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Armor<br><br>Date:ca. 1520 and later<br>Geography:Nuremberg<br>Culture:German, Nuremberg<br>Medium:Steel, leather<br>Dimensions:H. as mounted 5 ft. 9 in. (175.26 cm); Wt. 57 lb. 10 oz. (26.15 kg)<br>Classification:Armor for Man<br>Credit Line:Gift of Alan Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, 1949<br>Accession Number:49.163.1a–s<br>At the turn of the sixteenth century, German armorers abandoned the slender lines of the late Gothic style and adopted the fuller, more rounded forms favored in Italy. In the new style, the shallow parallel channels that covered almost the entire armor were not only decorative but actually strengthened the metal. This is often referred to as "Maximilian style" because it was introduced during the time of Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519). Fluted armor appears to have been a specialty of Nuremberg.<br>On this armor the two-piece construction of the breastplate and its pierced decoration, while standard on German Gothic armors, is highly unusual for this period. The waistplates and tassets (upper thigh defenses) are of a later date. The breastplate is stamped with the maker's mark: in a shield, a half lion or a bear above the letters L.B.<br><br>Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings<br>Marking: Marked on the breastplate: in a shield, a half lion or a bear above the letters L.B.;<br><br>On the inside of the top lame of each pauldron, and on the interior of the helmet's visor: Nuremberg marks in the form of an N within a pearled circle.<br><br>Provenance<br>Nuremberg Ex coll.: Sir Henry Valentine, 9th Baron Stafford, Costessey Hall, Norfolk; Baron Charles Alexander de Cosson, Florence; Rutherford Stuyvesant, Allamuchy, New Jersey<br><br>Exhibition History<br>London. New Gallery. "Exhibition of the Royal House of Tudor," 1890–April 6, 1890, no. 578 (lent by the Baron de Cosson).<br><br>London. South Kensington Museum. "Exhibition of the de Cosson Collection," 1891–93.<br><br>New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of Arms and Armor," Febru