Sallet

The proportions of this helmet are notable, as it is taller than most examples and extends almost to the shoulders. The rivet holes encircling the center of the bowl originally served as an attachment for the lining, with a pair of holes below on each side for the Y-shaped chin straps. Additional holes around the edge, one of them filled with a copper rivet, indicate that this example was once covered with textile and fitted with gilt-copper mounts in the Venetian style (for another example in the Metropolitan Museum's collection, see acc. no. 29.158.17), fittings that probably were added later in the helmet's working life. The bowl is stamped on the left side near the back with Milanese-style armorers' marks: two letters (IO?) beneath a crown and below, struck twice, two letters (AO?) beneath a double-armed cross.