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AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot)

@aicarms.bsky.social

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Sharing artworks from the AIC's Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance department. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

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AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 1h

Saint Bartholomew www.artic.edu/artworks/77130

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 4h

Albarello www.artic.edu/artworks/25349

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 4h

Glaive for the Bodyguard of Emperor Maximilian II www.artic.edu/artworks/106511

Pole arms (staff weapons) were used not only in warfare and hunting, but also in sporting combat and ceremonies. The term refers to a family of edged weapons attached to wooden staffs. With the exception of the lance, which remained the weapon of the mounted knight, all other staff weapons were wielded by men on foot by 1600. With the development of firearms and their introduction as infantry weapons, pole arms lost their importance on the field, and from the mid-16th century, they were reserved for use in sporting contests and by princely bodyguards for ceremony and parade. The blades lent themselves to embellishment—engraving, etching, or other forms of decoration—and provided a perfect surface for the coats of arms of noble or princely families. The ceremonial use of staff weapons continues to this day with the Swiss Guards at the Vatican and Britain’s Yeomen of the Royal Guard.

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 7h

Ceremonial Glaive www.artic.edu/artworks/106503

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Halberd www.artic.edu/artworks/116326

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Gorget www.artic.edu/artworks/116372

Light cavalrymen and officers on foot increasingly wore large gorgets in place of full breast and backplates. Often paired with a heavy buff-leather coat, these effectively protected the wearer’s neck and heart from heavy sword cuts or thrusts. This well-preserved example retains its original blue-black finish and leather lining.

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Portions of a Field Armor www.artic.edu/artworks/106377

During the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, some of the finest armorers worked exclusively for royal patrons in the workshops set up to meet their needs. In 1511 King Henry VIII of England established such a workshop at Greenwich Palace outside London, which produced outstanding armor for the English court for over a century. It was staffed largely by German craftsmen, among them Jacob Halder, who was master workman at Greenwich when this half-armor was produced around 1588–90. Made for a high-ranking nobleman, it features crisply decorated bands of etching and gilding and a silhouette mimicking fashionable dress. The shape of the breastplate, broad at the shoulders, narrow at the waist, and dipped at the belly, imitates the peasecod (peapod-shaped) cut of a gentleman’s doublet of the same period. Despite the lavish decoration and exaggerated shape, this armor, intended for the field of battle, was capable of withstanding musket fire. Indeed, it was commissioned in 1588, at the very moment England was preparing for invasion by the Spanish Armada. But to the fashionable noble who commissioned this harness, demonstrating wealth and status was as important as protecting life and limb.

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Matchlock Musket www.artic.edu/artworks/116516

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Pendant www.artic.edu/artworks/119960

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Fingered Gauntlet for the Left Hand www.artic.edu/artworks/116440

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Halberd www.artic.edu/artworks/116297

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Friuli Spear www.artic.edu/artworks/116259

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Crown www.artic.edu/artworks/119239

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Wheellock Spanner www.artic.edu/artworks/116746

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Reinforcing Bevor and Grandguard for the Tilt in the Italian Manner www.artic.edu/artworks/106346

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Wheellock Spanner with Powder Measure and Screwdriver www.artic.edu/artworks/116738

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Dagger with Two Awls and Sheath for the Bodyguard of the Elector of Saxony www.artic.edu/artworks/106237

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Jousting Lance with Coronel www.artic.edu/artworks/116690

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Pair of Spurs www.artic.edu/artworks/116911

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Shield (Rondache) with a Spiked Umbo www.artic.edu/artworks/106398

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Pendant of a Cross www.artic.edu/artworks/119547

This pendant cross is an elaborate assemblage of cast and fused segments ornamented with emeralds in tall, pyramidal mounts. Enameled gold and pin-fastened pearls add vigorous effects of color, texture, and light. The three-dimensional quality of this piece would have been particularly distinctive when worn upon the rich garments of the Renaissance.

