The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)

Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)

c. 1600–20
steel, blackened
Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2013.50
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

This type of helmet is also called a "todenkopf," translating to "death's head."

Description

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.
  • 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.
  • Lennart Viebahn. A Pair of Luxury Flintlock Pistols by Gilbert. 2009. Mentioned: p. 3
  • {{cite web|title=Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1600–20|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.50