This striking publication examines two masterful armors for man and horse recently acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Among the earliest complete European examples in existence, these German works demonstrate the superior design and craftsmanship of princely armor in the early 16th century. The celebrated master Wilhelm von Worms the Elder (d. 1538) of Nuremberg made the luxurious, exquisitely decorated steel horse armor for Duke Ulrich of Württemberg (1487-1550). The man armor was crafted by Matthes Deutsch (last documented c. 1505) of Landshut, another distinguished armorer patronized by German princes; it is his latest and most sumptuous work.Â
Princely Armor in the Age of Dürer discusses the function, design, decoration, and manufacture of these masterpieces and situates them within German art, culture, and politics, and within the development of European armor in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
