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"Barbute" sallet, ca. 1470–80
Italian (Milan)
Steel; Wt. 6 lb. 9 oz. (2989 g)
Rogers Fund, 1904 (04.3.232)

The term sallet (from the Italian celata) is applied to a wide variety of fifteenth-century helmets that have open faces or, if visored, leave the lower face and neck exposed. This tall form of sallet is typically Italian and is sometimes referred to as a barbute. It is struck twice on the right side at the back with the same armorer's mark: two Gothic letters ("SS" or "SZ") beneath a split-legged cross. Struck on the right cheek is the lion of Saint Mark, a control mark that perhaps denotes the helmet's former presence in the Venice arsenal.


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    "Barbute" sallet, ca. 1470–80
    Italian (Milan)
    Steel; Wt. 6 lb. 9 oz. (2989 g)
    Rogers Fund, 1904 (04.3.232)