The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Gorget (from a funerary achievement?)

Gorget (from a funerary achievement?)

c.1590–1625
(?)
gilded steel (invaded with rust); red velvet lining, plume holder
Overall: 32.4 x 24.8 x 19.1 cm (12 3/4 x 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1806
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

This helmet and gorget has been decorated by fire-gilding, an extremely toxic process that produced a look of great luxury.

Description

This helmet was originally intended for field use. Later, it seems to have served a funerary purpose, probably as an ornament (known as a funerary achievement) suspended over the church tomb of an unidentified knight. As such, it would have been a rich and imposing symbol of the dead knight's social rank and personal authority.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, MA (1849-1941), 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. 69, C24 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 84, 165, cat. no. 57
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 64, p. 185
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Gorget (from a funerary achievement?)|url=false|author=|year=c.1590–1625|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1806