Tickets
English
DonateMembership
Tickets

Horse Armor Made for Johann Ernst, Duke of Saxony-Coburg (1521–1553)

Armorer Kunz Lochner German
dated 1548
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 371
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 horse armor 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.

The associated man's armor also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 29.151.2) 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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Horse Armor Made for Johann Ernst, Duke of Saxony-Coburg (1521–1553)
  • Armorer: Kunz Lochner (German, Nuremberg, 1510–1567)
  • Date: dated 1548
  • Geography: Nuremberg
  • Culture: German, Nuremberg
  • Medium: Steel, leather, copper alloy, textile
  • Dimensions: Horse armor (a–h): Wt. 60 lb. 9 oz. (27.5 kg); Wt. including saddle approx. 92 lb.(41.73 kg); shaffron (a): Wt. 5 lb. 13 oz. (2637 g); crinet (b): Wt. 11 lb. 1 oz. (5018 g); central peytral plate (c): Wt. 3 lb. 12 oz. (1701 g); right peytral plate (d): Wt. 3 lb. 15 oz. (1786 g); left peytral plate (e): Wt. 3 lb. 7 oz. (1559 g); crupper (f): Wt. 27 lb. 8 oz. (12.47 kg); right flanchard (g): Wt. 2 lb. 8 oz. (1134 g); left flanchard (h): Wt. 2 lb. 9 oz. (1162 g); saddle (i–n): Wt. 28 lb. 14 oz. (13.1 kg); bit: H. 6 in (15.2 cm); W. 11 in (27.9 cm)
  • Classification: Armor for Horse
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1932
  • Object Number: 32.69a–q
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Armor for Man and Horse
Kunz Lochner (German, Nuremberg, 1510–1567)
dated 1548, with later restorations
Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), Kunz Lochner German, Steel, brass, leather, German, Nuremberg
Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564)
Armorer Kunz Lochner
dated 1549
Armor with Matching Shaffron and Saddle Plates, Steel, copper alloy, silver, gold, leather, textile, Italian, Milan
Armor with Matching Shaffron and Saddle Plates
Italian, Milan
ca. 1600
Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver, serial no. 12406, Samuel Colt American, Steel, brass, gold, wood (walnut), American, Hartford, Connecticut
Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver, serial no. 12406
Manufacturer Samuel Colt
ca. 1853
Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg, Pen and ink, watercolor, gold and silver washes; paper bound in gold-tooled leather, German, Nuremberg
Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg
German, Nuremberg
late 16th–mid-17th century

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Timeline of Art History

Entries and chronologies from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.