Partial Suit of Armor in Maximilian Style (c. 1525): Art, History and Details

Partial Suit of Armor in Maximilian Style (c. 1525) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This fluted armor was visually striking in natural sunlight, which created a dazzling effect as it reflected off the polished, rippling steel. The flutings may have originated as a means of imitating the pleatings of male costume of the day. It became apparent, however, that the flutings were also a strengthening device, similar to corrugated metal. This enabled the armorer to use plates of thinner—and therefore lighter—steel. Such suits of armor demanded time-consuming and highly precise work from the armorer, which in turn quickly drove the production costs high enough that the fashion disappeared by 1540.

Object facts

• Title: Partial Suit of Armor in Maximilian Style
• Date: c. 1525
• Culture: Germany, Nuremberg
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: steel
• Dimensions: Overall: 28.7 x 30.4 x 21.7 cm (11 5/16 x 11 15/16 x 8 9/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1916.1714

A detail from the museum

The style's name is derived from Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, during whose reign this was popular.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• Charles Alexander, Baron de Cosson (1843-1929).
• Manchester City Art Gallery. Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor. [Manchester]: [Corporation of Manchester art gallery], 1897.
• Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 3, 16th century. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.