#armsarmor

Plaque with Hope, 1160, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment Size: 5.4 × 5.4 cm (2 1/8 × 2 1/8 in.) Medium: Gilt copper, champlevé enamel

Gauntlet for the Left Hand, Lucio Piccinino, 1565, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

Intended purely for spectacle, parade armor represented the pinnacle of the armorer’s art. This fragmentary gauntlet for the right hand was part of such a harness. The workshop of Lucio Piccinino produced several similar commissions for various dukes and princes of the Habsburg court. The work of several craftsmen, this gauntlet merges the arts of armoring and goldsmithing. Here the technique of gold-and-silver overlay is combined with embossing—pushing the thin steel from both inside and out. With its riot of classical ornament, including grotesque figures, fruit garlands, and trophies of arms, the decoration reflects the prevailing artistic taste, known as Mannerism, at the end of the 16th century. George F. Harding Collection Size: 16.5 × 14.6 × 19.7 cm (6 1/2 × 5 3/4 × 7 3/4 in.) Wt. 11 oz. Medium: Steel, gold, silver, and brass

Glaive for the Bodyguard of Emperor Maximilian II, Jörg Hopfer, 1564, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

Pole arms (staff weapons) were used not only in warfare and hunting, but also in sporting combat and ceremonies. The term refers to a family of edged weapons attached to wooden staffs. With the exception of the lance, which remained the weapon of the mounted knight, all other staff weapons were wielded by men on foot by 1600. With the development of firearms and their introduction as infantry weapons, pole arms lost their importance on the field, and from the mid-16th century, they were reserved for use in sporting contests and by princely bodyguards for ceremony and parade. The blades lent themselves to embellishment—engraving, etching, or other forms of decoration—and provided a perfect surface for the coats of arms of noble or princely families. The ceremonial use of staff weapons continues to this day with the Swiss Guards at the Vatican and Britain’s Yeomen of the Royal Guard. George F. Harding Collection Size: L. 215.9 cm (85 in.) Blade with socket L. 62.6 cm (24 5/8 in.) Wt. 5 lb. 4 oz. Medium: Steel, iron, gilding, oak, and silk textile (velvet)

Wheellock from a Rifle, 1670, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: L. 33 cm (13 in.) Medium: Steel

Spear for the Bodyguard of Emperor Ferdinand I, 1558, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: Blade L. 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.) Wt. 3 lb. 7 oz. Medium: Steel, iron, and wood

Hand Pavise, 1450, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: 65.9 x 43.2 cm (26 x 17 in.) Wt. 10 lb. 7 oz. Medium: Wood, canvas, leather, paint, and gesso

Sword of Justice, 1660, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: Overall L. 105 cm (41 5/16 in.) Blade L. 82.5 cm (32 1/2 in.) Wt. 4 lb. 3 oz. Medium: Wood, sharkskin, and brass

Sword Pommel, 1600, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: Overall Medium: Iron