The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 21, 2023

Body Guard (Brigandine)

c. 1500–1525

Italy (?), early 16th Century

Linen; gold velvet; steel; brass

Overall: 56.5 x 47.6 cm (22 1/4 x 18 3/4 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1921.1250

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

This vest only weighs about five and a half pounds, considerably lighter than plate armor.

Description

The brigandine is a light, vest-like body defense popular with both knights and infantry from the 1400s through about 1550. It is constructed of multiple small plates attached to a cloth covering. Finer examples, like this one, are faced in velvet or fabric made of gold thread. The lightweight brigandine provided protection from the weather, and was extremely flexible.

Provenance
1921
Sale: American Art Association, New York, NY, Nov. 18-19, 1921
1921-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
American Art Association. An Important Collection of Ancient Arms and Armor. 1921. cat. no. 236
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. 66, C14; Reproduced: Plate XIV, C14 archive.org
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948. Reproduced: p. 22 archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 39, p. 164
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 15, p. 183
Exhibition history

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

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.1250