Germany / c. 1560
Gorget
Gorget
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Gorget as arms and armor (Germany · c. 1560).
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
This gorget has a guild mark from Nuremburg, which functioned as a seal of quality.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this arms and armor as steel.
The museum's collection notes: A gorget is an element of armor that protects the neck, throat, and upper part of the chest. It normally consists of two parts, front and back, joined by a hinge on the left shoulder and fastened with a stud on the right. Gradually the gorget grew smaller and more symbolic becoming a symbol of rank. By the 1700s it became a single crescent shape worn on a chain that suspended the gorget even lower on the chest, so that it no longer protected the throat in normal wear.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtGorgetOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.