Close Helmet (from a funerary achievement?)
Unknown Artist
c.1590–1625
Medium
gilded steel (invaded with rust); red velvet lining, plume holder
Dimensions
33 × 34 × 21.3 cm
Classification
Arms and Armor
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
Accession Number
1916.1787
About this artwork
This helmet was originally intended for field use. Later, it seems to have served a funerary purpose, probably as an ornament (known as a funerary achievement) suspended over the church tomb of an unidentified knight. As such, it would have been a rich and imposing symbol of the dead knight's social rank and personal authority.