Thomas Del Mar - Armour Sale

297A FINE ITALIAN CUIRASSIER'S CLOSE HELMET, CIRCA1620-30with rounded skull formed in two pieces joined by a ropedlow medial comb and fitted at the nape with a plumeholder,prominent peak, flat face-defence and bevorattached to the skull by common pivots with large rosettewashers beneath, the peak shaped at the brow to fit thefront of the comb of the skull, the face-defence cut at eachside with four vertical ventilation slots and at its upper edgewith a pair of shallow rectangular notches forming thelower edges of the vision slits separated by an upwardprojecting central division, the bevor pierced at each sideby ventilation-holes in rosette formation continuing into theskull, the face-defence and the bevor each secured to theright side by means of a well-formed swivel hook, a singlegorget-plate at the rear (the lower rear gorget-plate andfront gorget-plates missing), decorated at its main edgeswith roped inward turns and with bands and borders oftriple and quadruple incised lines (pitted overall, minorchips at the edge of the peak, the rear gorget-plate)Related helmets are preserved in the armoury of theKnights of St. John, Malta, The Art Institute of Chicago, andThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. See C. Spiteri2003, p.283 & pp.300-1; W.Karcheski Jr 1995, p.35, andS.Pyhrr et. al. 2002, p.20).£3000-4000297298AN EAST EUROPEAN ZISCHÄGGE, MID-17TH CENTURYwith one-piece skull rising to a ring finial on a large circularplain washer, incised with a roped pattern around the baseand over the middle of the skull, fitted with plain peak(nasal bar missing), neck-guard of four articulated lames,the lowest drawn-out to a point, a pair of pendant eardefenceseach pierced with a circular arrangement of holes,and with an early blackened finish throughout25.5cm; 10in high£1500-2000298117