Half Armor
Although made in Nuremberg, this cavalryman’s armor is an unusual mix of different regional styles. The helmet is based on an eastern European type known as the Zischägge, which was inspired by Turkish examples. The pauldrons (shoulder defenses) with their overlapping, fanlike plates are of a type associated with Swiss armors of the period.
The armor is stamped with the Nuremberg mark and an armorer’s mark—a shield containing the letters MSI above a pair of shears—that has been attributed to Martin Schneider the Younger.
Despite its relative plainness, the armor is very well made. It would have been worn by a cavalryman equipped with a sword, a pair of pistols, and possibly a carbine (a short form of musket).
The armor is stamped with the Nuremberg mark and an armorer’s mark—a shield containing the letters MSI above a pair of shears—that has been attributed to Martin Schneider the Younger.
Despite its relative plainness, the armor is very well made. It would have been worn by a cavalryman equipped with a sword, a pair of pistols, and possibly a carbine (a short form of musket).
Artwork Details
- Title: Half Armor
- Armorer: Attributed to Martin Schneider the Younger (German, Nuremberg, active ca. 1610–20)
- Date: 1610–20
- Geography: Nuremberg
- Culture: German, Nuremberg
- Medium: Steel
- Dimensions: Wt. 41 lb. 15 oz. (19.01 kg)
- Classification: Armor for Man-1/2 Armor
- Credit Line: Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
- Object Number: 14.25.684a–i
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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Martin Schneider the Younger
ca. 1570
German, probably Nuremberg
dated 1727
Joseph Deutschmann
ca. 1740
Jean Drouart
dated 1712
Caspar Spät
Elias Becker
dated 1668
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