Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

To throw a gauntlet or armored glove at the feet of your enemy or opponent was a grave insult, one only to be matched with personal combat. This is where we get the modern phrase "throw down the gauntlet."

Description

Plate armor alternately decorated with brightly polished ("white") and darkened ("black") surface areas is commonly referred to as "black and white" armor. The black color results from painting the surface areas, or merely leaving them dark from the forging process. The gauntlet here has been further embellished with an embossed cuff. The 1500s saw the revival of this ancient technique also known as repoussé. First the pattern is drawn onto the surface and then hammered and punched from the inside to gradually shape the desired raised design on the outer surface of the metal. This technique was reserved for only the costliest of armors.

Provenance

?-1916

Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1916-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. no. 287 archive.org

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. 74, C40 archive.org

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 88-89, 163, cat. no. 12

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 184, cat. no. 34

Exhibition history

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

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Black and White Elbow Gauntlet for the Right Hand

North Germany, 16th century

Location

Fun Fact

Description