Armorer's Hammer

Armorer's Hammer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This hammer is among the 644 pieces that make up the very specialized outillage (set of tools) brought from Paris to New York by the armorer Daniel Tachaux (1857–1928) in 1909, when he was hired to repair and maintain the Museum’s arms and armor collection. Hammer heads and stakes of many different sizes, shapes, and weights are necessary to create the complex forms of different weapons and pieces of armor. Tachaux trained in Paris under the German armorer Ludwig Klein (about 1830–1882) and inherited his teacher’s tools, which he combined with his own. The set, possibly the most complete of its kind in existence, was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in 1912 at the request of the Arms and Armor Department's founding curator Bashford Dean.

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.