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Three-Quarter Armor (Trabharnisch) of Elector Augustus of Saxony

Peter von Speyer the Elder1546

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Duke Augustus of Saxony (Elector 1553–86) wore this armor in 1547 in the Battle of Mühlberg, in the wake of which his older brother Moritz was appointed Elector of Saxony. Their cousin, Elector John Frederick of Saxony, was taken prisoner by Emperor Charles V. The armors worn by these four men at Mühlberg are still preserved in Madrid, Vienna, and Dresden.

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  • Title: Three-Quarter Armor (Trabharnisch) of Elector Augustus of Saxony
  • Creator: Peter von Speyer the Elder
  • Date Created: 1546
  • Physical Dimensions: 26 kg
  • Technique and Material: Iron, forged, hammered, blackened, and etched; coat of mail: iron, forged
  • Provenance: First mentioned in the complete inventory of the Rüstkammer in 1606
  • Museum: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Rüstkammer
  • Inv.-No.: M 97
  • ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-845714
  • External Link: http://www.skd.museum/de/museen-institutionen/residenzschloss/ruestkammer/
  • Copyright: Photo © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Rüstkammer/ Elke Estel, Hans-Peter Klut; Text © Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach, A Cooperation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov 20, 2016 – March 26, 2017, Munich: Prestel, 2016; cat. no. 51 / Holger Schuckelt
  • Catalogue: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/Renaissance-and-Reformation/Stephanie-Buck/Prestel-com/e504919.rhd
  • Artist Dates: unknown–c. 1560
  • Artist Biography: The armorer Peter von Speyer the Elder, who was probably originally from the Rhineland, is documented in Nuremberg in 1521 and 1524. From around 1540 he was living in Annaberg, Saxony, and was active for the court in Dresden. A letter from Augustus of Saxony in 1559 documents that Peter made a cuirass for the Danish king Frederick II.
Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

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