The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 28, 2023

Gothic Breastplate

late 1400s

South Germany or Austria, Innsbruck, late 15th century

Steel

Overall: 53.2 x 35.2 x 16.3 cm (20 15/16 x 13 7/8 x 6 7/16 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1720

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

As a result of the introduction of plate armor, the shield became superfluous and gradually disappeared from use.

Description

This elegantly constructed breastplate consists of two primary plates of steel fastened at center by a rivet. The lower plate is embellished with a border of embossed flutes that converge upward and terminate in a fleur-de-lys. The pair of rivet holes in the upper right breast accommodated a lance rest, now lost.

Provenance
Thill, Vienna
?-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. 61, C2; Reproduced: Plate XII, C2 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Reproduction: p. 33 archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 46, 164; cat. no. 32
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
Exhibition history

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

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1720