The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Closed Sallet with Grotesque Face (Schembart visor)

Closed Sallet with Grotesque Face (Schembart visor)

c. 1500
painted steel
Overall: 27.3 x 25.7 x 22.2 cm (10 3/4 x 10 1/8 x 8 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1646
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

Masked revelers at the Schembartlaufen of Nuremberg enjoyed food, drink, music, and dancing until coming to an abrupt end in 1539 due to the objections of a preacher.

Description

A small number of similar painted helmets survive today. All appear to date to the early 1500s. The visors of these helmets are usually in the form of fiercely grimacing human or animal faces, known as Schembart visors after the masked revelers in the Schembartlaufen, the medieval Shrovetide parades. The city of Nuremberg was particularly famous for its Shrovetide parades that were often held in conjunction with a tournament in which the younger members of the city's patrician families, presumably sporting such helmets, participated.
  • Thill; Vienna
    ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. 1900. no. 524 archive.org
    Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 45, B12; Reproduced: Plate X, B12 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 52, p. 165
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 65, p. 185
    Dobson, Chris. Beaten Black and Blue: The Myth of the Medieval Knight in Shining Armour. Sant'Albano Stura, Italy: Chris Dobson, 2023. Reproduced: p. 222, fig. 255
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Closed Sallet with Grotesque Face (Schembart visor)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1500|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1646