Thread: Moro helmet
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Old 29th September 2014, 04:41 AM   #34
Oliver Pinchot
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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They really are, thanks estcrh. The postcard is helpful, too.

Generally then, there are several forms of Moro helmet. At least one is modeled on a fully-developed form of burgonet from the second half of the 16th century, characterized by a pronounced peak, comb and neckguard. Cheekplates, the other key characteristic of the prototype burgonet, are likewise present but substantially minimized in the Moro adaptation. This type of Moro helmet does not appear to be influenced at all by the morion (although sheet brass helmets made in Sulawesi in the 17-19th century duplicate them with a remarkable degree of detail.)

The original helmet I posted also has what appears to be some Neoclassical influence... or not. It could be that its simple, elegant, sweeping lines were adopted from parade helmets produced in Italy during the same era as the burgonet, which were popular among the Spanish nobility (given the popularity of Italian armor throughout the Mediterranean in this period, and the Aragonese Kingdom of Naples.) But it could as likely be a case of parallel development, in which Moro smiths simply refined and streamlined the design for their own purposes (lighter weight, less raw material and ease of manufacture, for example.)

Thus, what emerges from this very rudimentary examination is a tendency toward two subtypes of burgonet-style helmet produced by Moro smiths:

1) which more closely follows the lines of its European prototype, and tends to be embellished with a greater amount of pierced work

and

2) a seemingly lighter, simpler form which has little or no pierced decoration

I hope these very tentative conclusions will stimulate further discussion and discovery.
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