The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 4, 2023

Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)

c. 1600–20

Italy or Germany, early 17th century

Steel, blackened

Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)

Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2013.50

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

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.

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.
Citations
Lennart Viebahn. A Pair of Luxury Flintlock Pistols by Gilbert. 2009. Mentioned: p. 3
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.50