Arm Defense

15th century

Not on view

This is part of a large find of medieval armor discovered in 1840 in the ruins of the fortress of Chalcis, on the Greek island of Euboea (then a Venetian colony called Negroponte). The fortress had been captured and destroyed by the Turks in 1470. Now divided largely between the Ethnological Museum, Athens, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Chalcis hoard contains many rare and unusual elements of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century armor. Of particular importance are the variety of headpieces and the many fragments of brigandines (armor for the torso constructed of small plates riveted to layers of fabric), some of which retain portions of their original velvet covering. The Chalcis armor provides a unique picture of the armament used in the Aegean, one of the easternmost military outposts of the Venetian empire.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Arm Defense
Date: 15th century
Culture: Italian
Medium: Steel, leather
Dimensions: H. 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm); W. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); D. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); Wt. 2 lbs. 2.7 oz. (983.7g)
Classification: Armor Parts
Credit Line: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Bequest of Bashford Dean, 1928
Object Number: 29.150.16, .30, .61, .128
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

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Inner Plate of a Forearm Defense (Vambrace), Steel, leather, Italian — Inner Plate of a Forearm Defense (Vambrace)
Italian
ca. 1425–1450, with later restorations

Elbow Defense (Couter), Steel, Italian — Elbow Defense (Couter)
Italian
ca. 1425–1450, with later restorations

Upper Arm Defense (Rerebrace), Steel, leather, Italian — Upper Arm Defense (Rerebrace)
Italian
ca. 1425–1450, with later restorations

Outer Plate of a Forearm Defense (Vambrace), Steel, leather, Italian — Outer Plate of a Forearm Defense (Vambrace)
Italian
ca. 1445–1450, with later restorations

Sallet in the Shape of a Lion's Head, Steel, copper, gold, glass, pigment, textile, Italian — Sallet in the Shape of a Lion's Head
Italian
ca. 1475–80

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