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Source Description
This armor was designed for the foot tournament, an event that was separate from the equestrian jousts popularized during the Middle Ages and still favored among Renaissance aristocracies throughout Europe. Foot tournaments were commonly fought over a barrier that separated the combatants and gave protection to their legs, so a half-armor such as this one provided sufficient protection. The original owner of this suit would have worn it with colorful puffed and slashed britches and hose. The use of outlandish accessories, such as a large ostrich feather plume (a brass plume holder may be seen on the back of the helmet) and red velvet pickadils between the steel plates, provided additional splendor.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159536
label
Half Armor for the Foot Tournament
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159536
contentType
object
title
Half Armor for the Foot Tournament
description
This armor was designed for the foot tournament, an event that was separate from the equestrian jousts popularized during the Middle Ages and still favored among Renaissance aristocracies throughout Europe. Foot tournaments were commonly fought over a barrier that separated the combatants and gave protection to their legs, so a half-armor such as this one provided sufficient protection. The original owner of this suit would have worn it with colorful puffed and slashed britches and hose. The use of outlandish accessories, such as a large ostrich feather plume (a brass plume holder may be seen on the back of the helmet) and red velvet pickadils between the steel plates, provided additional splendor.
date
c. 1590
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60755165
creators
5670
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 31.7 x 27.7 x 21.6 cm (12 1/2 x 10 7/8 x 8 1/2 in.)
cul
Italy, Milan
accession
1996.299
Source extras
tec
etched and gilded steel, brass rivets, leather and velvet fittings
tombstone
Half Armor for the Foot Tournament, c. 1590. Pompeo della Cesa (Italian, active 1572–93). Etched and gilded steel, brass rivets, leather and velvet fittings; overall: 31.7 x 27.7 x 21.6 cm (12 1/2 x 10 7/8 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1996.299
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
Pompeo della Cesa was the Armani or Gucci of the 1500s; everyone wanted to wear him.
citations
citation
Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc. <em>The Important Collection of Arms and Armor, Mainly XV-XIX Century</em>. 1951.
page_number
Cat. No. 123, pp. 32-33
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Renaissance Armor, Early Islamic Ceramic, French Vase, Gleitsman Painting Added to Museum Collection,” December 13, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
citation
<em>Cleveland Museum of Art Annual Report, 1996.</em> Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1997.
page_number
p. 47, p. 34
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N<em>. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
Cat. no. 6, p. 182
citation
Fliegel, Stephen. "The Armor Court." <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>38, no. 7 (September 1998): 4-7.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 4
citation
May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. <em>Knockouts: A Pocket Guide.</em> Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
page_number
Reproduced: no. 32, p. 36
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
p. 80, Cat. No. 7, p. 162
citation
Eikelmann, Renate, Holger A. Klein, Stephen N. Fliegel, and Virginia Brilliant. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art: Meisterwerke von 300 bis 1550</em>. München: Hirmer, 2007.
page_number
p. 284, repr. p. 285, no. 107
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. <em>Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 298-299, no. 114
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 283
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:16:32.689000
sourceId
159536
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
etched and gilded steel, brass rivets, leather and velvet fittings
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c8adb93645fb5ae0