Cuirassier's Armor: Breastplate

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c. 1600–20

Austria, Graz(?), early 17th century

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Medium

steel (originally blued, now black); leather straps

Measurements

Overall: 171.4 cm (67 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2012.37.b

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Location

210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

When put together, this suit of armor is just over 5-1/2 feet tall.

Description

The cuirassier was the heavy cavalryman of the late 1500s and early 1600s. Carrying pistols and a sword, he was clad in full armor, with the exception of his lower legs, which were protected by heavy riding boots. Shortly after 1650, such heavy cavalry armor disappeared from use. By then, European cavalries had abandoned full armor as impractical against the increased sophistication of firearms.