id: 159541 accession number: 1996.299.e share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1996.299.e updated: 2024-04-03 11:07:41.521000 Right Pauldron from Half Armor for the Foot Tournament, c. 1590. Pompeo della Cesa (Italian, active 1572–93). Steel, etched and gilded; brass rivets; leather and velvet fittings; overall: 67.5 cm (26 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1996.299.e title: Right Pauldron from Half Armor for the Foot Tournament title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1590 creation date earliest: 1585 creation date latest: 1595 current location: 210A Armor Court creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: Italy, Milan technique: steel, etched and gilded; brass rivets; leather and velvet fittings department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Arms & Armor type: Arms and Armor find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Pompeo della Cesa (Italian, active 1572–93) - artist Pompeo della Cesa was the most renowned Italian armorer of the late 16th century. His clients included some of the most celebrated noblemen of their day--the two Spanish kings Philip II and III; Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza; and Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. He is known to have maintained a large workshop in Milan's castle--the so-called Sforza Castle. The original owner of this armor remains unidentified. However, armors made for patrons of noble rank were typically of very high quality like this one. Ostentation was of paramount importance for public spectacles such as tournaments or parades. Most wealthy patrons afforded the additional expense of embellishing their armors. The most frequently used decorative technique for armor was etching, seen here, in which acid was used to "bite" into exposed surfaces of the armor's steel plates to create permanent patterns. The etched and gilded decoration of this armor features vertical bands of strapwork enclosing cartouches which in turn contain allegorical figures, classical warriors, and trophies. The decoration represents Pompeo's classic style of armor decoration, one which is found on over forty surviving suits. These and other decorative patterns were normally recorded in pattern books from which the prospective client made his selections. --- measurements: Overall: 67.5 cm (26 9/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Durlacher, London; Edward Hubbard Litchfield, Peter Finer, Warwickshire date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 283 url: --- IMAGES