Cleveland Museum of Art
"Waistcoat" Cuirass (Combined Breast and Backplates)
- Date
- c. 1580
- Medium
- Steel; brass rivets simulating buttons
- Culture
- North Italy, 16th century
- Department
- Medieval Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 95984
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
This cuirass is a specialized type of costume armor. In addition to protecting its owner's torso, it was clearly intended to simulate a civilian jacket, or doublet, with a row of buttons down the front. The owner would have opened it like an ordinary doublet since the two halves are hinged to a narrow backplate. While it would provide some protection to the torso, the armor here is very light; fashion not function was the prerequisite.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
- Provenance
- ?-1916: Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1916-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Part of a LinkedCulture topic
European Renaissance Armor ComponentsThese objects are all pieces of defensive armor and military equipment from 15th-17th century Europe, primarily from major armoring centers like Italy, Germany, and France.
500 objects from 4 institutions
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