FRENCH CLOSE HELMET MID 16TH CENTURY
 

FRENCH CLOSE HELMET WITH ETCHED AND GILT DECORATION MID 16TH CENTURY
At last I had the luck to add this rare helmet for field to my collection.
Any comments on it would be welcome.
best
CERJAK

A similar etched and gilt decoration could be find on the burgonet in the musée de l'armée in Paris ascribed to ANNE DE MONTMORENCY (1493-1567)
http://www.musee-armee.fr/collection...1493-1567.html

2 more French close helmets for the field

That's a beautiful and elegant closed helmet Cerjack and in good condition to , congratulations !

kind regards

Ulfberth

Nice acquisition, congratulations!

Jean, any chance for some pictures of the inside? I believe I see a small repair/restoration on the flange of the front half of the helmet where the gorget lames would be attached and possibly a small one on the medial ridge/comb and some inside pics would help me make sure. It would also aid in determining if the bowl was made in one piece or two halves crimped together along the comb. It looks from the pics to be two halves from what I can see where the plume holder is attached but the spot on the comb that may be a repair or possibly a point of attachment makes it hard to tell for certain.

Repaired or not, this is a magnificent helmet and in excellent condition!

Great aquisition! :)

Thank you for sharing it with us!

Thank you all for your comment,Allan I will post later some pics from the inside.
Best
CERJAK

Is the skull made of one or two pieces ?

the skull is made of two pieces

Great to see.
Its reassuring that the real thing looks unquestionably right

Thank you Cerjak. It's a very interesting Close Helmet and typically French in it's form. A nice find. I had one once but they are difficult to find.
I have the impression that I have seen it before. Has it been at auction ?
I didn't see that it was made of 2 pieces straight away. It's remarkably well done. I have the impression that I can see a rivet on the crest. Are there rivets along the crest holding the 2 sides together ?

in fact the two parts are assembled by means of a line of rivets, the latter are only visible from the inside except for the one that appears due to a local delamination of the roped comb. sold by TDM in June 2007

an other example which was offered in 2018 from the USA with less prominent visor

Magnificent piece ! Thanks for the info. I do love these 2 piece Close Helmets. Maybe the first ones were made like this with a line of rivets rather than folded along the ridge. I have been told that they first appeared round about 1560-70 in France.

It has a lovely form. If it was mine I don't know if I would have it restored with a gorget or just leave it as it is.

That's interesting. It's a one piece though isn't it ? I had a restored one but it too had a one piece construction.

better pic

Yes it's a real beauty ! Nice etching too which I think may have been gilded.

armet of king HENRY III ( musée de l'armée)

Very nice !

I am not saying that it is fake but I find the form very odd particularly when I compare with other examples of French close helmets.