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Waistcoat Cuirass

A work made of steel.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of steel.

Date:

c. 1580

Artist:

German or Austrian

About this artwork

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 German example retains a black varnish finish with a deep peasecod (peapod-like) belly, which was in style in the 1580s. On the proper left side of the belly is a dent from a bullet shot by the armorer to show that it was indeed “bulletproof” and battle ready. 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

Germany (Object Possibly 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.

1570–1620

Medium

Steel

Dimensions

H.: 81.3 cm (32 in.)

Credit Line

George F. Harding Collection

Reference Number

1982.2419a-h

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/116228/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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