Horseman’s Ax of Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici (1511–1535)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This elegantly proportioned and delicately ornamented ax probably served more as a symbol of authority than as a weapon for mounted warfare. The surfaces are etched and gilt with foliage on an obliquely hatched ground, in the manner of early-Italian ornamental prints. The ax blade is further decorated on one side with a shield enclosing the Medici arms and a Latin inscription around the edges BENIFICIVM · DANDO · ACCEPIT · QVI · DIGNO · DEDIT (He who confers a benefit has received one if he has given it to a man worthy of it), and on the other side with the device of an inflatable soccerlike ball and the inscription FALLENTI · NON · FACILE · RVRSVS · ADHIBENDA · EST (Trust is not again to be placed easily in those who have once deceived). Although the inflatable ball was used as a personal badge by several members of the Medici family, here it most likely refers to Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici (1511–1535), a youthful prelate more at home in armor than his scarlet robes of office. In 1532 Ippolito commanded an expedition against the Turks in Hungary, an event immortalized in Titian's portrait in the Uffizi, Florence, in which the cardinal wears the exotic costume of a Hungarian soldier. This ax very likely accompanied Ippolito on that campaign. For almost two centuries a large armory occupied a suite of galleries on the upper floor of the Uffizi, where the dynastic collections of the Medici rulers of Florence were displayed. The armory was seen by a steady stream of local and foreign visitors who marveled at harnesses worn by famous men, curious weapons of earlier times, and richly jeweled arms from the Orient. The Museum's ax undoubtedly entered the armory as a memento of Ippolito following his death, but it is only clearly identifiable in an inventory of the Medici armory in Florence in 1695, where it is described as having a wooden haft studded with brass nails with rosette heads. The present haft is a modern replacement. In 1775, when the Medici collections were reorganized, a large portion of the armory was sold. The dispersal scattered the contents far and wide, but more than a half dozen of these arms have entered the Metropolitan's collection.

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.