The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Partial Suit of Armor in Maximilian Style: Chain Mail

Partial Suit of Armor in Maximilian Style: Chain Mail

c. 1525
steel, steel and brass rivets, leather straps
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1714.k
Location: 210A Armor Court

Description

This fluted armor was visually most striking in natural sunlight, which created a dazzling effect as it reflected off the polished, rippling steel. The flutings may have originated as a means of imitating the pleatings of male costume of the day. It quickly became apparent, however, that the flutings were also a strengthening device, similar to corrugated metal. This enabled the armorer to use plates of thinner (and therefore lighter) steel. Such suits of armor demanded time-consuming and highly precise work from the armorer, which in turn quickly drove the production costs high enough that the fashion disappeared by 1540.
  • Radizwill Coll., Poland; Baron de Cosson. cat. #164.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 292-293, no. 111
  • Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008).
    Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007) and the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
    Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/10/1998); "Armor Court Reinstallation"
    Cleveland Museum of Art, "The Forge Of Vulcan: European Arms and Armor," November 24, 1992-May 30, 1993,.
  • {{cite web|title=Partial Suit of Armor in Maximilian Style: Chain Mail|url=false|author=|year=c. 1525|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1714.k