Abstract
This article discusses methods and materials employed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to construct pistol display mounts that are compelling and visually unobtrusive. The key features of Met pistol mounts are that they are constructed from steel that is ground, filed, and shaped to fit closely to the object, positioned to leave as little of the mount as possible in the viewer’s sightline, and painted or patinated to blend in with the object or case material depending on the position of the mount relative to the viewer.
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Issue: Vol. X No. 2
Published: 31 December, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52357/armax38967
Peer-reviewed?: Yes
Keywords: pistols, firearms, display mounts, exhibition design, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bibliographic Information
Sean P. Belair, ‘Pistol Display Mounts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. X № 2 (2024), pp. 59–75, <https://doi.org/10.52357/armax38967>.
About the Author
Sean Belair is an Associate Conservator in the Department of Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He received his BA in European History from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and his MA in Objects Conservation from the University of Lincoln in Lincoln, UK. Sean has previously interned at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA; the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, VA’ The Royal Armouries in Leeds, UK; and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Sean was an intern and a Fellow at the Met before joining the staff in 2016.