Object Image

Half-Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense)

The shaffron is constructed of a main plate that tapers to a deep, blunt point in the middle of the nose, with bold flanges over the eyes and deeply arched sides. The ear guards are separate, as is the escutcheon plate; the poll plate is missing. The edges are turned and roped. The etched decoration, organized in bands around the edges and in three bands converging down the center of the main plate to the escutcheon, consists of scrolling foliage, cornucopias, vases, and a distinctive grotesque motif that comprises a slotted scroll with wings and a monstrous, leafy face, all set against a dotted and blackened ground. The undecorated surfaces are blackened (modern). The escutcheon plate has scro...
c. 1553
Steel, leather
37.4cm
28.25.1
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

Where you'll find this

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection