Jousting Armor ca. 1500 and later Helmet made by Daniel Tachaux French This colorful equestrian figure is a faithful reconstruction of a German jouster of ca. 1500. Among the Metropolitan Museums earliest acquisitions of arms and armor, purchased with the Duc de Dino Collection in 1904, the armor was exhibited in the Arms and Armor Galleries until 1988. It is once again on display, now in the Great Hall, to herald the Museums celebration of the Department of Arms and Armors centennial (1912-2012), a century in which the collection has become one of the largest and most encyclopedic of its kind.The armor is a special type worn in Germany and Austria for the "joust of peace" (Gestech), fought by two contestants on horseback armed with blunt lances. The aim was to unseat the opponent or at least to break a lance against his armor. An extreme sport, the joust was a test of the riders skill, courage, and horsemanship. Safety was of greater concern than mobility, so the armor was thick,