"Savoyard" helmets are a distinctive form of late Italian close-helmet worn by cuirassiers, the heavy cavalry outfitted with plate armor worn only to the knee and armed with pistols and swords. The term Savoyard is a reference to the large number of these helmets that the Swiss captured from the troops of the duke of Savoy during an unsuccessful assault on the city of geneva during the night of December 11–12, 1602. These helmets are also referred to as Todenkopf ("death's head," in German), an illusion to the eerie skull-like quality of the face defense. This example, which is unusual in having a fully embossed human nose, has a decidedly more cheerful countenance.
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Title:Closed Burgonet of "Savoyard" Type
Date:ca. 1600–1620
Culture:Italian
Medium:Steel, leather
Dimensions:H. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm); W. 10 5/8 in. (27 cm); D. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); Wt. 10 lb. 1 oz. (4562 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Accession Number:14.25.512
Ambrogio Uboldo (by 1843–d. 1865; his estate sale, Objets d’art et de curiosité provenant d’Italie, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 21, 1869, no. 47, sold to Riggs)
; William H. Riggs, Paris (1869–1913; his gift to MMA).
Louisville, Ky. Speed Art Museum. "European Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition," November 15, 1952–December 28, 1952.
Hagerstown, Md. Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. "Loan Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 27–March 31, 1955, no. 30.
Newark. Newark Museum Association. "Loan Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 15–September 15, 1955, no. 30.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "European Helmets 1450–1650: Treasures from the Reserve Collection," January 25, 2000–December 30, 2001.
Uboldo, Ambrogio. Descrizione degli Elmi Posseduti da Ambrogio Uboldo, Nobile di Villareggio. Milan, 1843. pl. 3, fig. A.
Hôtel Drouot, Paris. Objets d'Art et de Curiositè. Paris: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 21, 1869. p. 16, lot 47, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Speed Art Museum. European Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition. Louisville, Ky.: Speed Art Museum, 1952. no. 37.
Grancsay, Stephen V., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Loan Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hagerstown, Md.: Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, February 27–March 31, 1955. p. 12, no. 30.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. European Helmets, 1450–1650: Treasures from the Reserve Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jan 25, 2000 - Dec 30, 2000. p. 39, no. 61, ill.
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