Cleveland Museum of Art

Gorget

Date

c. 1560

Medium

steel

Culture

Germany

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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. Gradually the gorget grew smaller and more symbolic becoming a symbol of rank. By the 1700s it became a single crescent shape worn on a chain that suspended the gorget even lower on the chest, so that it no longer protected the throat in normal wear. This gorget has a guild mark from Nuremburg, which functioned as a seal of quality.

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