Standing Shield

probably early 14th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 373

Shields of this exceptionally large size and weight (49 lb. [22 kg]) were propped on the ground to form a wall that protected archers and infantrymen. This example is decorated with the coat of arms of the city of Erfurt––a silver wheel on a red ground––and was probably made before 1324, when the city's coat of arms changed.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Standing Shield
Date: probably early 14th century
Geography: Erfurt
Culture: German, Erfurt
Medium: Wood, leather, gesso, silver foil, polychromy, iron
Dimensions: H. 67 1/2 in. (171.45 cm); W. 28 3/4 in. (73.03 cm); Wt. 49 lb. (22.23 kg)
Classification: Shields
Credit Line: Gift of Bashford Dean, 1922
Object Number: 22.164.1
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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Standing Shield, Wood, leather, gesso, silver foil, gold lacquer, polychromy, iron, German, Erfurt — Standing Shield
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1385–87

Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe), Wood, leather, silver, gesso, polychromy, iron, German — Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)
German
ca. 1450–1500

Sword, Steel, silver, copper alloy, leather, Western European — Sword
Western European
ca. 1400

Gauntlet for the Right Hand, from Tannenberg Castle, Steel, German — Gauntlet for the Right Hand, from Tannenberg Castle
German
ca. 1380

Crossbow of Count Ulrich V of Württemberg (1413–1480), Heinrich Heid von Winterthur probably Swiss, Wood (European hornbeam), horn, animal sinew, staghorn, birch bark, iron alloy, copper alloy, pigment, German, probably Stuttgart — Crossbow of Count Ulrich V of Württemberg (1413–1480)
Attributed to Heinrich Heid von Winterthur
dated 1460

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