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Pair of Flintlock Pistols www.artic.edu/artworks/116549

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Cup-Hilted Rapier www.artic.edu/artworks/106249

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Close Helmet www.artic.edu/artworks/112077

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Mace www.artic.edu/artworks/117000

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Powder Flask www.artic.edu/artworks/106430

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Poleaxe www.artic.edu/artworks/116325

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Lowest Lame of Long Tasset www.artic.edu/artworks/112122

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Partizan www.artic.edu/artworks/116255

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Mace www.artic.edu/artworks/116997

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Cinquedea www.artic.edu/artworks/117050

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Composite Rapier for a Boy www.artic.edu/artworks/116941

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Flintlock Blunderbuss with Spring-Bayonet www.artic.edu/artworks/116550

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hunting Sword combined with Flintlock Pistol www.artic.edu/artworks/116713

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Altar Cross www.artic.edu/artworks/8254

This silver-gilt cross with the figure of the crucified Christ was meant to be placed on an altar. Each arm of the cross terminates with a roundel containing the symbols of the four Evangelists: the angel for Saint Matthew, the lion for Saint Mark, the ox for Saint Luke, and the eagle for Saint John the Evangelist. These four images were cast from the same molds used for the Evangelist symbols that decorate a silver book cover made for a liturgical manuscript written in 1326, now housed in the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin. This reuse of molds provides valuable insight into workshop practices under the patronage of Otto the Mild, Duke of Saxony (r. 1318–46).

Gift of the Antiquarian Society

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Pair of Flintlock Holster Pistols www.artic.edu/artworks/106459

Though the form of these pistols differs little than that of firearms used for self-defense, the decoration over the lock-plate spring suggests that they were intended for deer hunting. From the late 16th century on, members of the nobility often hunted deer with pistols while giving chase on horseback with a pack of hounds. To successfully aim and fire the pistol while riding within a few yards of the game required much training and skill.

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Flintlock Magazine Pistol (Lorenzoni System) www.artic.edu/artworks/116568

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Field Armor for Man www.artic.edu/artworks/116363

Skillfully forged of steel, this composite armor achieves its beauty with the simple elegance of its austere lines and form rather than its surface decoration. The armor was expertly crafted for protection: the smooth, rounded shape, breastplate with a pronounced vertical ridge down the center, and heavy roping (turned edge etched with lines) at the upper edge of the breastplate functioned to deflect sword thrusts and glancing blows. Thick roping on the gauntlet knuckles acted as added protection. The helmet, with its smooth, rounded form, was shaped to deflect downward blows away from the head. The bracket attached to the right breastplate is called the lance rest, a shock-absorbing support designed to hold the lance when it was couched under the right armpit.

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Pendant www.artic.edu/artworks/119966

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Bickom (Anvil) www.artic.edu/artworks/111772

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Flintlock Belt Pistol www.artic.edu/artworks/116928

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Dress Ornament www.artic.edu/artworks/119883

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Casket www.artic.edu/artworks/28454

This type of ornately painted ivory casket survived in relatively large numbers in church treasuries. Judging from their Arabic inscriptions, which contain wishes for happiness, blessings, or glory, it is likely that many of them were originally intended for secular use as wedding gifts or jewelry boxes. However, they were often later used as reliquaries. Here traces of an inscription on the front rim and cover read, "May glory endure". This box was probably made on the island of Sicily, an important crossroads of Mediterranean trade.

Samuel P. Avery Endowment

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Sword of Winthrop Sargent (1753-1820), First Governor of Northwest Territories www.artic.edu/artworks/117165

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Parrying Dagger www.artic.edu/artworks/117142

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Reliquary Monstrance in the form of a Church www.artic.edu/artworks/29719

Gift of Kate S. Buckingham

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Plate with Narcissus, Echo, Cupid www.artic.edu/artworks/25392

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Wheellock Rifle of Archduke Charles of Styria www.artic.edu/artworks/106404

This rifle, a masterpiece of stock inlay, may have been given as a wedding present to Archduke Charles of Styria (eastern Austria), the youngest son of Emperor Ferdinand I. The engraving on the butt end of the stock combines Charles’s Habsburg coat of arms with that of his wife, the Duchess Maria of Bavaria; the couple was married in 1571, the year the gun was made.
Curiously the lock is mounted on the left side, a rare feature suggesting that Charles was left-eye dominant, or that he aimed with his left eye.

George F. Harding Collection

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Pendant with Intaglio Portrait of Anna of Austria in Enameled Frame www.artic.edu/artworks/117309

This portrait had been thought to date about 1570, when Anna Maria of Austria married King Phillip II of Spain. It is likely, however, this refined intaglio image was carved after a contemporary painting but in the nineteenth century. The frame executed in a delicate process known as émail en résille sur verre emulated a seventeenth-century technique but was certainly done in the nineteenth century.

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

AIC: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance (Bot) @aicarms.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sword Pommel www.artic.edu/artworks/117021

George F. Harding Collection