This is an excellent example of a French heavy cavalry helmet of the mid-sixteenth century. Its elaborate decoration includes the monogram of Claude Gouffier (1501–1570), Master of the Horse (Grand Écuyer) for Henry II and Charles IX. This monogram is also on a knee piece from the armor of Gouffier's in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 1994.390).
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Title:Close Helmet of Claude Gouffier (1501–1570)
Date:ca. 1555–60
Culture:French
Medium:Steel, gold, brass
Dimensions:H. 15 3/4 in. (40 cm); W. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm); D. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 5 oz. (2863 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number:14.25.596
Inscription: Inscribed around the ocularium and gorget: SPES MEA DAT VIRES NON TIMEBO QUONIAM (because hope gives me strength I do not fear).
William H. Riggs, Paris (until 1913; his gift to MMA).
Paris. Palais du Trocadéro. "Exposition Universelle de 1878: L'Exposition Historique du Trocadéro," May 1–October 31, 1878.
Louisville, Ky. Speed Art Museum. "European Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition," November 15, 1952–December 28, 1952.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Triumph of Humanism: A Visual Survey of the Decorative Arts of the Renaissance," October 22, 1977–January 8, 1978.
Ecouen, France. Musée National de la Renaissance. "Les Trésors du Grand Ecuyer; Claude Gouffier, collectionneur et mécène a la Renaissance," November 16, 1994–February 27, 1995.
Hôtel Drouot. Catalogue d'une Précieuse Collection d'Objets d'Art et Curiosités tels que, Armes Anciennes... Étoffes... Faiences Italiennes... Bronzes. Paris: Hôtel Drouot, February 25–26, 1857. no. 1 (said to have come from the Sommeson collection).
Hôtel Drouot. Catalogue d'Objets d'Art et de Curiosité: Armes Orientales et Occidentales, Faïences Italiennes... Émaux de Limoges... Ivoires... Orfèvrerie. Paris: Hôtel Drouot, February 1, 1868. no. 1 (probably this helmet, sold for 950 francs).
Bouvenne, Aglaüs. Les Monogrammes Historiques d'Après les Monuments Originaux. Paris: Academie des Bibliophiles, 1870. pp. 124, 127.
Bréban, Philibert. Livret-Guide du Visiteur à l'Exposition Historique du Trocadéro, edited by E. Dentu. Paris, 1878. p. 72.
Thoumas, Charles-Antoine. Exposition Rétrospective Militaire du Ministère de la Guerre en 1889. Paris: H. Launette et Cie., G. Boudet successeur, 1890. p. 37, ill.
Dean, Bashford. Handbook of Arms and Armor : European and Oriental, Including the William H. Riggs Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Gilliss Press, January 1915. p. 71, pl. 33 (middle right).
Dean, Bashford, and Robert T. Nichol. Handbook of Arms and Armor : European and Oriental, edited by Stephen V. Grancsay. 4th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1930. p. 133, fig. 86 (middle right).
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Speed Art Museum. European Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition. Louisville, Ky.: Speed Art Museum, 1952. no. 8.
Grancsay, Stephen V., D. Graeme Keith, and Dr. Charles Avery. The Triumph of Humanism: A Visual Survey of the Decorative Arts of the Renaissance. San Francisco: Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1977. pp. 45, 86, no. 108.
Musée National de la Renaissance and Réunion des Musées Nationaux. Les Trésors du Grand Ecuyer: Claude Gouffier, Collectionneur et Mécène À La Renaissance: 16 Novembre 1994–27 Février 1995, Musée National de la Renaissance. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1994. p. 106, fig. 50.
La Rocca, Donald J. How to Read European Armor. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. pp. 47, 108–111, figs. 55, 124.
Part of the decoration design by Jean Cousin the Elder (French, Souci (?) ca. 1490–ca. 1560 Paris (?))
ca. 1555
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