Armor from a Small Garniture for Field and Tournament
Kunz Lochner was one of the few Nuremberg armorers of the mid-sixteenth century to achieve an international reputation. His patrons included the Holy Roman Emperor, the dukes of Saxony, and the king of Poland. This man's armor bears the mark of Nuremberg; Lochner's personal mark, a rampant lion; and the date 1548. The armor was originally part of a small garniture that included exchange elements for field and tournament use. Restorations include the cuirass and the gauntlets.
A closely related horse armor also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 32.69) bears only the Nuremberg mark but can be attributed to Lochner on stylistic grounds. The elaborately embossed and etched decoration of the peytral (chest defense) includes an abbreviated inscription that may be interpreted: 1548 K[rist] I[ch] T[rau] G[anz] V[nd] G[ar] H[ans] E[rnst] H[erzog] Z[u] Sachsen (1548 In Christ I trust wholly, Hans [Johann] Ernst, Duke of Saxony). Duke Johann Ernst (1521–1553) may have commissioned the horse armor for his attendance at the Diet of Augsburg, a political assembly of the German nobility called in 1548 by Charles V to deal with the crisis of the Reformation.
A closely related horse armor also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 32.69) bears only the Nuremberg mark but can be attributed to Lochner on stylistic grounds. The elaborately embossed and etched decoration of the peytral (chest defense) includes an abbreviated inscription that may be interpreted: 1548 K[rist] I[ch] T[rau] G[anz] V[nd] G[ar] H[ans] E[rnst] H[erzog] Z[u] Sachsen (1548 In Christ I trust wholly, Hans [Johann] Ernst, Duke of Saxony). Duke Johann Ernst (1521–1553) may have commissioned the horse armor for his attendance at the Diet of Augsburg, a political assembly of the German nobility called in 1548 by Charles V to deal with the crisis of the Reformation.
Artwork Details
- Title: Armor from a Small Garniture for Field and Tournament
- Armorer: Kunz Lochner (German, Nuremberg, 1510–1567)
- Date: dated 1548, with later restorations
- Geography: Nuremberg
- Culture: German, Nuremberg
- Medium: Steel, leather, copper alloy, textile
- Dimensions: Wt. approx. 56 lb. (25.4 kg); helmet (a): H. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm); W. 8 5/8 in. (21.9 cm); D. 13 in. (33 cm); Wt. 7 lb. 10.15 oz. (3463 g); gorget (b): H. 6 in. (15.2 cm); W. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm); D. 10 in. (25.4 cm); Wt. 2 lb. (907 g); breastplate with tassets (c): H. 26 9/16 in. (67.5 cm); W. 21 in. (53.3 cm); D. 8 in. (20.3 cm); Wt. 14 lb. 11.25 oz. (6669 g); lance rest (d): H. 3 in. (7.6 cm); W. 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm); D. 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); Wt. 10.25 oz. (291 g); backplate (e): H. 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm); W. 15 1/4 in. (38.8 cm); D. 7 7/16 in. (18.9 cm); Wt. 5 lb. 11.4 oz. (2591 g); right pauldron (f): H. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm); W. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); D. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 2.5 oz. (978 g); right haute piece (g): H. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); W. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); D. 8 in. (20.3 cm); Wt. 6.75 oz. (191 g); left pauldron (h): H. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); W. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm); D. 10 3/16 in. (25.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 5.1 oz. (1051 g); left haute piece (i): H. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); W. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); D. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm); Wt. 6.55 oz. (185 g); right arm defense (j): H. 18 7/8 in. (47.9 cm); W. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); D. 5 in. (12.7 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 11.4 oz. (1230 g); left arm defense (k): H. 18 5/16 in. (46.5 cm); W. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm); D. 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 9 oz. (1162 g); right gauntlet (l): H. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); W. 5 7/16 in. (13.8 cm); D. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 5.95 oz. (622 g); left gauntlet (m): H. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm); W. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); D. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 3.3 oz. (547 g); right upper cuisse (n): H. 10 11/16 in. (27.1 cm); W. 7 3/16 in. (18.3 cm); D. 4 13/16 in. (12.2 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 5.75 oz. (616 g); right lower cuisse with poleyn (knee defense) (o): H. 8 15/16 in. (22.7 cm); W. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); D. 5 13/16 in. (14.8 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 1 oz. (481 g); left upper cuisse (p): H. 10 7/8 in. (27.6 cm); W. 7 in. (17.8 cm); D. 4 13/16 in. (12.2 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 6.5 oz. (638 g); left lower cuisse with poleyn (knee defense) (q): H. 9 in. (22.9 cm); W. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm); D. 6 5/16 in. (16 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 1.45 oz. (495 g); right greave and sabaton (r): H. 17 15/16 in. (45.6 cm); W. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); D. 12 9/16 in. (31.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 12.65 oz. (1265 g); left greave and sabaton (s): H. 18 in. (45.7 cm); W. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); D. 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 14.15 oz. (1308 g)
- Classification: Armor for Man
- Credit Line: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, 1929
- Object Number: 29.151.2a–s
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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Kunz Lochner
dated 1548, with later restorations
Kunz Lochner
ca. 1550–55
Kunz Lochner
ca. 1540–50
Kunz Lochner
1550
Kunz Lochner
ca. 1555; probably repainted later
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