Thank you so much Alan for offering further well informed insight into this conundrum and for your supportive observations toward my thoughts. As I earlier mentioned, this is a field of study I admit I have never gone much into, and now that I have I find it absolutely fascinating.
I have mined through quite a few resources in the past week or so, and it seems the only other example I have found with this curious 'hook' is Henry V's, which is virtually identical in style and placement. The only references I have found were primarily in other discussions but with some apparantly also well informed individuals and aside from many of the reproduction type topics.
It does seem to make perfect sense to use actual items contemporary to the individuals lefetime and 'of the style' used in order to accomplish the traditional and honorary effect wished in accord with the tomb of the person.
Museums of course often use this very convention in order to convey such effect in representations in certain contexts where actual examples are not available. Naturally over hundreds of years many of these artifacts were unfortunately purloined, especially as collecting gained popularity, but in the case of Henry apparantly politically charged motivations may have been at play during the Reformation.
Thank you again for the outstanding response, and for the reinforcement in learning more on these helms.
All the very best,
Jim
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