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Reinforce for a Helmet (Gupfe)

1549–50
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 374
This exquisitely decorated plate fit as a reinforce over the bowl of a helmet for the tournament on foot. It belongs to an armor made for Maximilian II (1527–1576, emperor from 1564) upon his election as king of Bohemia in 1549. The major elements of the armor, a garniture for field and tournament use, are in the former imperial armory in Vienna.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Reinforce for a Helmet (Gupfe)
  • Armorer: Mattheus Frauenpreis the Elder (German, Augsburg, recorded 1510–49)
  • Armorer: Mattheus Frauenpreis the Younger (German, Augsburg, 1530–1604)
  • Etcher: Jörg Sorg the Younger (German, Augsburg, ca. 1522–1603)
  • Date: 1549–50
  • Geography: Augsburg
  • Culture: German, Augsburg
  • Medium: Steel, gold
  • Dimensions: H. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm); W. 8 11/16 in. (22.1 cm); D. 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 5 oz. (595 g)
  • Classification: Helmets
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1904
  • Object Number: 04.3.218
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

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Portions of a Costume Armor
Armorer Kolman Helmschmid
ca. 1525
Helmet (Sallet), Steel, iron, gold, silver, cloisonné enamel, leather, textile, Spanish, possibly Granada
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Spanish, possibly Granada
late 15th–early 16th century
Armor of Henry II, King of France (reigned 1547–59), Jean Cousin the Elder French, Steel, gold, silver, leather, textile, French, possibly Paris
Armor of Henry II, King of France (reigned 1547–59)
Designer Part of the decoration design by Jean Cousin the Elder
Designer Part of the decoration design possibly by Baptiste Pellerin
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Gauntlet for the Left Hand, Jörg Sigman German, Steel, gold, copper alloy, leather, German, Augsburg
Gauntlet for the Left Hand
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