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Hussar's Armor

A work made of steel, brass, and leather.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of steel, brass, and leather.

Date:

1675/1700

Artist:

Polish

About this artwork

For better mobility, some light cavalrymen, such as the legendary Polish hussars, wore half armor. The hussars, an elite branch of the Polish army, went into battle in glittering armor on magnificent horses, seldom losing a battle though they were many times outnumbered by the enemy. Recruited from among the wealthiest of Poland’s nobility, the hussars were accomplished horsemen, famous for the huge “wings” worn on their backs or attached to their saddles. These wings were made of wooden wing-shaped frames with eagle feathers inserted into the back rims. The thunderous noise made by the flapping of these extra appendages during a charge was meant to frighten the enemy horses. Known as “winged horsemen,” the colorfully costumed hussars also wore leopard or similar animal skins in the style of cloaks over the pauldrons (shoulder pieces) of their armor.

Status

On View, Gallery 239

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

Hussar's Armor

Place

Poland (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1675–1700

Medium

Steel, brass, and leather

Dimensions

H.: 94 cm (37 in.)

Credit Line

George F. Harding Collection

Reference Number

1982.2175a-f

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/106282/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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