The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Cuirassier's Armor: Right Gauntlet

Cuirassier's Armor: Right Gauntlet

c. 1600–20

Did You Know?

When put together, this suit of armor is just over 5-1/2 feet tall.

Description

The cuirassier was the heavy cavalryman of the late 1500s and early 1600s. Carrying pistols and a sword, he was clad in full armor, with the exception of his lower legs, which were protected by heavy riding boots. Shortly after 1650, such heavy cavalry armor disappeared from use. By then, European cavalries had abandoned full armor as impractical against the increased sophistication of firearms.
  • Archduke Eugen of Austria, the Castle of Hohenwerfen, near Salzburg; Anderson Galleries, New York (1927); William Randolph Hearst (1956); David Norton Yerkes, Washington, DC; to his daughter, Catharine Y. Kulski [by inheritance]
  • {{cite web|title=Cuirassier's Armor: Right Gauntlet|url=false|author=|year=c. 1600–20|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2012.37.i