Morion-Cabasset Helmet
- Artist Culture
- Italian
- Date
- 1580–90
- possibly made in
- Milan, Lombardy region, Italy, Europe
- Classification
- Arms & armor, metalwork
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 125
- Dimensions
- 11 3/4 x 14 5/8 x 9 3/4 in. (29.8 x 37.1 x 24.8 cm)
weight: 2 lb. 3 oz. (1 kg) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 175:1926
NOTES
This type of helmet combined the flat curved brim of the morion helmet which had a crest on top from front to back and the almond-shaped skull of the cabasset helmet. This combination produced a light and elegantly formed head defense. Such open-faced defenses were popular on the battlefield with soldiers on horseback and on foot, as they provided good protection without interfering with the visibility necessary to aim hand firearms. The surface of a morion-cabasset lent itself to decoration, and finely etched ones like this were popular helmets for the bodyguards of powerful nobility.
Provenance
- 1926
Princes von Liechtenstein, Austria
1926 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased at auction of the Liechtenstein collection, "European Arms and Armor, Mainly XV-XVIII Century, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from Princely Provenience." American Art Association, New York, November 19-20, 1926, lot no. 109 [1]
Notes:
The majority of the provenance for this piece is provided by the "Preliminary Notes" in the auction catalogue ["European Arms and Armor, Mainly XV-XVIII Century, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from Princely Provenience." American Art Association, New York, NY, November 19-20, 1926] and scholar Walter J. Karcheski Jr. [SLAM document files].
[1] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 10, 1926.
Princes von Liechtenstein, Austria
1926 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased at auction of the Liechtenstein collection, "European Arms and Armor, Mainly XV-XVIII Century, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from Princely Provenience." American Art Association, New York, November 19-20, 1926, lot no. 109 [1]
Notes:
The majority of the provenance for this piece is provided by the "Preliminary Notes" in the auction catalogue ["European Arms and Armor, Mainly XV-XVIII Century, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from Princely Provenience." American Art Association, New York, NY, November 19-20, 1926] and scholar Walter J. Karcheski Jr. [SLAM document files].
[1] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 10, 1926.