Backplate

1591

Anton Peffenhauser German, Augsburg, ca. 1525 - 1603

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Title Backplate

Artwork Date 1591

Artist Anton Peffenhauser

Life Dates Augsburg

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. German

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Steel, gold, leather, copper alloy

Dimensions Overall: 16 1/2 × 14 1/4 × 6 1/8 inches, 21.3 pounds (41.9 × 36.2 × 15.6 cm, 9.7 kg) [Weight includes breastplate (53.202.3), backplate (53.202.4), and tassets (53.202.8A-B)] Overall (waist): 18 inches (45.7 cm)

Classification Arms and Armor

Department European Sculpture and Dec Arts

Credit Gift of William Randolph Hearst Foundation

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 53.202.4

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, in yellow paint on interior, upper right: 9

Marks Stamped, at center small of back: inspection mark of Augsburg armorers’ guild [a fir cone upon a pedestal] Punched, at center small of back: assembly mark [three dots]

Provenance

1591, commissioned by Margravine Sophie of Brandenburg, Duchess of Saxony [1568-1622] for Prince-Elector Christian I [1560-1591] (Dresden, Germany);
1591, inherited by Prince-Elector Christian II [1583-1611];
1611, passed by descent through his heirs, the Prince-Electors of Saxony (Dresden, Germany);
1827, inherited by King Anton of Saxony [1755-1836] (Dresden, Germany);
1832, transferred with the contents of the royal and electoral armory to the Königliches Historisches Museum (Dresden, Germany);
1925, sold to William Randolph Hearst (New York, New York, USA);
1951, by bequest to the William Randolph Hearst Foundation (New York, New York, USA);
1953, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Beuten, Tobias. Chur-Fürstlischer Säschsicher stets grünender hoher Cedern-Wald...oder kurze Vorstellung der churfürstlische sachsiche hohen Regal-Wercke. Dresden, 1671, [unnumbered].

Ehrenthal, Max von. Führer durch das Königliche Historische Museum zu Dresden, 2nd ed. Dresden: Wilhelm Baensch, 1897, p. 41-44, nos. 10, 12, 14, 16, or 19.

Haenel, Erich. Kostbare Waffen aus der Dresdner Rüstkammer. Leipzig, 1923, p. 26.

F. W. Robinson. "A Gift of Arms and Armor from the Collection of William Randolph Hearst." Bulletin of the DIA 33, no. 1 (1953-1954): pp. 1-5.

The Art of the Aromorer. Exh. cat., Flint Institute of Arts. Flint MI, December 7, 1967-April 1, 1968, cat. no. 10 (ill.).

Schedelmann, Hans. "Ein Rückblick auf den Waffenmarkt des letzten halben Jahrhunderts." Waffen und Kostümkunde 15, no. 1 (1973): pp. 25–51, p. 28, (fig. 6) (ill.).

"Family Art Game," Detroit Free Press (April 26[16], 1981): p. 23 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].

“Detroit Steel: Re-examining and Rehousing the Arms and Armor Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts,” ICOMAM Magazine, no. 25 (June 2021), pp. 15–16

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Anton Peffenhauser, Backplate, 1591, Steel, gold, leather, copper alloy. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of William Randolph Hearst Foundation, 53.202.4.