Gorget (from a funerary achievement?), –1625. Netherlands(?), late 16th-early 17th Century. Gilded steel (invaded with rust); red velvet lining, plume holder; overall: x x cm (12 3/4 x 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.). This helmet was originally intended for field use. Later, it seems to have served a funerary purpose, probably as an ornament (known as a funerary achievement) suspended over the church tomb of an unidentified knight. As such, it would have been a rich and imposing symbol of the dead knight's social rank and personal authority.

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Photo credit: © CMA/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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