Moro helmet

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Oliver Pinchot

The Moro aesthetic is powerful, one which their helmets embody nicely.
This one ended recently on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Philippine-S...p2047675.l2557
What is known about Moro weapons craftsmen? Were there itinerant smiths, comprehensive workshops...? Was there a division between steel forgers and brass workers, wood carvers and so forth?

Oliver, thanks for posting this, there are not many images available of this type of helmet. The seller lost a lot of money by posting it in the "collectibles" category, it should have been listed as antique armor. If it is authentic the buyer got a great deal.

[A Senefelder]

From the pics this looks like a wonderfull example of the classic moro style helmet emulating European burgeonets. The inside pic is a touch fuzzy but from what I can see constructionally it is correct.

I've been looking at the earflaps-- are they on backward? They don't seem to fit the apertures quite right.

I believe they are on correctly. They have the same front/brim side set higher than the back/tail side seen in the European burgeonets which these sought to emulate http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/disp...278&fullsize=1 If you look at the 5th and 6th pictures in the auction you can see the curvature to the shape of the face that has been introduced into the cheek plates, if they were to be reversed the curved side for the contour of the back of the skull would be poking in twords the eyes which would be potentially dangerous. This is my personal opinion only based on the pictures available, looking forward to some one with more background on these Moro armour pieces to share their thoughts on it.

[CharlesS]

The opposite side of the helmet has some unusual damage, almost like puzzle pieces missing from its comb. I wonder how that type of damage could occur...almost looks like thay were punced out. Perhaps these were weaker areas of the forged brass??

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

The opposite side of the helmet has some unusual damage, almost like puzzle pieces missing from its comb. I wonder how that type of damage could occur...almost looks like thay were punced out. Perhaps these were weaker areas of the forged brass??

On the first picture you can see two old repairs at the ridge, maybe there has been a similar repair which break out again!?

[digenis]

Is it just me or does this helmet have a theatrical look to it?

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by digenis

Is it just me or does this helmet have a theatrical look to it?

It is just you.

[Oliver Pinchot]

Oh Andrew, I was going to say that.

Charles, the fractures look that way because the helmet is composed of brass-- although whether it is made up entirely of castings which have then been braised together, or is partially wrought, is not clear from the pics. In short, the fractures run along the boundaries of the microstructures in the metal:

[fernando]

I wouldn't mind concurring with digenis impression.
From a layman's point of view, this example looks much too stylized to be a faithful replica on an actual helmet model of the contextual period... ear protections giving it a 'composite' look and all that .
... notwithstanding this would be a master work ... as per experts around .