Falling Buffe

Kolman Helmschmid

ca. 1525 · Steel, textile (wool, canvas) · Arms and Armor

This type of face defense is called a falling buffe because its segments can be collapsed downward to allow for easier breathing and greater visability, or locked in an upright position to fully protect the face. It was probably made by the celebrated Augsburg armorer Kolman Helmschmid in about 1525 and is very similar in form and decoration to another helmet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, also attributed to Helmschmid, which is a type known as a closed burgonet (accession number 27.159.18). Both that helmet and this buffe came from the armory of the Dos Aguas family in Valencia, Spain.

Artist

Kolman Helmschmid

Date

ca. 1525

Medium

Steel, textile (wool, canvas)

Culture

German, Augsburg

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of George D. Pratt, 1927