St. Augustine Florida Excavated Spanish Morion

[fernando]

Good memory Jim.
Worthy of note is that, while we ignore how much artistic liberty, as from its model, is used in the decoration of such magnificent cabasset depicted in "Man With the Golden Helmet", that executed in the Portuguese Vice-Roy example is pure reality ... indeed an exorbitant demonstration of Indo-Portuguese artistry.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by fernando

Good memory Jim.
Worthy of note is that, while we ignore how much artistic liberty, as from its model, is used in the decoration of such magnificent cabasset depicted in "Man With the Golden Helmet", that executed in the Portuguese Vice-Roy example is pure reality ... indeed an exorbitant demonstration of Indo-Portuguese artistry.

Good point Fernando, and well placed. While the Dutch artist devised a fantastic helmet with the artists inventiveness and brush, the Portuguese example was a reality. One can only wonder if such other helmets were seen or known to these Dutch individuals, or whether such helmets were quite rarely seen and the embellishment was purely coincidental.

[Philip]

My impression is that a cabasset is distinguished by a narrow flat brim around the entire circumference of the shell, whereas a moron has a brim that is peaked fore-and-aft. At least that's what I gather from Oakeshott's classifications. If so, it would seem that this particular helmet might be a rare and unusual intermediate type -- what do you guys think?

As said previously, it's marvelously intact for something excavated in an area with tropical climate. I hope that steps have been taken to stabilize the metal to keep it as intact as we see it now, for generations to come. Thanks for sharing this, Dana! I hope you have no plans to keep wearing this thing in parades or for any other festive gatherings.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Philip

...I hope you have no plans to keep wearing this thing in parades or for any other festive gatherings...

Yes, it must be so fragile by now that, if you drop it on a hard surface, would mean disaster !

[Jim McDougall]

Philip, I would be inclined to agree on this being a transitional or variant form between cabasset and morion. The boat hull type brim rather than the thin surround type does recall the morion type. The 'pear stalk' atop rather than comb is wholly cabasset.

[CSinTX]

Very interesting. I wonder if there might be any museums in St. Augustine that have other examples of excavated items.

Does it have any seems like a morion or is it all one piece?

[fernando]

Could it be assumed that, instead of this being a transitional or intermediary specimen, is simply one more contemporary variant, as it appears there were several. I guess we also have to consider the idiomatic issue, as typologies in different nations would have different names to the same model ... or sort of. As a curious note, we still (and only) use in Portugal the term 'capacete' for current military and bikers head protection devices.
Indeed Oakeshott calls cabacete to the type with a pear stalk, labelling it as a Spanish form of celata; while the drawing he represents in his work and the words he uses in its text, besides the typical top stalk detail, are a downturned brim coming to a sharp point fore and aft. We know that cabassets also appear with an all round flat or downturned brim ... no points up. So, and not trying to vulgarize the subject, one should expect there were models for all tastes.
Attached a XV century Portuguese armour; unfortunately (having to be) assembled with components from different units, but all originated from the Lisbon Arsenal. Interesting to notice that capacete variant.

.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Good point Fernando, and well placed. While the Dutch artist devised a fantastic helmet with the artists inventiveness and brush, the Portuguese example was a reality. One can only wonder if such other helmets were seen or known to these Dutch individuals, or whether such helmets were quite rarely seen and the embellishment was purely coincidental.

Rainer Daehnhardt dedicates more than one page to this subject in the catalogue this 'Vice Roy' example went to auction. In a more thorough reading, at one stage he comments on the paint "The man with the golden cabasset", 'previously' attributed to Rembrandt, as being one more example of the same kind, probably fallen into the hands of the Dutch, during one of the frequent battles fought in the Indic Ocean. So according to his perspective the pseudo-Rembrandt example is not, as i previously realized, an artist invention but one modeled from the real thing... and probably also Indo-Portuguese. In another paragraph he mentions that the only other exixting example of this school is in the NY Metropolitan, however naked from its gold cover and with all buttons missing.


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