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Left Arm Elements from a Boy's Armor (Lower Cannon, Couter, Rerebrace)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
These elements once belonged to a full suit of armor that would have been made for a young boy. Decorated with etching, embossing, and gilding, the original suit would have been impressive. Dressing your sons in small custom suits of armor was popular with the wealthiest nobles. They would have been worn for parades and ceremonial occasions and once outgrown were often kept as mementos. Made for the left arm, the rerebrace or upper cannon protected the upper arm, the couter the elbow, and the lower cannon the forearm.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineLeft Arm Elements from a Boy's Armor (Lower Cannon, Couter, Rerebrace), c. 1560 (some modern). Germany, Augsburg. Etched and lightly embossed steel with traces of gilding, leather; overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.708
