Cleveland Museum of Art

Chanfron in Maximilian Style

Date

c. 1510

Medium

steel

Culture

Germany, Nuremberg (?), early 16th Century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The chanfron was the primary element that protected and decorated a horse's forehead and face. It consisted of a plate of steel contoured to the horse's head from its ears to its nostrils. Normally, two holes were cut at each side of the forehead for the ears, and earpieces were sometimes riveted around their edges. This example, however, was forged in one piece. It belongs to the transitional period between the Gothic and the fluted armors introduced by Emperor Maximilian. The hinge at the top is for the attachment of the crest plate. Nuremberg was a chief armor production center and gained international renown; products from here were exported throughout Europe.

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