This helmet is the earliest surviving example of Renaissance armor all'antica (in the antique style). The lion's head is an outer shell made of embossed and gilt copper that is fitted over an underlying plain steel helmet. It represents the head of the Nemean Lion, whose pelt was worn as a headdress and cloak by the mythological hero Hercules. He was frequently portrayed in Renaissance art as a symbol of indomitable strength, courage, and perseverance.
[Thomas Gwennap, London, 1816–33]; A. C. Lafontaine, England (until 1914; sold to Böhler); [Julius Böhler, Munich, 1914; sold to Germanisches Nationalmuseum]; Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (1914–22; sold to a private collector); private collection, Holland (1922–23; sold through Julius Goldshmidt to MMA).
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Thomas P. Campbell. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 161, ill.
Artist: Stamped with the armorer's name, LIONARDO (Italian, probably active in Milan, ca. 1440)Date: ca. 1440Medium: Steel, copper alloyAccession: 42.50.2On view in:Gallery 373
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