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Pot helmet: HEN.M.98-1933

Object information

Awaiting location update

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown (Possibly)

Entities

Categories

Description

Pot helmet, for use by an harquebusier. Formed of a skull, a flat, obtusely-pointed peak, a sliding nasal-bar with a retaining staple and wing-headed locking-screw, a broad, obtusely-pointed neck-defence of four upward-overlapping lames, and a pair of pendant cheek-pieces. The one-piece hemispherical skull is decorated with six radiating ribs and a raised border at each side of its lower edge, and fitted at its apex with a pierced finial retaining a circular washer. The peak, which is attached to the brow of the skull by round-headed rivets, is pierced at its centre to receive the sliding nasal-bar which, together with its retaining staple and locking-screw, is a modern restoration.
The cheek-pieces, which are now detached, have concave front and rear edges that converge towards their lower ends. They are each pierced with seven ventilation-holes in a rosette-formation. The main edges of the peak, the neck-defence and the cheek-pieces have plain inward turns. The helmet retains substantial fragments of its leather lining-bands.

Notes

History note: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex.

Legal notes

J.S. Henderson Bequest

Measurements and weight

Depth: 42.0 cm
Height: 29.0 cm
Weight: 1.59 kg
Width: 25.8 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart

Dating

17th Century, Mid#
Production date: circa AD 1650

Note

The helmet is bright with moderately heavy pitting and patination overall.

Possibly German or Dutch

Components of the work

Lining-bands composed of leather ( fragments)
Border
Cheek-pieces
Parts
Skull Decoration

Materials used in production

Steel

Techniques used in production

Hammered : Formed of a skull, a flat, obtusely-pointed peak, a sliding nasal-bar with a retaining staple and wing-headed locking-screw, a broad, obtusely-pointed neck-defence of four upward-overlapping lames, and a pair of pendant cheek-pieces; hammered, shaped, riveted, with a recessed border and decorated with V-shaped nicks
Patinating
Formed

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: three punched dots and two incised crosses

  • Location: Underside of peak to the left
  • Method of creation: Punched and incised
  • Type: Mark

Inscription present: tag numbered '87'

  • Text: 87
  • Type: Label

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.98-1933
Primary reference Number: 18549
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 11 August 2015 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) "Pot helmet" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18549 Accessed: 2024-12-18 21:45:42

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/18549 |title=Pot helmet |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-18 21:45:42|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-18549

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