A Rare German Triple-Combed Burgonet, ca 1540

Description

Showing styling similar to that of late Maximilian armor, this helm features a rounded
one-piece skull with three prominently roped combs, the flanged brim fore and aft with
turned and roped borders, hinged arched ear-pieces en suite, each embossed with a
roundel pierced with small holes, and with pairs of holes overall for the attachment of a
textile covering. Some pitting and plume-holder incomplete, otherwise appears to be
complete and unrestored except for a cleaning to the exterior. Provenance: Bonhams,
Knightsbridge, 30 November, 2011, sold for 4375 GBP (about $6800 USD at the time).

For a comparable burgonet see Baron Dr. Otmar von Potier, Die Waffenkammer des
Stiftes Kremsmünster, Zeitschrift für Historiches Waffenkunde, vieterband, Dresden,
1906-08, 8 heft, p. 237, no. 313. Another example is in the Fitzwilliam Museum,
Cambridge (HEN.m. 79-1933)

The Emperor Charles V is depicted wearing a helmet of similar form in Titian’s famous
equestrian portrait of him commemorating the Battle of Mühlberg painted in 1548 and now
in the Prado, Madrid. The Mühlberg armor was made by Desiderius Helmschmied in 1544