Collection Online as of October 2, 2023

Pommel Plate of a Saddle (from the Garniture of Rudolf II)

c. 1571

Part of a set. See all set records

Anton Peffenhauser

(German, 1525–1603)

Germany, Augsburg, 16th century

Blued, etched, and gilded steel

Overall: 31.3 x 17 cm (12 5/16 x 6 11/16 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1888.2

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

Once part of a saddle, this plate protected the rider's thigh.

Description

This plate, one of two and once part of a saddle, is from tournament armor made for man and horse made for the sons of Emperor Maximilian II, archdukes Rudolf and Ernst. Most of the remaining elements of this armor are still in the collections of the Imperial Armouries in Vienna. The decorative pattern (in the imperial colors of black and gold) forms elegant knots, with distinctive foliage and hop sprigs filling the loops.

Provenance

Imperial Armories, Vienna, Austria

Hastings

Richard Zschille (1847-1903), Leipzig, Germany

?-1916

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

1916-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Rudolph Lepke’s Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin. R. Zschille’sche waffensammlung. Mar 21-22, 1900. Mentioned: p. 9, lot 37; Reproduced: lot 37 archive.org

Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 3, 16th century. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (171) 175 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. 241, J43; Reproduced: Plate XLVIII, J43 archive.org

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 99, 166; cat. no. 77

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 74, p. 185-186

Exhibition history

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