The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 7, 2026

A polished steel armor set includes a helmet and breastplate. The helmet features a high, serrated ridge and a wide brim, with a cluster of small holes on the side plate. The rounded breastplate includes a curved metal hook and a short skirt of overlapping bands. The edges of both pieces are outlined with a twisted, rope-like pattern.

Elements from an Armor

c. 1540–70

Germany

steel, leather bands; steel; steel and leather
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1804
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

Although all these elements were accessioned together, they are not from the same original suit.

Description

A full suit of armor comprises over a dozen different pieces. Here there are several elements including a burgonet, a gorget, pauldrons, and a breastplate. Popular throughout the 1500s and 1600s, the burgonet was a light, open headpiece favored by cavalry and infantry alike. Its main features are a peak over the eyes and hinged cheekpieces that fasten with a strap or lace under the chin. A gorget is an element of armor that protects the neck, throat, and upper part of the chest. It normally consists of two parts, front and back, joined by a hinge on the left shoulder and fastened with a stud on the right. A pauldron is a component of plate armor that covers the shoulder and often the armpit, and parts of the back and chest as well. The breastplate is an element that protects the chest and abdomen and is normally worn with a backplate.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1940), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. no. 306 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. Cleveland, O.: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. Cat. no. A7 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 74, 165, cat. no. 58
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 90, 184, cat. no. 49
  • {{cite web|title=Elements from an Armor|url=false|author=|year=c. 1540–70|access-date=07 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1804