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Archer's Shield
(Arms and Armor , Renaissance Europe , Baroque Europe )
These large shields were used as movable walls to protect longbow archers as well as crossbowmen during sieges and pitched battles. Many were large enough to cover two men. The lower portion rested on the ground while the top was supported by a prop or the end of the crossbow. This type of shield was sometimes called a "pavise" because it originated in Pavia in northern Italy.
The "pavise" bears traces of a black cross on the front: the arms of the Teutonic Knights. Indeed, it is said to come from Marienberg Castle in northern Poland, seat of this famous religious order until 1466.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Ex-coll. Oscar Bondy, Vienna; Leopold Blumka Gallery, New York; Walters Art Museum, December 1969, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 2002 | The Book of Kings: Art, War, and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Academy Art Museum, Easton; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton; The Mitchell Gallery, Annapolis; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown. |
Geographies
Austria
(Place of Origin)
Czech Republic (Bohemia) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
50 x 21 3/8 x 6 1/8 in. (127 x 54.3 x 15.5 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1969
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.1371