City Newspaper Archives - 3/2007

MUSEUMS: Viewing chivalry at the MAG

Published by Tim Louis Macaluso on Mar 13, 2007
Whether you've wanted to be a knight in shining armor or you're still waiting for one, the Memorial Art Gallery's new major acquisition will excite you. It's a beautifully etched suit of armor made in northern Germany in the 16th century.

It is standing imposingly in the middle of the museum's back corridor, where students on field trips come in from their school buses. "It's the first thing they see walking in the door," says curator Nancy Norwood.

The armor is a set of steel units that fit together, some with moving parts --- helmet, breastplate, tassets to protect the thighs, back plate, shoulder plates, and a gorget to protect the neck. Museum-quality armor is especially hard to acquire, and finding a suit without replacement pieces from other suits is rare. MAG's set is part of a distinctive group known as the Brunswick armors, made for the Dukes of Brunswick, and it was worn by a duke or knight.

But it's the armor's etchings that stir the imagination. They consist of Old Testament imagery taken from prints. The images were painstakingly burned into the steel using acid, with the background blackened to create the scenes. A medallion over the heart, dated 1562, offers a prayer. The scenes include Abraham and his son Isaac, Daniel in the lion's den, Cain killing Abel, God creating Eve, and Adam and Eve tempted by the serpent.

You wouldn't want to wear this suit. Used in battles and tournaments, it weighs about 50 pounds. And humans' stature has changed with the times. Only a small-framed man would have fit into this suit. And German engineering had already left its mark. The breast plate, for example, is formed like a protruding V over the chest and abdomen. The purpose: to deflect the opponent's blade.

Article Photos

Tall tales and history: MAG's new suit of armor. Credit: Memorial Art Gallery