Unknown Artist
You must know something about me—I love Renaissance armor, especially when it looks like art. We present today's armor thanks to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. : )
This costume armor for foot combat was probably once owned by Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg, Duke of Prussia. Mummery (jousting in disguise) tournaments played a seminal role in festivities celebrating important princely events, such as royal entries into a city, coronations, state visits, weddings, or baptisms. They were an ideal way to enhance a prince's personal prestige and that of his country. Consequently, armor functioned as the status symbol of the nobility.
Albert of Hohenzollern (1490–1568) probably commissioned this armour for foot combat for his wedding to Dorothea of Denmark. He was the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. In 1525 he signed the Treaty of Cracow, which secularized the Order’s Monastic State in what would become Prussia; it also enabled him to marry. This elaborately worked armor imitates a pleated full skirt; it is a typical example of costume armor, which was hugely popular in the early 16th century and was inspired by contemporary courtly fashion. The skillful imitation of soft fabrics in hard steel solicited admiration and amazement. The fantastic helmet, too, enhanced this subtle play with the unexpected.
I LOVE IT!
Zuzanna
P.S. If you are not sure if you love the Renaissance armors like I do, check for something completely different: here are the best bums in art history! ; )