"Savoyard Helmet" Origins?

[Gerhard von Liebau]

Hey guys,

Found this picture of this helmet on the Hermann somethin'or'rather auction site... Really like it! Said it was Flemish and dated to about 1620. What kind of armor would be worn with it at that time? Does anyone have any other images of similar examples? I really like it!

Cheers!

-Gregory-

(p.s. This was being sold as a reproduction piece, not an original!)

[Alcyoneus]

Do a search, and you will find a discussion of these, with pics, from the last year.

They are 17thC munitions versions of burgeonets.

[Gerhard von Liebau]

Thanks Alcyoneus! Just did a search, and came up with several good images of them that you'd posted before. Many more were no longer available for viewing, though.

I like the reproduction piece I posted, best. It has the right look, to me.

Now, may I ask what kind of harnasses would be worn with this stuff? Also, if many of them were captured during a siege, as I heard mentioned, and that they were made munition, to an extent... Is it possible to imagine that infantry would wear these helms often enough?

Thanks again!

-Gregory-

[chef de chambre]

These helmets are usually associated with 3/4 cuirassier armour. Some people confuse them with similarly designed engineer helmets, but one can tell the difference by the sige engineering helmets having been made up of heavier plates.

Not an infantrymens helmet. Savoyan cavalry wore them during the siege of Geneva(?), and a number were captured in a failed assult on the town (I am under the impression they dismouned the cuirassiers and used them in a shock infantry role for the specific assult - they had pistols, were heavily armoured, and carried swords and 'pollaxes'), hence the name.