Cleveland Museum of Art

Visored Sallet

Date

c. 1490–1500

Medium

steel

Culture

Germany

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The sallet is a partly open-face helmet common in Europe during the 1400s, used in both equestrian and infantry versions. Sallets with movable visors, like this example, are considered to be more technically and visually interesting; beautifully streamlined, it assumes a highly sculptural teardrop shape. Originally it would have been part of a complete suit of armor. The sallet became the quintessential helmet form of the late Middle Ages and is frequently represented in medieval miniatures and woodcuts. Medieval sallets were design inspiration for modern-day fireman's helmets.

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