Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The surface of the shield is painted with delicate foliate scrolls in silver leaf (now tarnished) on a black ground. During its working life, the shield was painted a second time with two shields bearing the arms of the Nuremberg patrician families Ketzel (on a black ground, a silver monkey holding a gold ball) and Igelbrecht (on a silver ground, a black hedgehog with three gold apples stuck on its spine). The arms may have been added in the late fifteenth century by the Ketzel family as a memorial to Heinrich Ketzel the Elder (died 1438), a citizen of Nuremberg by 1435–36, and his wife Anna Igelbrecht, who married in 1391.

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