Skip to main content

Kettle hat: M.13A-1941

Object information

Awaiting location update

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Kettle hat, of munition quality, for field use. Of one-piece construction with a medially-ridged, hemispherical crown and a broad, downturned brim projecting as an obtuse point front and rear. The edge of the brim has a plain, inward turn bordered by eighteen holes for lining-rivets. Two more such holes may have existed at the front and rear of the brim respectively, but have become obscured by later repairs. The base of the crown is encircled by twelve holes for lining-rivets, two of which on either side are occupied by externally-flush rivets.
The skull is pierced with numerous holes, some of which are man-made, and some the result of corrosion. Large holes at the top rear of the skull, and two smaller holes at the left of the brow have been repaired with riveted and welded internal patches, as has a large section of the left edge of the brim. Large cracks in the centre of both the front and rear of the brim have been repaired by brazing. Part of the composite Spanish armour M.13A-K-1941.

Notes

History note: From the collection of Dr Bashford Dean, Riverdale, Long Island, New York. According to a manuscript note by F.H. Cripps-Day, dated December 1926, in his grangerised copy of G.F. Laking, A Record of European Armour and Arms, [section on jacks in volume titled 'mail'], now preserved in the library of the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. 'I exchanged [a jack] with Dean for a Gothic Spanish suit made up. I wanted a Gothic suit but parted with a rare piece'. The jack, from a house in Tonbridge, Kent, is now part of the Bashford Dean Memorial Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From its character and condition it is possible that the helmet was one of the many pieces from the armoury of the Knights of St John at Rhodes that Bashford Dean acquired from the Parisian dealer Louis Bachereau. Mr Francis Henry Cripps-Day. Part of the composite Spanish armour M.13A-K-1941. Given by Mr Francis Henry Cripps-Day

Legal notes

Given by Mr F.H. Cripps-Day

Measurements and weight

Depth: 32.4 cm
Height: 20.1 cm
Weight: 1.35 kg
Width: 27.6 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1941-06) by Cripps-Day, Francis Henry

Dating

16th Century, Early#
Production date: circa AD 1500

Note

The helmet is bright with heavy patination and pitting overall.

Western European

Components of the work

Crown
Parts

Materials used in production

Steel

Techniques used in production

Hammered : Of one-piece construction with a medially-ridged, hemispherical crown and a broad, downturned brim projecting as an obtuse point front and rear; hammered, shaped, riveted
Forming

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.13A-1941
Primary reference Number: 18190
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 11 January 2016 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Kettle hat" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18190 Accessed: 2024-11-15 09:51:06

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18190 |title=Kettle hat |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-15 09:51:06|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-18190

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...