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Burgonet all'Antica

ca. 1535–45
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 374
Classically inspired helmets embossed in high relief, sometimes in the form of fantastic beasts, were a specialty of Milanese armorers in the 1530s and 1540s. Unlike etching, embossing thinned and weakened the steel and compromised its deflective qualities, so the technique generally was limited to armors intended for ceremonial wear. While this burgonet falls far short of the high standard of modeling and finish typical of works by Filippo Negroli (ca. 1510–1579) or his cousin Giovan Paolo (ca. 1513–1569), the leading masters of armor all'antica ("in the antique manner"), it nevertheless remains a characteristic example of this classicizing Renaissance art form. The helmet is forged from a single plate of steel, the surfaces retaining only faint traces of the original fire-gilding and silver damascened details.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Burgonet all'Antica
  • Date: ca. 1535–45
  • Geography: probably Milan
  • Culture: Italian, probably Milan
  • Medium: Steel, gold, silver
  • Dimensions: H. 10 13/16 (27.5 cm); W. 8 1/16 (20.5 cm); D. 11 5/8 in. (29.6 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 12 oz. (1709 g)
  • Classification: Helmets
  • Credit Line: Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.25.597
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
Armet, LIONARDO Italian, Steel, copper alloy, Italian, probably Milan
Armet
Armorer Stamped with the armorer's name, LIONARDO
ca. 1440
Burgonet, Steel, gold, silver, textile, Italian, Milan
Burgonet
Italian, Milan
ca. 1560–70
Armor of Henry II, King of France (reigned 1547–59), Jean Cousin the Elder French, Steel, gold, silver, leather, textile, French, possibly Paris
Armor of Henry II, King of France (reigned 1547–59)
Designer Part of the decoration design by Jean Cousin the Elder
Designer Part of the decoration design possibly by Baptiste Pellerin
ca. 1555
Armet, Steel, Italian, probably Milan
Armet
Italian, probably Milan
ca. 1450–60; rondel, stem, and aventail, later
Helmet for a Harquebusier, Steel, gold, silver, textile, Dutch or British
Helmet for a Harquebusier
Dutch or British
ca. 1610–20

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