Crinet (horse's neck armor)

Culture Southern German , Augsburg

Dateperhaps 1550–1560, with later decoration

Mediumetched and gilded steel with modern leather

Dimensions83.8 × 22.9 × 30.5 cm (33 × 9 × 12 in.), 9 lb, 2 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

MarkingsSome lames marked within with simple assembly nicks.

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.10.3

DescriptionConsists of 13 lames working on restored leathers, overlapping towards base of neck, widening & deepening to turned & roped end. Sides with 2 pair of buckled straps for securing to neck. Full-length medial ridge. Medial band & lower edge decorated with lobated, gilded strapwork cartouches filled with volutes, separated by crossed, recurved devices. All on finely stippled, blackened ground. Ends with etched "chain" on plain, gilded ground. All bands set off by plain fillets & etched, blackened narrow lines. Defense part of group comprising HAM# 406.1, 406.3, 1992.01.1a,b; 1992.01.2.
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. By the 1500s, it had become fashionable for horses and riders to wear matching armors. This etched and gilded crinet 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.Provenance(With a different armor) ex Bachereau (Paris; to ca. 1897) (with present armor and accessories) Bashford Dean (to NLT 1912) Edmund C. Converse (Greenwich, CT) John W. Higgins (26 November 1927 to 21 March 1928). Given to the museum 21 March 1928. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, Janaury 2014.

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