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Tournament Helm

ca. 1510–20
Not on view
Helms bolted to the breast- and backplate and having large visors with multiple apertures for maximum sight and ventilation were typically used both in the tourney and in foot combat. The former was a mock combat fought by groups of mounted contestants armed with lances and rebated swords or clubs; in the latter, two armored contestants fought on foot within a wooden enclosure, the favored weapons usually being polaxes or swords, their strokes carefully monitored by referees. This helm bears faint traces of a mark, an M surmounted by a crescent, which is thought to be that of Guillem Margot (active in Brussels, recorded 1505–20). The same mark appears on three other elements of armor in the Metropolitan Museum: an armet (acc. no. 29.158.52); and elbow defense, or couter (acc. no. 29.158.1h, where it is struck twice); and the front half of a tournament helm (acc. no. 14.25.572).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tournament Helm
  • Date: ca. 1510–20
  • Culture: Anglo-Flemish
  • Medium: Steel, copper alloy
  • Dimensions: H. 17 1/4 in. (43.8 cm); W. 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm); D. 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm); Wt. 10 lb. 5 oz. (4675 g)
  • Classification: Helmets
  • Credit Line: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.158.38
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Helm for the Joust of Peace (<i>Stechhelm</i>), Steel, copper alloy, German, probably Nuremberg
Helm for the Joust of Peace (Stechhelm)
German, probably Nuremberg
ca. 1500
Armet, LIONARDO Italian, Steel, copper alloy, Italian, probably Milan
Armet
LIONARDO
ca. 1440
Helmet, Steel, iron, gold, silver, copper alloy, Turkish, probably Istanbul
Helmet
Turkish, probably Istanbul
ca. 1560
Portions of a Costume Armor, Kolman Helmschmid German, Steel, copper alloy, gold, German, Augsburg
Portions of a Costume Armor
Kolman Helmschmid
ca. 1525
Foot-Combat Helm of Sir Giles Capel (1485–1556), Steel, possibly British
Foot-Combat Helm of Sir Giles Capel (1485–1556)
possibly British
ca. 1510

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