Handbook of the severance collection of Arms and Armor

Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. — 71 p.Arms and armor have assumed once more the important position in the field of art which was theirs for so many centunes. Durmg the three hundred years between 1400 and 1700, the armorer was recognized as an artist, one who wrought into beauty a very difficult material, and whose work had, aside from its aesthetic importance, the very vital function of defending a man against the 'danger of death. Even after its use had declined, armor continued to be recognized as art of high rank, but with the social upheavals of the late eighteenth- century, there came a period when appreciation of fine old suits of steel was at its lowest ebb. Armor had been so definitely a badge of high station that its destruction became a symbol of the leveling of all ranks and was, in such deluges as the French Revolution, the more joyously carried on. And in colin tries where the third estate came less explosively into power, an even more deadly indifference and neglect had their effect. Armor was like too recently cast-off clothing, out of style without having as yet attained to respect as being ancient. It lacked perspective, a quality which it has only gained within the last fifty years. A few collectors "above the clouds" in art matters kept the beauty of armor clear in their minds and have
brought together what destruction and neglect have spared. European museums have preserved as much for its historical significance as for its art value, most of the fine armor which has survived. Armor of significance in great families has been gathered in, and here and there a private collector has searched the field and then disposed of his findings in a group.History of ArmorArmorers' Marks
Illustrations
Bascinet, Hauberk, and Sword, XIV Century
Brigandine, Italian, Early XVI Century
Suit of Gothic Armor, composed, about 1480
Suit of Maximilian Armor, German, Early XVI Century
Ecrivisse Suit, late XVI Century
Suit, Spanish, XVI Century
Pikeman's Armor, English, early XVII Century
Helmets, XIV Century, about 1450, about 1480
Maximilian Armets, XVI Century
Closed Helmets, XVI Century
Open Helmets, XVI Century
Cabasset, Italian, late XVI Century
Breastplates, XV Century
Espalier Plates, Italian, XVI Century
Colletin, French, late XVI Century
Early Swords, XIII and XIV Century
Swords, Italian, XVI Century
Two Italian Falchions, German Hunting Sword, XVI Century
Six Rapiers, XVI Century
Basket Hilted Swords, and a Mortuary Sword, XVII Century
Pistols, XVI, XVII and XVIII Centuries
Rifles and Gun Rest, XVII Century
Crossbows and Winders, XVI and XVII Centuries
Pole Arms, XV Century
Pole Arms, XVI and XVII Centuries
Axes and War Hammers, XV, XVI and XVII Centuries
Daggers, XV and early XVI Centuries
Daggers, XV, XVI and XVII Centuries
Horse Armor and Bits, XVI Century
Maces, XV and XVI Centuries
Rondaches, Spanish and German, XVI Century
Rondache, Italian, XVI Century
Frontispiece, Armor for Man and Horse, German, about 1535.