Waistcoat Cuirass

c. 1570—c.1580

Italian; Milan

During the last quarter of the sixteenth century, infantry and naval officers began to wear artfully designed cuirasses (breast and backplates) that hinged open with a front seam that mimicked the doublet or waistcoat. This Italian example is decorated with slanted etched bands to look like embroidered trim as well as large rivets down the front simulating buttons. Despite its fashionable appeal, the front seam did weaken the cuirass, and soon after 1600 the fashion vanished.

Status: On View, Gallery 239
Department: Applied Arts of Europe

Title: Waistcoat Cuirass
Place: Milan (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 1565–1580
Medium: Steel
Dimensions: Wt. 6 lb. 5 oz.
Credit Line: George F. Harding Collection
Reference Number: 1982.2366
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. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/106520/manifest.json

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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.

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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. Learn more.

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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.

Learn more.