Burgonet for the Guard of the Counts Khevenhüller zu Aichelberg
Not on view
The acorn and oak leaves embossed on the sides of the bowl are emblems of the noble Austrian family Khevenhüller zu Aichelberg (Aichel is German for "acorn"). A series of "black-and-white" armors mounted with similarly decorated burgonets or morions is preserved in the family's castle of Hochosterwitz, near Klagenfürt, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Large numbers of standardized armors decorated with raised and brightly polished bands set off by the black-painted recessed surfaces were made for the German infantry (Landesknechte) in the second half of the sixteenth century. The majority were fabricated in Nuremberg, though similar harnesses were also made in the north (in the region of Brunswick) and even in Innsbruck. This example is unusal, in that its decoration is specific to its owner.
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