Classically inspired helmets embossed in high relief, sometimes in the form of fantastic beasts, were a specialty of Milanese armorers in the 1530s and 1540s. Unlike etching, embossing thinned and weakened the steel and compromised its deflective qualities, so the technique generally was limited to armors intended for ceremonial wear. While this burgonet falls far short of the high standard of modeling and finish typical of works by Filippo Negroli (ca. 1510–1579) or his cousin Giovan Paolo (ca. 1513–1569), the leading masters of armor all'antica ("in the antique manner"), it nevertheless remains a characteristic example of this classicizing Renaissance art form. The helmet is forged from a single plate of steel, the surfaces retaining only faint traces of the original fire-gilding and silver damascened details.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Burgonet all'Antica
Date:ca. 1535–45
Geography:probably Milan
Culture:Italian, probably Milan
Medium:Steel, gold, silver
Dimensions:H. 10 13/16 (27.5 cm); W. 8 1/16 (20.5 cm); D. 11 5/8 in. (29.6 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 12 oz. (1709 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number:14.25.597
William H. Riggs, Paris (until 1913; his gift to MMA).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "European Helmets 1450–1650: Treasures from the Reserve Collection," January 25, 2000–December 30, 2001, no. 31.
Allou, Charles-Nicolas. "Etudes Sur Les Casques Du Moyen-Age, Part 2: Extrait D'un Ouvrage Inédit Sur Les Armes at Armures Du Moyen-Age." Memoires de la Société Royale de Antiquaires de France (1835), p. 78.
"XVII Siècle - Ecole Francaise (Époque de Louis XIV)." L'Art Pour Tous: Encyclopedie de L'Art Industriel et Decoratif, (July 30, 1882), p. 2222, figs. 4648–4650, no. 531.
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. XXXV.
Dean, Bashford. Handbook of Arms and Armor : European and Oriental, Including the William H. Riggs Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 3rd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 1921. p. 71, pl. XXXV.
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. 85.
Scalini, Mario. Armature All'eroica Dei Negroli. Specchio del Bargelo, Vol. 38. Firenze: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, 1987. p. 29, fig. 20.
Pyhrr, Stuart W., José-A. Godoy, and Silvio Leydi. Heroic Armor of the Italian Renaissance: Filippo Negroli and His Contemporaries. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. p. 21.
Williams, Alan R. "The Steel of the Negroli." Metropolitan Museum Journal (1999), p. 118, figs. 52–53.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. European Helmets, 1450–1650: Treasures from the Reserve Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jan 25, 2000 - Dec 30, 2000. p. 22, no. 31, ill.
Williams, Alan. The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period. History of Warfare, Vol. 12. Leiden: Brill, 2002. p. 243.
Hunter Edward. "A Technical Examination of the Lion Helmet." Metropolitan Museum Studies in Art, Science, and Technology (2014), p. 192, fig. 6.
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