
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 131, ill. (04.3.208, 32.75.248a).
Miller, Yuri. "Nogle Typer af Orientalske Hjelme fra det 16. og 17. Århundrede og Deres Europæske Efterligninger." Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger (2006), pp. 58, 77, no. 16 (04.3.208).
Alexander, David, Stuart W. Pyhrr, and Will Kwiatkowski. Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. pp. 66–67, no. 20, ill. (04.3.208); pp. vi, 122–23, no. 44, ill. (36.25.610); pp. 130–31, no. 48, ill. (32.75.248a); p. 233, no. 95, ill. (36.25.1829).
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