Close-Helmet for the Tournament on Foot

Unknown

ca. 1600–1610 · Steel, gold, brass · Arms and Armor

The surfaces were originally blued, deeply engraved and punched, and damascened in gold; though worn with age, some of the original brilliant coloring is preserved beneath the overlapping plates. The ornament includes pairs of entwined rings, a triangle (or delta) with paired palm branches, and crowns surmounting a complex monogram (either the owner's name or device). The form, decorative technique, and ornamental vocabulary are Milanese, but the helmet might also have been made by Milanese armorers working in the Spanish royal workshop at Eugui.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1600–1610

Medium

Steel, gold, brass

Culture

Italian, Milan; or Spanish, Eugui

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913