From May 15, 2022, through September 5, 2022, the Worcester Art Museum will host an exhibition titled Age of Armor: Treasures of the Higgins Collection, featuring more than 100 artifacts from the Higgins Collection.
Exhibitions such as this one at the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) in Massachusetts explore armor’s role in history, from the Middle Ages to the present, as well as the various ideologies surrounding it. There are more than 1,500 items in the Higgins Armory Collection at Worcester Art Museum, one of the largest collections of guns and armor in the United States. Swords and early firearms, as well as complete suits of armor and individual components of it, are all included.
More than 80 items from the Higgins Collection are displayed in Age of Armor, along with numerous more from the DAM’s holdings. The exhibition was enriched by including works from a wide range of disciplines, which helped to relate it to the contemporary world. Armor and its cultural connotations have influenced modern art and challenged established traditions and ideals in some circumstances, as these works demonstrate.
Publications
Throughout history, the concept of personal body armor has captivated the human imagination, from ancient Greek warriors to medieval knights to comic book heroes. Only in Europe and for a limited period in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance did full suits of articulated steel plates exist, and only for a short period. The Golden Age of Armor is explored in this unique display of highlights from one of the best collections of weaponry and armor in the United States.