Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)

Unknown

ca. 1450 · Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver · Arms and Armor

This shield is painted with a coat of arms belonging either to the Gottsmann family or to the related Türriegel family, both of Franconia. The female figure at the side holds a banderole inscribed in part with a motto in German: HAB MYCH ALS ICH BIN... (Take me as I am...). The decoration, with its brilliant colors on a silver-foil ground, is remarkably well preserved because it was hidden for centuries beneath layers of later paint. On the leather-lined back of the shield are traces of a painted figure of Saint Christopher, whose image was thought to protect against sudden death.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1450

Medium

Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver

Culture

German

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Florence Blumenthal, 1925