Art of Armor | Metal through Time
Armor, ca. 1500–1510 and later; helmet, ca. 1480, Italian, Steel, leather, Wt. 59 lb. 4 oz. (26.88 kg); Wt. of helmet 8 lb. 3 oz. (3718.6 g), Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913.
Medieval armor exists not just as a tangible fortress but as a crafted symphony of metal and artistry. Beyond their utility in battles long past, these pieces serve as vaults of untold stories, each dent and scratch a silent verse in an epic poem. The blacksmiths were not mere artisans; they were composers, harmonizing steel and fire into sculpted lullabies of protection and prowess. Like metal through time, these crafted marvels endure—incorruptible in form and unfading in cultural essence. As we navigate an era in which the authentic is veiled in layers of artifice, the resonance of this historical armor becomes all the more poignant. It echoes a sentiment as rare and wondrous as the last, elusive unicorn: that beauty, in its most authentic form, can indeed be immeasurable.
All artworks featured in this column are from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Helmet, ca. 1480, Italian, Steel, leather, Wt. of helmet 8 lb. 3 oz. (3718.6 g), Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913.
Armor, ca. 1500–1510 and later, Wt. 59 lb. 4 oz. (26.88 kg), Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913.
Horse Armor Made for a Member of the Collalto Family, ca. 1560 and later, Italian, probably Milan, Steel, gold, leather, Horse armor with saddle: Wt., 87 lb. 14 oz. (39.85 kg); horse armor: Wt., 65 lb. 1 oz. (29.5 kg); Bit: H. of the cheekpieces 9 1/4 (23 cm); W. 6 1/4 (15.9 cm), Fletcher Fund, 1921.
Horse Armor Probably Made for Count Antonio IV Collalto (1548–1620), ca. 1580–90 and later, Italian, probably Brescia, Steel, leather, copper alloy, textile, as mounted, H. 75 1/2 in. (191.8 cm); L. 90 in. (228.6 cm); W. 30 in. (76.2 cm); Wt. including saddle 93 lb. 1 oz. (42.2 kg), Fletcher Fund, 1921.
Armor from a Small Garniture for Field and Tournament, Kunz Lochner (German, Nuremberg, 1510–1567), dated 1548, with later restorations, German, Nuremberg, Steel, leather, copper alloy, textile, Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, 1929.
Armor from a Small Garniture for Field and Tournament, Kunz Lochner (German, Nuremberg, 1510–1567), dated 1548, with later restorations, German, Nuremberg, Steel, leather, copper alloy, textile, Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, 1929.
Portrait of Walter Devereux (1539–1576), First Earl of Essex, British Painter (British), dated 1572, Oil on wood, 41 1/8 x 31 1/2 in. (104.5 x 80 cm), Rogers Fund, 1920.
Sir John Shurley of Isfield (1565–1632), British Painter (dated 1588), Oil on wood, 35 3/4 x 29 3/8 in. (90.8 x 74.6 cm), Gift of Kate T. Davison, in memory of her husband, Henry Pomeroy Davison, 1951.
Alfonso II d’Este (1533–1597), Duke of Ferrara, Italian (Ferrarese) Painter (late 16th century), late 16th century, Italian, Ferrara, Oil on canvas, 47 x 35 3/4 in. (119.4 x 90.8 cm), Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913.
Architectural Drawing of the Interior of the Comte de Nieuwerkerke’s House, Studio of Hector-Martin Lefuel (French, Versailles 1810–1880 Paris), ca. 1870, French, Paris, Pen and watercolor on paper, 23 3/8 x 18 1/4 in. (59.3 x 46.3 cm), Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913.
Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg, late 16th–mid-17th century, German, Nuremberg, Pen and ink, watercolor, gold and silver washes; paper bound in gold-tooled leather, cover: 14 x 10 3/8 in. (35.56 x 26.35 cm); page: 13 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (34.61 x 25.08 cm), Rogers Fund, 1922.
Philip IV (1605–1665) in Parade Armor, Gaspar de Crayer (Flemish, 1584–1669), ca. 1628, Oil on canvas, 72 x 46 1/2 in. (182.9 x 118.1 cm), Bequest of Helen Hay Whitney, 1944.
Armor Garniture of George Clifford (1558–1605), Third Earl of Cumberland, Made under the direction of Jacob Halder (British, master armorer at the royal workshops at Greenwich, documented in England 1558–1608), 1586, British, Greenwich, Steel, gold, leather, textile, H. 69 1/2 in. (176.5 cm); Wt. 60 lb. (27.2 kg), Munsey Fund, 1932.
Sallet in the Shape of a Lion’s Head, ca. 1475–80, Italian, Steel, copper, gold, glass, pigment, textile, H. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm); W. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm); D. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); Wt. 7 lb. 14 oz. (3574 g), Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1923.
Armor, ca. 1400–1450 and later, Italian, Steel, copper alloy, textile, leather, H. 66 1/2 in. (168.9 cm), Wt. 41 lb. (18.6 kg), Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Helen Fahnestock Hubbard, in memory of her father, Harris C. Fahnestock, 1929.
Burgonet, Filippo Negroli (Italian, Milan ca. 1510–1579), dated 1543, Italian, Milan, Steel, gold, textile, H. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); W. 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm); D. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm); Wt. 4 lb. 2 oz. (1871 g), Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.
Burgonet, Filippo Negroli (Italian, Milan ca. 1510–1579), dated 1543, Italian, Milan, Steel, gold, textile, H. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); W. 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm); D. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm); Wt. 4 lb. 2 oz. (1871 g), Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.
Armor, helmet, pauldrons, and vambraces attributed to Kolman Helmschmid (German, Augsburg 1471–1532), ca. 1525 and later, German, Augsburg, Steel, leather, Wt. approx. 48 lb. 7 oz. (21.97 kg), Gorget: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Bequest of Bashford Dean, 1928; body armor: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, 1929; helmet: Gift of Alan Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, 1950.
Pair of Gauntlets for a Child, Lucio Piccinino (Italian, Milan, active ca. 1575–90), ca. 1585, Italian, Milan, Steel, gold, silver, L. of each 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); W. of each 4 1/2 in. (12.4 cm); D. of each 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); Wt. of each 8 oz. (226.8 g), Rogers Fund, 1919.
Ferdinando II de’ Medici (1610–1670) as a Boy, Copy after Justus Sustermans (Flemish, 17th century), Oil on canvas, 51 7/8 x 40 1/2 in. (131.8 x 102.9 cm), Bequest of Helen Hay Whitney, 1944.
The Judgment of Paris, Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, Kronach 1472–1553 Weimar), ca. 1528, Oil on beech, 40 1/8 x 28in. (101.9 x 71.1cm), Rogers Fund, 1928.
Selected by Tang Siyu.
* This story was published in noisé 03 The Last Unicorn, 2023.