Burgonet (c. 1510–40): Art, History and Details

Burgonet (c. 1510–40) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

A burgonet is a light, open helmet characterized by a peak, a fall over the eyes, and hinged earpieces. Used by cavalry in the 1500s and 1600s, they were sometimes worn with a buffe, a separate detachable element that protected the face and throat not covered by the burgonet.

Object facts

• Title: Burgonet
• Date: c. 1510–40
• Culture: Italy, possibly Milan
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: steel, radiate flutings
• Dimensions: Overall: 25.3 x 26 x 25.3 cm (9 15/16 x 10 1/4 x 9 15/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1916.1642

A detail from the museum

The burgonet helmet is the successor to the previously worn sallet which was much the same but without the hinged earpieces and extended peak over the eyes.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• 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.
• Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
• Troso, Mario. Italia! Italia! 1526-1530: la prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana : con gli assedi di Milano, Napoli, Firenze, il sacco di Roma e le battaglie di Capo d'Orso e Gavinana. Parma: E. Albertelli, 2001.

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.