The Armored Horse in Europe 1480-1620 June 4, 2007

The horse was an integral part of medieval and 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 for several centuries and often wore armor as elaborate and expensive as that of their riders. Drawing exclusively from items in the reserve collection, many of them unpublished and rarely seen before, this exhibition examines various types of European horse armor in terms of style, construction and decoration, from the peak period of its use ca. 1500 through its eventual obsolescence in the early 17th century.