In the 1560s it became fashionable in Italy to cover an armor with multiple narrow bands of foliate ornament, a practice carried to the extreme in this example. The presence of a large reinforcing brow plate on a close-helmet of this date is highly unusual, but it is found on similarly decorated armors made for the court of Ferrara. (The front collar lames are missing.)
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Artwork Details
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Title:Close-Helmet for the Field
Date:ca. 1560–70
Culture:Italian
Medium:Steel, gold
Dimensions:H. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm); W. 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm); D. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm); Wt. 9 lb. 15 oz. (4515 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Gift of Christian A. Zabriskie, 1937
Accession Number:37.189.13
Ex colls.: Stefano Bardini, Florence, Samuel J. Whawell, Eastbourne and London; Theodore Offerman, New York
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "European Helmets 1450–1650: Treasures from the Reserve Collection," January 25, 2000–December 30, 2001, no. 40.
Laking, Guy Francis, Charles A. de Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. IV. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920–1922. pp. 111–112, fig. 1198.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. p. 26, no. 78.
American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc. European Arms & Armor of the XV–XVIII Century: Collection of the Late Theodore Offerman, Sold by the Order of the Executor of His Estate, The National City Bank of New York. New York: American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc., November 11–13, 1937. pp. 36–37, lot 249, ill. p. 36.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "S. J. Whawell and the Art Market." The Eleventh Park Lane Arms Fair: Sunday 6th February 1994: the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London W1: 10.30 AM–6.00 PM pp. 17, 23, fig. 4.
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. 27, no. 40, ill.
Bentini, Jadranka, and Grazia Agostini. "Catalogo a Cura di Jadranka Bentini e Grazia Agostini, con la Collaborazione di Barbara Ghelfi." In Un Rinascimento Singolare: la Corte degli Este a Ferrara. Milan: Silvana, October 2, 2003–January 11, 2004. p. 321, no. 244.
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