Meet the Expert: The Emperor’s New Armour

Join curator Dr Toby Capwell for a detailed look at the life, career and works of one of the greatest armourers who ever lived - Konrad Seusenhofer, master of the Imperial court workshop at Innsbruck in Austria, founded by the Emperor Maximilian I in 1505.
Home to several examples of Seusenhofer’s work, The Wallace Collection has recently ‘gained’ a new masterpiece by him, a foot combat armour in the ‘Landsknecht’ style long thought to have been made in Augsburg, but now proven to be the work of the Emperor’s court armourer. Discover how this fabulous ‘puffed and slashed’ costume armour has revealed its true identity - a work by one of the most technologically advanced and artistically sophisticated armourers of the Renaissance.
For more information about Konrad Seusenhofer and his role in the court of Emperor Maximilian I, watch our latest Expert's Choice video: • Fragments of an Imperi...

[@harrykouwen1426]

Thank you so much for these excellentent observations of these magnificent pieces of armour, craft and art. I could look at these harnesses for ages and still discover more, the fact that it is not made perfect but just right to read the heart and soul of the armourers in it. I do hope to gaze at these pieces in reality one day.

[@jorgeroaro]

Very informative and well explained. The relationship between arms and armor with art, aesthetic beauty and fashion is a topic that is very rarely addressed, and certainly has great cultural interest about the way in which such seemingly contradictory things can coincide without any problem in the most refined aesthetic tastes.

[@ducthman4737]

The river Inn is one of the most important rivers in Europe. As a tributary of the Danube its waters end up in the Black Sea. During the Middle Ages this valley must have been one of the highways of Europe. No wonder that where you have a bridge (brücke) over the Inn connecting with the Brenner Pass you want to be as an industry in those days.

[@evar1822]

Maximilian's armour at 16:05 with the slick horizontal slit in the helmet has a distinct Robocop vibe about it. It looks so futuristic or maybe the creators of Robocop took unexpected inspiration in the artefacts of the past.

[@AyEhm-ii2dp]

A sallet

[@felix.der.ritter]

MHHH Nice High Quality Content

[@larrywave]

Its nice that you do these but audio could be better 👍

[@jamiecorrigan3241]

VERY POOR SOUND.

[@scottfoster9452]

Absolutely brilliant content and presentation! Bravo, more please!