The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Gothic Backplate

Gothic Backplate

c. 1475–1500
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.)
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.
  • Thill
    ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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.
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).
  • {{cite web|title=Gothic Backplate|url=false|author=|year=c. 1475–1500|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1613