Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This unusual sturdy shield is distinctive for its convex profile, the raised ribs on its surface, and its decorative scalloped edges. Recently conserved, the brilliantly colored surface displays two campaigns of painting. The earlier decoration shows a vertically divided design: the dexter (shield’s right) side is painted red with vertically aligned letters AGVF, probably those of the shield’s owner, and the sinister (shield’s left) side has colored stripes. Painted over this design are two small shields with the arms of two Nuremberg patrician families, Ketzel (on a black ground, a silver monkey holding a gold ball) and Koler (on a red ground, a silver ring). These arms refer to Lucas Ketzel and Magdalena Koler, who married in 1467. The arms may have been added to the shield after Lucas’s death in 1485, when the shield would have been hung in a church or chapel as a memorial. Beneath the top two layers of painting is an earlier layer with different designs, evidence that this shield had a long working life.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art