Studying Arms and Armour Essay Sample

Over the years art historians, like Dr. Chassica Kirchhoff have been able to use many artifacts to their advantage when it comes to understanding the past. Many patriarchal portraits have been analyzed for what they have painted the popes wearing and sculptures and their chisel markings help historians to understand the lengths it took to make these pieces possible. Along these lines armour can be used as a great understanding of power and authority during the renaissance. Looking carefully at works like these allow us to understand more information like why they were made and who they were made specifically for. 

Many artists were sought after for the way they executed their work. Getting a piece painted by a renowned artist then would be much like getting a signature from a celebrity in today's age. This is also true of arms and armour! Armour can demonstrate wealth and power by controlling human resources and being able to patron garniture made by a distinguished blacksmith. This would be something easily relatable to Dr.Kirchhoff as she has apprenticed as a glass blower and been working with metal from about the age of 16. She is deeply informed by experience and close looking research which would help her to identify who these artifacts belonged to. Being a museum curator means she would spend time examining works even using an x-ray reflectometry to see the metal contents to expand her knowledge on a piece. She also acknowledges marks of a hammer and other tools that are present in the plates of metal she studies. Similarly the mark of the hammer in armour is much like studying marble and the chisel marks an artist leaves behind on their work. Her work as a curator is very important as it, “Present(s) numerous mysteries that demand future investigation”(2) to understand the motives of the past.

You could tell if a person was wealthy by the armour they had and know that they had enough money to pay for such a fashionable piece of armour. The metal workers would be “ paid an additional 1,575 livres for many parts of a garniture and other “clothes of war,”...with 800 forints of gold trim,’ plus a 56­ livre tip for his skill.”(3) emphasizing their alluring work. At this time the signature of a metal worker would be much like a Gucci logo, so everyone knows that you have got the best armour that's possible to make. With this wealth, “Maximilian, who continued to commission bards that covered horses’ legs and bellies to arm his own steeds and also as diplomatic gifts to forge alliances and demonstrate Habsburg power”(3) and that wealth would be respected. While this would have been a statement of wealth it would also be about showing off in a fashion sense. Garnature is swappable patterned steel so you could gain a wardrobe of armour that is interchangeable. Because it is heavy metal and protective doesn't mean it is lacking in intriguing designs and patterns. It was fashionable for men at the time to show off long legs and a tight waist and that is exactly the design of most armour. Coincidentally, this is also helpful as it distributes weight to your hips so that while being nice to look at, your shoulders aren’t bearing all the weight. Long foot pieces are also a part of the armour suits that would look like the pointed toes on shoes they would wear in renaissance courts. Just like other fine artists of the time metal workers would be considered artists as well. “In its most luxurious iterations, horse armor did far more than protect an expensive and extensively trained steed. It transformed the animal’s body into a moving sculpture”(3).

Along with intent for artistic fashion there was also an entertainment factor to the building of armour. Some blacksmiths would be tasked to make collars for the dogs of dukes and other powerful people. Armourers and clock makers even went as far as to work together to make “Mock joust of war with exploding shields”, which unfortunately are,  “the only surviving example of its kind”(2). The plates are spring loaded and throw a shield up into the air to intrigue the audience as they wouldn't have known previously and would be entertained by such dramatics. These intricate uses for armour are what keep researchers like Dr. Kirchhoff on their toes and searching for new answers as to why these items would have existed. Because of the details put into it, like acid used for metal etching they are able to understand the material culture and how it came to be. The problem being that some pieces of armour, like that made for horses, are recorded in fine art paintings and sketches but the material objects no longer last today. Because “Drawings, prints, and photographs serve as a proxy for the period eye”(1) this makes it a bit harder to analyze something that no longer exists to study up close. What is remarkable to notice though is that when you do have many pieces of armour belonging to one person it is easier to date by size. How people change over time with their body shapes changes with the armour making it distinguishable between armor for a twelve year old and a fifty year old. However the fine arts can prove to be helpful when it comes to determining some details related to dating and ownership. Many ancient pieces would be “Carefully annotated with dates, measurements, provinces and even weights of the many objects… careful attention to both the materiality...and their historical significance”(1). This proves that overall, the fine arts are actually helpful in learning more about the material arts.

Michelangelo's Tribuna 

After the sack of Rome, Michelangelo built this Tribuna to hold important things in the counter facade of San Lorenzo. This was a place for sacred objects to be stored and presented before a crowd, from its balcony. As you're looking up to see the objects you will notice like many of the pieces of armour, it too will have an important family coat of arms. In this case it is the medici coat of arms, which will also be added to many of the sacred objects of the Tribuna. They obviously needed to be carved with the coat of arms as well so that people could see that of course, they have great lengths of wealth to be decorating such hard pieces of metal. As well as the fact that their name and family carries respect and power and they use it to their advantage while decorating the reliquaries. They called these objects reliquaries because they were often connected to a holy person. These vessels they stored would contain things such as a body part, a piece of clothing and were meant to astonish people in the crowds below. Similarly metal workers like other great artists during the renaissance were aiming to be the best of the best so their patrons would receive great recognition for their possessions. Having reliquaries that are beautiful outside and making stunning armour that also protects actually go hand and hand. Both relics and people and their horses are going to need protection from dangerous situations. When the money comes into play, however, if you are wealthy and powerful enough you might as well make something extravagant to protect yourself and your things. For additional protection, it was believed that being so close to the medici palace and inside of the church, that these reliquaries would be protected by God. 

Arms and armour is an extensive field that requires more and more research everyday. The continuous research is a great way to come to an understanding about ancient relics and pieces of armour. With the aids of fine art the things that are learned about the material arts help us to understand their age and purpose of their time. People like Dr. Kirchhoff are working hard to make sure there is plenty of information surfaced of these objects and that other people are able to visit the museum and enjoy them. With exhibitions already planned for 2025 i'm sure that this field is going to last forever to satisfy the curiosities of the past.