Armor Garniture of George Clifford (1558–1605), Third Earl of Cumberland
The Cumberland armor is part of a garniture for field and tournament use. It was made in the royal workshops at Greenwich under the direction of the master armorer Jacob Halder (documented in England 1558–1608). The complete garniture is illustrated in the Jacobe Album, a late sixteenth-century manuscript of pen-and-wash drawings that records the decorated armors produced in the Greenwich workshops. The surviving pieces are the man’s armor and several exchange or reinforcing elements––a grandguard (defense for the lower face and upper left torso), passguard (defense for the left elbow), and four vamplates (hand defenses affixed to the lance) for the tilt; a close helmet with detachable visor reinforce for the tournament fought on foot––and horse armor, consisting of a shaffron (head defense) and saddle plates.
The Cumberland armor is the best preserved armor garniture from the royal workshops at Greenwich. It represents a technical and decorative high point of the Greenwich school.
Artwork Details
- Title:
Armor Garniture of George Clifford (1558–1605), Third Earl of Cumberland
- Armorer: Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608)
- Date: 1586
- Geography: Greenwich
- Culture: British, Greenwich
- Medium: Steel, gold, leather, textile
- Dimensions: H. 69 1/2 in. (176.5 cm); Wt. 60 lb. (27.2 kg)
- Classification: Armor for Man
- Credit Line: Munsey Fund, 1932
- Object Number: 32.130.6a–y
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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4425. Armor of George Clifford, Part 1
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