Subject: cuirassier heavy cavalry
Culture: Bourbon French
Setting: Huegenot rebellions / Thirty Years War / Spanish War, western Europe 17thc
Object: armure armor
Hall of State at Fair Park *
* Higgins Armory Museum > Great Hall > Combat Wing
"Three-quarter armor for a cuirassier, 1610-20
France Steel with modern bluing; brass; gold; fabric; modern leather and restorations
Weight: 63 lb. 9 oz." ...
Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor *
"Armor for Heavy Cavalry Steel, etched and gilt; leather; textile French, about 1600
One of the best preserved French armors dating from the reign of Henry IV (1589-1610), this example demonstrates the French preference for completely gilt armors. It retains its original yellow silk helmet lining and red leather straps sewn with metallic thread. Matching this armor are a chanfron (defense for the horse's head), exhibited here, and a saddle, now in the Musée de l'Armée, Paris.
"In spite of its rich decoration, this armor was intended for use in battle. It was made at a time when the lance had been abandoned by the heavily armored cavalry in favor of a pair of pistols kept in holsters at the front of the saddle. The presence of hand firearms on the battlefield led to the increasing weight of armor plate (this armor weights seventy-seven pounds) and the gradual discarding of elements like the defenses for the lower legs." ...* Hall of State at Fair Park
Hall of State at Fair Park *
