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William Knight




Location: Mid atlantic, US
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PostPosted: Tue 14 Jul, 2009 9:44 pm    Post subject: New National Gallery of Art Armour exhibit in DC         Reply with quote

I couldn't find anywhere where this was posted, so here it is:

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/armorinfo.shtm

This exhibit includes both armours from the Ameria Real in Madrid and artwork relating to it, including pairings of royal portraits with the harnesses depicted. For instance, the Burgundy Cross Garniture is displayed next to a portrait of Philip II wearing it.

This exhibit is incredible for anyone interested in 16th century armour, particularly if you haven't been able to go to Madrid. It includes several harnesses/pieces of armour featured in the Man of War Charles V article on this site, such as the Masks Garniture and the Hunt Tonlet, three quarter harness, beard burgonet by negroli etc... and several more pieces that have been featured here, such as the Philip I Pomegranate Sallet/Close Helm and many other gems beside, such as a sword of one of the sultans of Granada c 1400 and several other armours. The vast majority of the full harnesses on display are by either a Negroli or a Helmschmid (there are pieces attributed to Lorenz, Kolman and Desederius). Artworks include three enormous tapestries, a full display of the Triumphal Arch of Maximilian, the aforementioned portraits and more.

I'll post detailed impressions later.

-Wilhelm
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Bill Grandy
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PostPosted: Wed 15 Jul, 2009 1:15 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Yep! Its a very nice exhibit for anyone in the area. I just went this past Saturday. Its nice, because I've seen photos of every single piece displayed in various books, but its so much nicer to see them up close. Many of the helmets are in glass boxes where you can look around the entire thing. There are some incredibly nice pieces there.
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Sean Flynt




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PostPosted: Wed 15 Jul, 2009 1:42 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Beautiful! Did either of you buy the catalog? If so, do you recommend it?
-Sean

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William Knight




Location: Mid atlantic, US
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PostPosted: Wed 15 Jul, 2009 8:53 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I did, I would say that it's quite good. There's a little info on the pieces that wasn't in the exhibit proper, and some essays that I'm not done with on the history of the collection, the art history of armoured portraiture etc. It also includes many drawings from the 16th century catalogue of the Armeria Real, which allows you to compare the pieces in the catalogue with their appearence 450 years ago.

-Wilhelm
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Bill Grandy
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PostPosted: Wed 15 Jul, 2009 9:52 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sean Flynt wrote:
Beautiful! Did either of you buy the catalog? If so, do you recommend it?


I didn't bother, as it had photos that were published elsewhere (that I already have in various books). The info is a little generic (again, I already have that in books), but I'd say that, yes, its worth it if you are interested in 16th century armour.

One slight disappointment for me regarding this exhibit is that it is almost purely focused on armour, and not on arms. There is only one sword, and it is a ceremonial Moorish sword that was a spoil of war. After that, no weapons at all.

HistoricalHandcrafts.com
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"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Allen W





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PostPosted: Fri 17 Jul, 2009 2:42 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I thought it was a very nice exibit being focused predominantly on the armours of Charles V but with a few pieces belonging to Philip the Handsome and some of Charles' descendents. I was surprised to learn of Charles' penchant for demi-greaves and had not previously seen the rondache displayed as a cavalry shield in Europe. Speaking of rondaches several of these retain grips, straps and quilted backing.
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Bill Grandy
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PostPosted: Fri 17 Jul, 2009 3:24 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Allen W wrote:
Speaking of rondaches several of these retain grips, straps and quilted backing.


I was taking a pretty good look at those... I suspect that these may have been replaced at a later time, considering the condition of the organic materials. I was with Scott Rodell at the time (he's an antique arms and armor dealer), and he had the same thought, but also pointed out that its possible these were very well preserved because of the status of the owners.

HistoricalHandcrafts.com
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"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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