English armor of the early sixteenth century is extremely rare, and tournament armor even more so. This helm, also called a “great bascinet” in the sixteenth century, is one of only a few of its kind in existence today. It was made for use in a type of tournament that was fought between two fully armored men, on foot and equipped with pole axes, spears, swords, and daggers.
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Title:Helm for Foot Combat
Date:ca. 1500–1520
Culture:possibly British
Medium:Steel
Dimensions:H. 16 3/4 in. (42.6 cm); W. 14 in. (35.6 cm); D. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm); Wt. 11 lb. 12 oz. (5330 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Object Number:04.3.248
Henry Stafford-Jerningham, 9th Baron Stafford, Costessey Hall, Costessey, Norfolk, England (until d. 1884: his estate sale, “Armour and Arms, Oriental, Dresden, and Chelsea Porcelain, Decorative Furniture and Pictures removed from Stafford Castle and Costessey Hall, the Property of the Hon. Lord Stafford,” Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, May 28, 1885, no. 60, sold for 112 gns); [Philibert Bachereau II, Paris, 1885; sold June 5, 1885, for Fr. 4000, to Ressman]; Costantino Ressman, Paris (1885–99; sold together with nine other helmets, for Fr. 50,000, to Dino); Charles Maurice Camille de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, Paris (1899–1904; sold to MMA).
Christie, Manson & Woods. Armour & Arms, Oriental, Dresden and Chelsea Porcelain, Decorative Furniture, and Pictures. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 28–30, 1885. no. 60 (probably this helmet, described as "a 15th-century tilting-heaume").
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. no. B-20.
Dean, Bashford, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue of European Arms and Armor. Hand-book (Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)), Vol. 15. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1905. fig. 51 D.
Laking, Guy Francis, and Charles Alexander Cosson. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries, edited by Francis Henry Cripps-Day. Vol. II. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920. p. 156, fig. 493.
Nickel, Helmut. "English Armour in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Connoisseur 172, no. 693 pp. 196–203, fig. 7.
Richardson, Thom. "Pieces of Advantage: Tournament Armour in Tudor England." In Tournaments: A Thousand Years of Chivalry, edited by Stefan Krause. London: Thomas Del Mar Ltd., 2022. p. 128, n. 15.
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