Crinet

Romain des Ursins

ca. 1480–95; bottom lame and mail fringe, restored ca. 1863–1900 · Steel · Arms and Armor

This is a rare example of a late Gothic crinet preserved with its matching shaffron also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 14.25.1661a). The combination of the shaffron's slender, pointed shape and its radiating ridges, together with the Italian-style armorer's marks, suggests that it is a work alla tedesca (in the German fashion) by an Italian master. The mark on the shaffron, an orb surmounted by a cross above the letters ROM ROM, has been attributed to the Milanese armorer Romain des Ursins, who appears to have supplied armor to the French court. (The ear and eye guards, bottom lame of the crinet, and mail fringe are ninteenth-century restorations.)

Artist

Romain des Ursins

Date

ca. 1480–95; bottom lame and mail fringe, restored ca. 1863–1900

Medium

Steel

Culture

Franco-Italian

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913