Cuirass (Breastplate and Backplate)
- Holding institution:
- The Walters Art Museum
- Data provider:
- The Walters Art Museum
- Title:
- Cuirass (Breastplate and Backplate)
- Date:
- 1500-1575
- Description:
- The Turkish arms and armor collected during the 1500s and 1600s in Habsburg circles were either trophies of a feared enemy or diplomatic gifts. They reflected efforts to repel the invasions of Europe by successive sultans of the Ottoman dynasty, who, as caliphs-successors of the prophet Muhammad as leaders of Islam-considered themselves obliged to wage holy wars against non-Muslims. The Ottoman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey), reached its height as a world power during the reign of Suleiman I the Magnificent (r. 1520-66) whose European incursions reached as far as Vienna. The Habsburgs led the defense of Christian Europe: the Spanish branch, at sea and in North Africa, and the Austrian branch, on land, with a decisive victory in 1683 at Vienna.For the latest information about this object, body armor, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
- Type:
- arms & armor
- Type (Narrower):
- Armaments
- Type (Broader):
- Object
- Subject:
- Culture:
- Provenance:
- S. Irene, Arsenal of Constantinople (?); Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
- Medium:
- embossed steel
- Extent:
- Dimensions: H: 12 5/16 in. (31.2 cm)
- Rights:
- Public Domain
- Identifier:
- 51.420
- Is part of:
- ISL, ARM
Islamic Art