Three-Quarter Armor for a Cuirassier

Culture Southern German , Augsburg

Date1620–1625

Mediumsteel and brass with modern leather

Dimensions177.8 × 71.1 × 58.4 cm (70 × 28 × 23 in.), 47 lb. 1 oz. (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.1135

DescriptionComposite, with erased lines on many components reflecting a program of harmonization. Brass-headed rivets also part of this process. Consists of Zischaegge, gorget, breast and back (associated to each other, but possibly since working life), culet, cuisses (detachable below tassets, cuisses and tassets unrelated to each other), arm-harness, and gauntlets.

17D x 32W as mounted
Label TextBy 1600, the traditional heavy cavalry armed with a lance for shock tactics was giving way to the cuirassier, so named for the torso armor ("cuirass") he wore. The cuirassier typically carried a sword and a pair of pistols, and wore somewhat less armor than the heavy cavalry of earlier times. Because he wore high leather boots instead of armor on his lower legs, cuirassier armors are also known as "three-quarter" armors. The helmet on this armor was called a zischägge, and was based on a Turkish helmet style called the chichak. Armor styles in the German-speaking part of Europe were heavily influenced by Turkish types in the 1600s, reflecting the importance of the Ottoman Empire in eastern Europe. Most of the rivets are purely decorative, an elaboration of the extensive use of structural rivets on earlier armors.ProvenancePurchased by John W. Higgins on October 3, 1929 from Cyril Andrade. London, England, his no. 12, no. 356 on invoice. Given to the Museum on December 15, 1931. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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