This rare small sallet (celatina) is stamped with a partially effaced mark attributed to the Missaglia family, the leading armorers of Milan in the mid-fifteenth century. It is one of approximately 100 helmets that were included in the Chalcis group, a unique time capsule comprising about 450 pieces of fourteenth and fifteenth century armor that were abandoned in Chalcis, then a Venetian outpost in Greece, after the city was conquered in 1470, and were not rediscovered until 1840. The Chalcis group, of which more than 200 items are part of The Met’s permanent collection, constitutes the largest selection of elements of fifteenth century armor anywhere in the world. The helmet shows significant damage from projectiles, probably musket balls and crossbow bolts. Whether the damage was caused during the siege of Chalcis or later is impossible to know. Fortunately, and unlike many other pieces in the Chalcis group, this helmet was never restored, other than surface cleaning, and remains largely in the condition in which it was found.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Small Sallet (Celatina)
Armorer:Stamped with a mark belonging to the Missaglia workshop (Italian, Milan, recorded 1430–1529)
Date:ca. 1450
Geography:Milan
Culture:Italian, Milan
Medium:Steel
Dimensions:H. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); W. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm); D. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 4.75 oz. (588 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2024
Object Number:2024.112
Marking: Stamped near the top left of the crown with an armorer's mark, possibly a mark of the Missaglia family (not fully readable due to damage): [a disfigured letter beneath a split cross moline].
Found in the former Venetian Castle of Negroponte (Chalcis), Euboea, Greece, 1840;Central State Collections of Greece, Athens (after 1840–85; transferred to the Historical & Ethnological Society); Historical & Ethnological Society, now the National Historical Museum, Athens (1885–at least 1920; by exchange to Dean); Bashford Dean, New York (by 1924–d. 1928; European Arms and Armor, Mainly XV · XVI & XVII Centuries, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from High Provenance sale, American Art Association, New York, November 23–24, 1928, no. 271, for $1,500 to Duveen Brothers for Mackay); Clarence H. Mackay, New York (1928–d. 1939; his estate, inv. no. E-62/166; sold through Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York, to Higgins on April 1, 1940); John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection, inv. no. 2590, Worcester, MA (1940–2014; Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria: The John Woodman Higgins Armoury Collection sale, Olympia Auctions, London, UK, May 7, 2014, no. 167, for £3,000 to Gorman); Michael Gorman, UK (2014–24; sold through Olympia Auctions to MMA).
Houston. The University of St. Thomas. "Made of Iron," September–December 1966, no. 348.
Flint. Flint Institute of Arts. "The Art of the Armorer," December 7, 1967–April 1, 1968, no. 18.
American Art Association. European Arms and Armour, Mainly XV–XVI & XVII Centuries. New York: Anderson Galleries, November 23–24, 1928. pp. 88–9, no. 271 (as "pate defense").
Grancsay, Stephen V., and John Woodman Higgins Armory. Catalogue of Armor: The John Woodman Higgins Armory. Worcester, MA: John Woodman Higgins Armory, 1961. no. 34.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and John de Menil. Made of iron. Houston: The University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX, 1966. p. 209, no. 348.
Flint Institute of Arts and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art of the Armorer. Flint, Mich., December 7, 1967–April 1, 1968. no. 18.
Olympia Auctions. Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria: The John Woodman Higgins Armoury Collection. London: Olympia Auctions, May 7, 2014. p. 88, no. 167 (as "an 'archer's' skull cap in the style of the late 15th century").
Williams, Alan, David Edge, Francesco Grazzi, and Nikolai Kardjilov. "A New Method of Revealing Armourers’ Marks." Studies in Conservation (2017), p. 5, figs. 7a–d.
Stamped with marks of the Missaglia workshop (Italian, Milan, recorded 1430–1529)
ca. 1460
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