Cleveland Museum of Art

Closed Sallet with Grotesque Face (Schembart visor)

Date

c. 1500

Medium

painted steel

Culture

Germany, Nuremberg

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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. 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.

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