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Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)
c. 1600–20
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The term “Savoyard helmet” is used today to evoke the elite cavalry units formed by Charles Emanuel I, Duke of Savoy (1580-1630). Such helmets were designed principally to withstand and protect the wearer from shot from the powerful wheel-lock guns of the day, though their secondary function was to intimidate and terrify. The design of the helmet suggests a human face or skull. They were known as todenkopf or “death’s head” helmets in Germany. The helmet would have originally been associated with a three-quarter cuirassier armor. Similar armors are displayed nearby.
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Details
- Title: Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)
- Date Created: c. 1600–20
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
- Provenance: Probably collection Baron Peuker, Berlin, sold at auction in Bruxelles: Le Roy, M. Henri (1854): Catalogue Illustre D'Armes Anciennes Européennes et Orientales... plate II, fig. 21, Collection Bach, Paris, Collection Rutherfurd Stuyvesant at Rutherford Hall, New York; published in The Collection of Arms and Armor of Rutherfurd Stuyesant, p. 26, plate XIII, Collection Frank Andriana, Los Angeles; published in: Curtis, Howard M. (1977): 2,500 Years of European Helmets, p. 304.
- Type: Arms and Armor
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.50
- Medium: steel, blackened
- Fun Fact: This type of helmet is also called a "todenkopf," translating to "death's head."
- Department: Medieval Art
- Culture: Italy or Germany, early 17th century
- Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Trust
- Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
- Accession Number: 2013.50
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