Cuirassier's Armor
Unknown Artist
c. 1600–20
Medium
steel (originally blued, now black); leather straps
Dimensions
h. 171.4 cm
Classification
Arms and Armor
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
2012.37
About this artwork
The cuirassier was the heavy cavalryman of the late 1500s and early 1600s. Carrying pistols and a sword, he was clad in full armor, like this suit, with the exception of his lower legs, which were protected by heavy riding boots. Shortly after 1650, such heavy cavalry armor disappeared from use. By then, European cavalries had abandoned full armor as impractical against the increased sophistication of firearms. Similar armors survive in the Armory of Graz, Austria.