Unknown (Probably)
Helmet, of 'spider' form. Formed of a skull that is overlain with a trellised defence fitted with a peak at the front and hinged bars all around. The hemispherical skull is formed of a pate-plate and two side-plates that are joined by brazing. Attached by four externally-flush rivets around the base of the skull is a trellis formed of two horizontal bands and four radiating vertical bars that are joined by brazing. The trellis stands proud of the skull. Brazed to the front of the lower horizontal band is a broad, flat peak with a strongly convex front edge. Seven narrower bands radiate from the apex of the skull to the bottom of the lower horizontal band and its peak. Hinged to the lower end of each of these, as well as three of the broader vertical bars, are a total of ten outward curving bars. All the bars are of slender form except for that at the neck which is considerably broader than the rest. The hinged bars can be folded upwards and secured at the apex of the skull beneath a domed circular plate that can be pressed down over their terminals and held in place by a sprung catch. The catch can be released by pressing down a linked stud that protrudes through a slot cut in the lower half of the front, vertical bar. Riveted at each side of the lower horizontal bar is a horizontal staple, possibly for the attachment of a cheek-piece.
History note: Mr James Stewart Henderson of 'Abbotsford', Downs Road, St Helen's Park, Hastings, Sussex.
J.S. Henderson Bequest
Depth: 34.0 cm
Height: 40.0 cm
Weight: 1.70 kg
Width: 29.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart
19th Century
Circa
1800
CE
-
1900
CE
The helmet is bright with a heavy to medium patination overall.
Two similar helmets were in the Tower of London Armouries, including IV.211 which was sold to the Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery in the 1970s. The second was sold through Sotheby's shortly afterwards. Neither was thought to be authentic.
Bars
Parts
Skull Parts
Hammered
: Formed of a skull that is overlain with a trellised defence fitted with a peak at the front and hinged bars all around; hammered, shaped, riveted, braze welded and hinged
Patinating
Formed
Accession number: HEN.M.103-1933
Primary reference Number: 18558
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Helmet" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18558 Accessed: 2024-12-31 18:45:24
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18558
|title=Helmet
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-31 18:45:24|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-18558
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