Barbute (from the Venetian Garrison at Chalcis) (c. 1350–1420): Art, History and Details

Barbute (from the Venetian Garrison at Chalcis) (c. 1350–1420) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This is a rare example of a type of helmet used from about 1350 to 1480. Its conical shape deflected glancing blows to the head. Italian chronicles refer to professional men-at-arms as barbuti. The word derives from the Italian barba, or beard, a reference to the hood of mail often attached to these early helmets. The row of small holes along the face opening and neck were for the attachment of the hood and lining.

Object facts

• Title: Barbute (from the Venetian Garrison at Chalcis)
• Date: c. 1350–1420
• Culture: North Italy, 14th-15th century
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: iron
• Dimensions: Overall: 29 x 21 x 25 cm (11 7/16 x 8 1/4 x 9 13/16 in.); Sleeves: 43.2 cm (17 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1923.1065

A detail from the museum

This helmet and a number of others were apparently excavated from the Venetian garrison at Chalcis on the Greek island of Euboea.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• American Art Association. Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Arms and Armor, Stained Glass, Coffrets and Furniture, Authentic Specimens, in Nearly All Instances European. New York: American Art Association, 1923.
• Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
• "Bascinet." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 11, no. 3 (March 1924): 51-70

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.