Gorget
Not on view
The seventeenth century saw the rapid decline of the use of armor on the battlefield. During this period, the gorget, a neck defense of plate, was worn often as the sole element of plate armor, usually over a sturdy leather defense called a buff coat but sometimes with only a civilian doublet. In addition to its protective value, the gorget quickly became a symbol of rank and social status. Richly embellished gorgets were prized especially by the wealthy burghers of Holland, who wore them in their duties as officers of city militias. The gorgets displayed here, late examples of ceremonial armor, reflect the changing decorative techniques and ornament of the early Baroque period in northern Europe.
