Shaffron (horse's head armor) "in the German style"
Cultureperhaps
Italian
Dateabout 1480–1500
Mediumsteel
Dimensions23.5 × 53.3 cm (9 1/4 × 21 in.), 1 lb, 8 oz. (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.27
Description1 piece of light steel. Full-length, shallow, covering top surface of horse's head. Upper half of flat, boxed section, with deep curved cutouts having inwardly turned, angular edges for ears. Curved openings at eyes, with near-vertical flanges roughly turned inward. Lower half rounded, with medial, spine-like embossing, in an arched, six-pointed vertebra-like pattern, below which is low medial ridge to pointed nose. Perimeter is bordered by wide-spaced row of holes, once with lining rivets. There are two parallel sets at the edges above and below the eyes, the inner set of which was apparently once rivet-fitted. This row also extends across the nose, and borders the eyes and the inner area of the boxed upper portion. The outer set of holes, more close-set, is below eyes, & may be later. None of the other shaffrons examined has a double set of holes. Unlike the inner groups the outer set is punched from the inside, and in places has deformed the edge in doing so. These very closely-set holes extend only half-length on the lower part of the defence. Centered on the flat upper face are four small holes in an irregularly-trapezoidal pattern. While these are apparently old, they do not have a readily identifiable purpose, as they are not appropriate for a plume-pipe or escutcheon-plate. At the topmost edge above this group, is a set of two holes (one enlarged later) possibly where the mount for a poll-plate was attached. Farther down the face, to the right of the lower part of the embossed area, are two isolated, punched holes serving no purpose at present.Label TextAs in many of the cultures of Eurasia and Africa, the military elite of medieval Europe were mounted: the word for “knight” in almost every European language actually means “horseman.” A well trained warhorse was expensive, and a knight’s steed often wore at least a head protector, and sometimes additional armor for the neck and body. Shaffrons transformed the horse into a semi-mythical beast, much as armor transformed the knight into a figure of legend. Note the stylized noses, in some cases suggestive of a dragon. By the 1500s, it had become fashionable for horses and riders to wear matching armors. The etched and gilded shaffron is decorated in the characteristic strapwork style of the German city of Augsburg, one of the most important centers for high-end armormaking. It was once part of a coordinated ensemble of similarly decorated plate armor for the saddle and for the horseman who rode in it.ProvenanceSaid to be ex-collection Meyrick, and Earl of Harrington (not in Meyrick/Brassey catalogue of Christie's sale 21 Feb 1922). Purchased by John W. Higgins on 21 April 1931 from H(al) Furmage (London), his no. 9. Given to the museum on 1 July 1954. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
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