In the exhibition Heavy Metal, Focus on European Armour the Army Museum shows just how multi-facetted armour development was and what the connection is between a soldier in armour and an astronaut, an ice hockey goalie or a hard rocker. Beautiful 16th and 17th century armours of emperors, kings, generals and jousting knights on loan from top European museums are displayed eye to eye with the visitor. The armour of a four-year-old prince, an impressively armoured horse of the Saxon Elector, a dwarfs armour; each and every one a piece of unique armour that has never before been seen in the Netherlands.
Heavy Metal
Focus on European Armour
5 November 2004 until 30 January 2005
Everyone knows something about armour the knight in shining armour which was so heavy he had to be hoisted onto his horse. If he fell off, he was stuck on his back like a beetle, unable to stand up. You needed a tin opener to take it off. All balderdash, of course. Armour was flexible, light and very effective and much more than just a bullet-proof vest. Armour is a recurring theme in art the knight by the cross, angels as soldiers and portraits and city crests of kings, princes and generals. Even when armour was no longer worn on the battlefield, princes, admirals and generals were still glad to have themselves immortalised wearing armour.
Today, one finds the equivalent of armour everywhere from bullet-proof vests to safety helmets, skaters knee-pads to astronauts space suits, from fencing suits to Madonnas kinky concert outfits. And although we no longer have famous armourers making armour any more, our clothing made by hip designers from Paris or London or the car we drive have taken on the function of armour as a status symbol.
The Army Museum, in its surprising alternative exhibition called Heavy Metal, shows that armour is a thing of every era. A modern approach and the use of unorthodox materials makes a visit to the exhibition a special experience. The visitors first see the every-day armour worn by an astronaut, a hockey goalie, an anti-riot policeman, a bomb disposal man, a commando and a Heavy Metal fan. A surprising, quick-action video clip draws the link between armour from then and now. How it has evolved into the outfit of a skater, astronaut or American football player?
Next, in a spooky environment, the beauty and strength of armour is set off against the vulnerability of metal. In a no-mans land, we see the consequences of violence: helmets with bullet holes, gas masks and flakjackets, a vehicle shot to pieces and armour plates with grenade dents.
The high point is when the visitor comes literally eye to eye with unique armour. Here they see the ultimate artistic expression in steel: visual art, applied art and industrial design combined into one product: armour in all its facets. The suits of armour were made by the top designers of the day. On display is armour that Prince Mauritz wore in circa 1590, the armour of Emperor Maximilian I from 1484, and armour of the Emperor Charles V from 1512, all from the Viennese Museum Hofjagd und Rüstkammer. A mail shirt from the 15th century from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, scale armour from the Kremlin Museum of Moscow, childs armour of the ten-year-old Polish Prince Vladislav from the Royal Armoury in Stockholm and childs armour from the highly acclaimed armourer Pfeffenhauser from 1590 of the Army Museum in Brussels. In short: only the best!
An English-Dutch book about all the aspects of armour, with numerous colour pictures and illustrations, written by visiting curator Robert Smith, Museum Consultant from England, accompanies the exhibition.
