The graceful spiral shape distinguishes this as a masterpiece of fifteenth-century armor making. Similar war hats, usually with gilt ornaments mounted on the apex, are often represented in Franco-Burgundian tapestries.
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Artwork Details
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Title:War Hat
Date:ca. 1475
Geography:probably Burgundy or Flanders
Culture:Western European, probably Burgundy or Flanders
Medium:Steel
Dimensions:H. 10 3/16 in. (25.9 cm); W. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); D. 14 5/8 in. (37.1 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 7 oz. (2920 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Accession Number:04.3.228
[E. Juste the Elder, Paris, 1883; sold to Ressman for Fr 5000]; Costantino Ressman, Paris (1883–1899; sold to Duc de Dino together with nine other helmets for Fr 50,000)
; Charles Maurice Camille de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, Paris (1899–1904; sold to MMA).
Paris. Palais de la Guerre, Les Invalides. "Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1889: Les Anciennes Armées Françaises: Exposition Rétrospective Militaire du Ministère de la Guerre en 1889," May 6–October 31, 1889 (possibly?).
Vienna. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. "Europäische Kunst um 1400," May 7–July 31, 1962, no. 544.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, no. 171.
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. no. B-8.
Dean, Bashford, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue of European Arms and Armor. Hand-book (Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)), Vol. 15. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1905. p. 127, fig. 50 G.
Engel, Bernhard. "'Zwei Kriegerfiguren des 15. Jahrhunderts' (Fachnotizen)." Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde, Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 7 pp. 228–31, fig. 7.
Laking, Guy Francis, and Charles Alexander Cosson. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries, edited by Francis Henry Cripps-Day. Vol. II. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920. pp. 62–64, fig. 417.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Europäische Kunst Um 1400: Achte Ausstellung Unter Den Auspizien Des Europarates. Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1962. p. 497, no. 544.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Kenneth Clark. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1970. p. 190, no. 171, ill.
Nicholas, Michael, and G. A. Embleton. Armies of Medieval Burgundy, 1364–1477. Men-at-Arms 144. London: Osprey, 1983. p. 15, fig. E.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 16, 64, ill.
Karcheski, Walter J., and Thom Richardson. The Medieval Armour from Rhodes. Leeds: Royal Armouries, 2000. p. 16.
La Rocca, Donald J. How to Read European Armor. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. p.98, fig.112.
Christie's, New York. Japanese and Korean Art. New York: Christie's, New York, March 19, 2019. ill. with no. 348.
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Stamped with the armorer's name, LIONARDO (Italian, probably active in Milan, ca. 1440)
ca. 1440
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