**A COMPOSITE NORTH EUROPEAN CUIRASSIER'S CLOSE HELMET, POSSIBLY ENGLISH, EARLY 17TH CENTURY, LATER ADAPTED TO FUNERARY USE
with two-piece skull joined along the crest of a moderately high medial comb, visor, upper bevor and lower bevor attached to it by common domed pivots (replaced), the visor sloping forward to a stepped pair of vision-slits, each of the latter with a partial turn at its upper edge accompanied by a recessed border and incised line, the blunt, slightly concave prow-shaped upper bevor pierced at each side with nine circular ventilation-holes in rosette-formation, and the bevor fitted at each side with separate pivoting-arm attached by rivets and formed in two halves joined medially by rivets, and deep gorget-plate front and rear, the front one, originally forming part of a pikeman's collar, descending to an acute point marked with the initial N, and the rear one decorated at its centre with fifteen round-headed rivets in rosette formation, both formed at their lower edges with plain inward turns accompanied by a single incised line, the skull decorated at each side with three pairs of incised lines radiating from the pivots and the subsidiary edges of the visor and upper bevor decorated with single incised lines (extensively pitted overall and showing some rust-perforations)
42 cm; 16 1/2 in high

Provenance
JWHA Inv. No. 3168

For close helmets preserved or formerly preserved in English churches with similar incised decoration, see Martin Holmes, 'A Helmet from Upper Winchendon Church, Buckinghamshire', Antiquaries Journal, Vol. XL, pt. II, September, 1965, pp. 183-91, pls. XLVIII-LI

The N struck on the front gorget-plate appears to represent the second half of the elided initials AN used by the London armourer Anthony Newman (made free 1635, presented mark 1638/9, died 1653). See T. Richardson 2004, pp. 64-5.


£2000-2500