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Apr 24, 2020

Oct 22, 2010

Gothic Backplate

c. 1475–1500

Germany, late 15th Century

Steel, modern leather straps

Overall: 44.5 x 34.5 x 16.5 cm (17 1/2 x 13 9/16 x 6 1/2 in.)

Weight: 2.9 kg (6.39 lbs.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1613

Location

210A Armor Court

Did you know?

This armor would have been polished mirror bright and been a spectacular sight in the sunlight.

Description

Over time the increasing effectiveness of the crossbow and longbow made steel plates necessary for protection. Around 1400 a knight was protected almost entirely by plate armor. The elements shown here (backplate and fan-shaped pauldrons), with their sculptural line, illustrate the beauty of plate armor from the Gothic age.

Provenance

Thill

?-1916

Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1916-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 21, A1 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Mentioned: p. 13 archive.org

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 45, 163; cat no. 23

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 27, p. 183.

Exhibition history

35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Gothic Backplate|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1613|year=c. 1475–1500|access-date=21 March 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Gothic Backplate

Gothic Backplate

Germany, late 15th Century

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