IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 18390 accession number: HEN.M.64-1933 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 16 January 2017 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: Close helmet, for heavy cavalry use. Formed of a one-piece skull with a visor, upper bevor and bevor attached to it by common pivots, two front gorget-plates and a single rear gorget-plate. The skull has a moderately high medial comb that extends from just above the brow to just above the nape. The rear of the comb is pierced with a transverse hole that probably served to tie up a plume. The front edge of the skull is cut away in a straight line across the brow and in a convex curve at each side, to form a somewhat rectangular face-opening. The face-opening is bordered by twelve externally-flush lining-rivets. A thirteenth rivet is missing from the angle of its left side. The rear edge of the skull extends down to the nape where it is flanged outwards to receive the rear gorget-plate. A crack in the right end of the flange is repaired with a small, riveted, internal patch. Six brass-capped, round-headed lining rivets run around the rear of the skull at the height of the nape. They are fitted externally with large, iron, rosette washers having punched circles in each petal, and internally with octagonal or square iron washers. The rivet at the right of the neck also retains a large swivel-hook that engages a pierced stud riveted at the rear edge of the bevor. Attached at the centre of the nape by a pair of brass-capped, round-headed rivets with octagonal internal washers is a tapering plume-holder of circular section decorated with plain mouldings at its upper and lower ends, and diagonal incised lines enclosed top and bottom by narrow, transverse bands of incised volutes. The integral arms of the plume-holder have heart-shaped terminals and are decorated with punched circles. Each side of the skull is pierced with a hole to receive the pivots that attach the visor, upper bevor and bevor. The pivots have large, round heads with eight radiating lines, and are fitted with large, octagonal internal washers. The medially-ridged visor is rounded at the brow, shaped to fit over the front of the comb of the skull and angled forward beneath its centrally-divided vision-slit. The rear edge of the visor is markedly concave, projecting back strongly where it overlaps the comb of the skull. The lower edge of the visor is flanged inwards at the front to nestle within the upper bevor. Screwed into the right side of the visor, towards the rear end of its inward-flanged section, is a short stud of circular section that serves as a lifting-peg. The slightly prow-shaped upper bevor has fairly broad arms with rounded terminals. Its upper edge is cut at the right side with a shallow notch to accommodate the lifting-peg of the visor. The right side of the upper bevor is pierced at the front with thirteen small, circular ventilation-holes in rosette formation. Riveted at the lower edge of the same side is a small pierced stud that is engaged by a swivel-hook riveted at the right of the chin of the bevor. The bevor is shaped to and slightly boxed at the chin. It is cut away at the front to form a deep, U-shaped face-opening. The edge of the face-opening has a plain, inward turn, bordered at its lower end by eight externally-flush lining-rivets. Attached by a brass-capped, round-headed rivet with a square, internal washer at the right of the chin is a swivel-hook that engages the pierced stud riveted at the lower edge of the upper bevor. Riveted at the right of the neck of the bevor is a pierced stud that is engaged by the swivel-hook riveted at the right of the neck of the skull. The lower edge of the bevor is flanged outwards to receive the two upward-overlapping front gorget-plates. The lower edge of the second plate descends to a slightly rounded central point. It has a plain inward turn accompanied by nine brass-capped lining-rivets. The left rivet retains an octagonal, internal washer. Both ends of the lowest gorget-plate have been bent and cracked. The crack in the right end has been repaired with a riveted internal patch. The gorget-plates are connected to one another and to the flanged lower edge of the bevor at their outer ends by brass-capped, round-headed rivets with octagonal or circular internal washers. The first gorget-plate was at one time rigidly attached to the flanged lower edge of the bevor by a further five rivets. The holes for these rivets have subsequently been plugged with independent rivets. Attached to the flanged lower edge of the skull by a round-headed brass rivet at either side is a single rear gorget-plate. Its convex lower edge has a plain inward turn accompanied by five round-headed, brass lining-rivets. From differences in its internal colour, the rear gorget-plate can be recognised as a replacement. title: close helmet NOTES ----- type: history note value: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Applied Arts collection: J.S. Henderson creditline: J.S. Henderson Bequest STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18390 TECHNIQUES ---------- formed of a one-piece skull with a medially-ridged visor, upper bevor and bevor attached to it by common pivots, two front gorget-plates and a single rear gorget-plate; hammered, shaped, riveted, with incised, voluted, banded and punched decoration hammered TECHNIQUES ---------- patinating TECHNIQUES ---------- formed CATEGORIES ------ category: armour DATING ------ creation date: 1800 - 1900 creation date earliest: 1800 creation date latest: 1900 culture: 19th Century CREATORS -------- maker: Unknown DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Depth units: cm value: 29.5 dimension: Height units: cm value: 29.8 dimension: Weight units: kg value: 3.61 dimension: Width units: cm value: 26.2