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Details
LOT 1089
Italian Foot-Combat Helm
21ST CENTURY A.D.
14 1/2 in. (3.9 kg, 37 cm high).
Comprising a pivoting visor, one piece skull raising to a small medial comb and fitted at the nape with a plume holder, flower-shaped pivots, front and rear gorget formed of a single plate.
Provenance
The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
Literature
Cf. a similar combat helm in Pyhrr, S.W., Of Arms and men, Arms and Armour at the Metropolitan 1912-2012, New York, 2012, fig,6.
Footnotes
The helmet is a reproduction of a foot-combat helm, or great bascinet, used between the end of 15th and the first half of 16th century in the battles and tournaments. A similar helmet is that of Sir Giles Capel (1485-1556), a prominent figure at Henry VIII's court. These helmets were characterised by a unique rounded pierced visor with (here 60) slots for sight and ventilation. Helmets of this massive size and distinctive type were intended for foot-combat, a sporting contest fought by two fully armoured warriors armed with poleaxes, spears or swords. However, in this reproduction the visor has been mounted upon a separated collar.
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