The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 29, 2023

Gorget (from a funerary achievement?)

c.1590–1625

This object has related works. See Close Helmet (from a funerary achievement?)

Netherlands(?), late 16th-early 17th Century

Gilded steel (invaded with rust); red velvet lining, plume holder

Overall: 32.4 x 24.8 x 19.1 cm (12 3/4 x 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1806

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

This helmet and gorget has been decorated by fire-gilding, an extremely toxic process that produced a look of great luxury.

Description

This helmet was originally intended for field use. Later, it seems to have served a funerary purpose, probably as an ornament (known as a funerary achievement) suspended over the church tomb of an unidentified knight. As such, it would have been a rich and imposing symbol of the dead knight's social rank and personal authority.

Provenance
?-1916
Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, MA (1849-1941), 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. 69, C24 archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 84, 165, cat. no. 57
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 64, p. 185
Exhibition history

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

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1806