Wolfgang Grosschedel was the most famous Landshut armorer of his generation. Included among his patrons were the Holy Roman Emperor and Philip II of Spain. These armors for man and horse constitute superb examples of Grosschedel's work from different periods in his career.
The man's armor, dating from about 1535–40, is stamped with Grosschedel's personal mark and that of Landshut. The etched decoration includes human figures and ornaments copied from engravings by the German printmaker Barthel Beham (1502–1540). The armor is part of a garniture that originally included exchange elements for use in battle and in the tourney, a mock combat fought with lances and swords.
The horse armor, dated 1554, is complete and homogeneous and, though unmarked, can be attributed to Grosschedel on stylistic grounds. The escutcheon on the shaffron (defense for the horse's head) bears the arms of a member of the Bavarian family Freyberg von Aschau, possibly Pankraz von Freyberg (1508–1565). The armors for both man and horse were preserved together in the armory of Hohenaschau Castle, the historical seat of the Freybergs, until the mid-nineteenth century.
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Title:Armor for Man and Horse Presumably Made for Baron Pankraz von Freyberg (1508–1565)
Armorer:Wolfgang Grosschedel (German, Landshut, active ca. 1517–62)
Date:man's armor, ca. 1535–40; horse armor, dated 1554; saddle steels, later restorations
Geography:Landshut
Culture:German, Landshut
Medium:Steel; leather, copper alloy, textile
Dimensions:Wt. of man's armor approx. 55 lb. 11 oz. (25.25 kg); Wt. of horse armor with saddle 65 lb. 7 oz. (29.69 kg); helmet (a): H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm); W. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); D. 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm); Wt. 7 lb. 9.8 oz. (3454 g); gorget (b): H. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); W. 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm); D. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 4.2 oz. (1479 g); breastplate (c): H. 14 1/16 in. (35.7 cm); W. 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm); D. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm); Wt. 8 lb. 1.4 oz. (3669 g); lance rest (d): H. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm); W. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm); D. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); Wt. 13.9 oz. (394 g); tasset (e): H. 11 in. (17.9 cm); W. 18 1/2 in. (47 cm); D. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 7.6 oz. (1575 g); backplate (f): H. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm); W. 14 3/16 in. (36 cm); D. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); Wt. 5 lb. 10.05 oz. (2553 g); right pauldron (g): H. 11 in. (27.9 cm); W. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); D. 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 4.95 oz. (1500 g); left paudron (h): 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm); W. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm); D. 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 15.55 oz. (1802 g); right vambrace (arm defense) (i): H. 19 5/16 in. (49.1 cm); W. 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm); D. 5 in. (12.7 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 10.8 oz. (1213 g); left vambrace (j): H. 18 11/16 in. (47.5 cm); W. 7 5/8 in. (19.4 cm); D. 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 6.5 oz. (1091 g); right gauntlet (k): H. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm); W. 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm); D. 4 in. (10.2 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 2.3 oz. (518 g); left gauntlet (l): H. 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm); W. 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm); D. 4 in. (10.2 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 3.5 oz. (552 g); right upper cuisse (thigh defense) (m): H. 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm); W. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); D. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 4.85 oz. (591 g); left upper cuisse (thigh defense) (n): H. 8 13/16 in. (22.4 cm); W. 7 1/16 in. (17.9 cm); D. 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 4.85 oz. (591 g); right lower cuisse (thigh defense) and poleyn (knee defense) (o): H. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm); W. 6 in. (15.2 cm); D. 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 6.4 oz. (635 g); left lower cuisse (thigh defense) and poleyn (knee defense) (p): H. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm); W. 5 15/16 in. (15.1 cm); D. 6 11/16 in. (17 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 6.85 oz. (647 g); right greave (lower leg defense) and sabaton (foot defense) (q): H. 18 3/4 in. (47.6 cm); W. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); D. 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 10.7 oz. (1210 g); left greave (lower leg defense) and sabaton (foot defense) (r): H. 18 3/4 in. (47.6 cm); W. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm); D. 12 in. (30.5 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 13.9 oz. (1300 g)
Classification:Armor for Horse and Man
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1923
Object Number:23.261
Inscription: Inscribed on the shaffron, rein plate, and crupper: 1554.
Marking: Stamped on the breastplate: W (Grosschedel's personal mark), and the mark of the city of Landshut (a small helmet).
Presumably made for Baron Pankraz von Freyberg, Aschau, Germany (ca. 1535–d. 1565); preserved in Hohenaschau Castle, Aschau in Chiemgau, Germany (1565–mid-19th century); Count György László Festetics de Tolna, Vienna (mid-19th century–d. 1883); by descent to Prince Tasziló Festetics de Tolna, Vienna (from 1883); Prince Eugen Czernin, Petersburg Castle, Bohemia (by 1923; sold to MMA).
J.M. Heberle. Waffensammlung Kuppelmayr. Munich: J.M. Heberle, Mar. 26–28, 1895. p. 8, no. 44, pl. 19 (a similar left gauntlet).
Dean, Bashford. "Armor for Horse and Man." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (February 1924), pp. 38–42, figs. 1–5.
Lammert, Friedrich. "Die Czerninsche Waffensammlung im Schlosse zu Petersburg im Sudetengau (Fachnotizen)." Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen– und Kostümkunde, Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 16, n.s.v.7 p. 160.
Hollstein, F. W. H. German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts. Vol. 2. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger & Co., 1954. p. 184.
Reitzenstein, Alexander von. "Hohenaschauer Waffen." Waffen– und Kostümkunde: Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für historische Waffen– und Kostümkunde, Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 21, ser. 3 v. 4, pp. 37–38, 47, figs. 8–10, 29.
Wallace Collection and James G. Mann. European Arms and Armour: Text with Historical Notes and Illustrations. Vol. I. London: Printed for the Trustees by W. Clowes and sold at Hertford House, 1962. pp. 135–36, 179–80, pl. 72.
Reitzenstein, Alexander. Der Waffenschmied. Vom Handwerk der Schwertschmiede Plattner und Büchsenmacher. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1964. p. 62, fig. 37, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 72, ill.
Liedke, Ursula. "Die Lanshuter Plattner Wofgang und Franz Grosschedel." Beilage zum Amtlichen Schul-Anzeiger für den Regierungsbezirk Niederbayern (December 1, 1971), p. 12, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 126, ill.
Spitzlberger, Georg. Landshuter Plattnerkunst, Ein Überblick mit Katalog der Ausstellung, vom 14. Juni bis 20. Juli 1975, täglich 9–17 Uhr, im Deutschen Saal der Stadtresidenz. Landshut: K. Möginger, 1975. pp. 4, 32, 75–76, no. 46, ill. pls. 38–39 and cover.
Thomas, Bruno. "Der Turiner Prunkharnisch für Feld und Turnier B.2 des Nürnberger Patriziers Wilhelm Rieter von Boxberg: Meisterwerk von Kolman Helmschmid zu Augsburg um 1525." Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien (1977), p. 153.
Pyhrr, Stuart W., Donald J. La Rocca, and Dirk H. Breiding. The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. pp. frontispiece, 25–26, 28, 45, figs. 21, 22, n. 12.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. 5, 23, figs. 32–3.
La Rocca, Donald J. How to Read European Armor. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. pp. 36–7, fig. 41.
Wolfgang Grosschedel (German, Landshut, active ca. 1517–62)
1554 and later
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