The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480-1620 (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) [Paperback]

Stuart W. Pyhrr (Author), Donald J. LaRocca (Author), Dirk H. Breiding (Author)

Book Description

Series: Metropolitan Museum of Art Series | Publication Date: June 8, 2005

The horse was an integral part of Renaissance culture, not only as a beast of burden but also as a sign of rank and status. For the nobility equitation was an essential skill, both socially and militarily. Horses played a pivotal role in warfare and often wore armor as elaborate and expensive as that of their riders.

Drawing exclusively from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this catalogue features various types of European horse armor dating from 1480 to 1620. Splendid examples, many of which are unpublished or rarely seen, are examined in terms of style, construction, and decoration.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The horse was an integral part of Renaissance culture, and in warfare horses played a pivotal role. Not uncommonly, a horse’s armor was as elaborate and expensive as that of its rider. This book presents splendid examples of European horse armor from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and closely examines their style, construction, and decoration.

About the Author

Stuart W. Pyhrr, Donald J. LaRocca, and Dirk H. Breiding are in the Department of Arms and Armor at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art (June 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300107641
• ISBN-13: 978-0300107647
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,624,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful presentation and photos!, April 21, 2008

By 

D. Courtney "DC" (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480-1620 (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) (Paperback)

Brilliant mix of photos of horse and rider museum presentations, individual pieces of horse armour and a good scattering of period art (illumination, paintings, sketches and woodcuts).
Appears to give a frank and honest discussion of previous museum and collectors practices of mixing pieces to make a "full set" of armour.
Individual pieces are well described and size, weight, dating, country of manufacture and where the item came from, are given or are quoted clearly as best estimates.
While not a large work, I definitely feel it was very good value. Quite useful to the recreator (no scales given in photos, but most pieces would not be too difficult to replicate from the photos given your intended horse's head, chest, & rump measurements), the museum presentation photos give a good sense of scale.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Armoured European Horse, January 29, 2007

By 

Sadyll Chic (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480-1620 (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) (Paperback)

This is an exhibition catalog from the exhibit of the same name at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art in NY. I personally visited the exhibition and while the items were interesting, was underwhelmed by the small room that housed it. I was expecting a bigger display.

Most of the pieces in the exhibit are in the catalog along with others that didn't appear. The text is good and I recommend the catalog to anyone interested in early equestrian military pursuits.