Armor

The armor is part of a group commissioned by Emperor Maximilian II, some of which is still preserved, although scattered among various collections. Most of the armor is still in the imperial collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (A 473, A 535, A 1044, A 1052, A 1179), one is in the Wallace Collection in London (A 34, A269, A 281), which also has the saddle and half chanfron, others are in the Musée de l’Armée Invalides in Paris (G 66, G 67, G68, G 596), and individual pieces are scattered in other museums, including, Scalini (Scalini 2018, p. 104) notes, the same Odescalchi collection, which, in addition to the present armor, has a cross-shaped plaque (inv. 11581) attributable to the same nucleus. The armors preserved in the Wallace Collection show stylistic and morphological differences that Mann already attributed to the combination of parts of armors made for different subjects or to the exchange of pieces intended for different recreational activities (Scalini 2018). The helmet mounted on this armor was part of the set for Ferdinand II of Austria, attributed to Stefan Romoser, still preserved in Vienna (A 981) and exhibited without headgear. Scalini also notes that the perforated tournament visor of the specimen in question corresponds to that of the helmet made by Jorg Seusenhofer preserved in Philadelphia and belonging to the same set (Scalini 2018). The dolphin decoration is the same as that found on the armor of the giant Giovanni Bona who accompanied Ferdinand in the 1560 tournament, now preserved in Ambras Castle near Innsbruck (A 634). The pairing of the two men, the archduke and the giant, clad in twin armor for the tournament, must have caused great astonishment.

Riccardo Franci

Entry published on 12 June 2025

Good. A few abrasions and surface alterations concentrated mainly on the greaves. The helmet is in slightly worse condition with breaks to the crest, traces of corrosion, and abrasions to some of the areas decorated with engravings.

The mark with the pine cone, the coat of arms of the city of Augsburg, appears on nine pieces in the set.

Spitzer Collection;
Collezione Odescalchi;
purchased by the Italian State, June 30, 1959;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, 1969.

Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, Antiche armi dal sec. IX al XVIII. Già Collezione Odescalchi, May–July 1969;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo  Venezia, Belle e terribili. La collezione Odescalchi, December 18, 2002–March 23, 2003;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo; Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, Armi e potere nell’Europa del Rinascimento, July 26–November 11, 2018.

Molinier Émile, Armes et armures, in La collection Spitzer, VI, Paris 1892, n. 31;
di Carpegna Nolfo (a cura di), Antiche armi dal sec. IX al XVIII. Già Collezione Odescalchi, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo  Venezia, maggio-luglio 1969), con schede a cura del curatore, Roma 1969, p. 3, n. 3;
di Carpegna Nolfo, Le armi Odescalchi, Roma 1976, p. 3;
Barberini Maria Giulia (a cura di), Belle e terribili. La collezione Odescalchi. Armi bianche e da fuoco, catalogo  della mostra (Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, 18 dicembre 2002-23 marzo 2003), Roma 2002, p. 8;
Scalini, in Scalini Mario (a cura di), Armi e potere nell’Europa del Rinascimento, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo; Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo  Venezia, 26 luglio-11 novembre 2018), Cinisello Balsamo 2018,  p. 104, n. III.6.