The collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Arms and Armor is one of the most encompassing and well known in the world. The collection rose to international prominence more than 100 years ago, in 1912, and since then it has continued to evolve and expand, both cross-culturally and across disciplines. Arms and Armor: Notable Acquisitions 2003-2014 will focus on some 30 works from Europe, the United States, Japan, India, and Tibet that were acquired by the department over the past decade. Beyond the well-established categories of finely decorated armor, edged weapons, and firearms, the selection of works on view will feature drawings and prints, textiles, and other objects and materials that are vital to, but often unrecognized aspects of, the understanding and appreciation of arms and armor as a universal art form.

Works on paper, textiles, and some other pieces will be rotated two to three times during the course of the exhibition.

Highlights among the works that will be on view include the 17th-century Surcoat (Jinhaori), from Japan; the 17th-to 18th-century Dagger and Sheath, from Nepal; the 13th- to 15th - century Pommel Plate from a Saddle, from Tibet; and the 18th-century French drawing Design for a Small-Sword Hilt.

The exhibition is organized by Donald J. La Rocca, Curator in the Department of Arms and Armor at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A selection of pieces will be the subject of blog posts by curators from a number of the Museum’s departments, including Arms and Armor, Drawings and Prints, and the American Wing.