One of the last complete European horse armors to have remained in private hands, accompanied by an imposing man armor, has been acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Created in 1507 by Wilhelm von Worms the Elder, the most famous Nuremberg armorer of his day, and entirely made of steel plates enriched with delicately etched and gilded figures of a dragon and noblewomen, this monumental horse armor is the only example to have become available in 45 years, and one of only a handful in existence to be of such an early date. The man armor, created around 1505 by the armorer Matthes Deutsch in Landshut, is one of under a dozen complete, or near complete field armors of that period to have survived. It is Deutsch’s latest known work, and his most richly decorated.

The horse armor was originally made for Ulrich of Württemberg (1487-1550), a German Duke who became famous for his military achievements, impetuousness, and controversial public and personal affairs. In 1498 he had been betrothed to the six-year-old niece of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I of Austria and, amid many twists of fortune, would later align himself with Martin Luther to expand the reach of the Protestant Reformation. It was commissioned in the year when Duke Ulrich was preparing to ride among other German princes to attend the coronation of Maximilian I in Rome. Although the trip was aborted and Maximilian instead took the title of Emperor Elect in Trient in 1508, Ulrich conceivably used the horse armor to march into France at the head of an imperial army in 1513.

…The horse armor consists of head, neck, chest, and hindquarter defenses. Both head and neck sections evoke a dragon. The main edges of the steel plates are bordered by delicate etched and gilded foliage, and some plates are further decorated with etched and gilded figures of richly-dressed noblewomen holding banners inscribed with Duke Ulrich’s motto. The main plate of the head defense is etched and gilded with an impressive winged dragon, and the escutcheon on the forehead with a noblewoman’s figure.

(Press Release)

The armor was unveiled when the museum’s Arms and Armor Galleries were reopened recently.