Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf) (c. 1600–20): Art, History and Details

Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf) (c. 1600–20) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The term “Savoyard helmet” is used today to evoke the elite cavalry units formed by Charles Emanuel I, Duke of Savoy (1580-1630). Such helmets were designed principally to withstand and protect the wearer from shot from the powerful wheel-lock guns of the day, though their secondary function was to intimidate and terrify. The design of the helmet suggests a human face or skull. They were known as todenkopf or “death’s head” helmets in Germany. The helmet would have originally been associated with a three-quarter cuirassier armor. Similar armors are displayed nearby.

Object facts

• Title: Savoyard Helmet (Todenkopf)
• Date: c. 1600–20
• Culture: Italy or Germany, early 17th century
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: steel, blackened
• Dimensions: Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 2013.50

A detail from the museum

This type of helmet is also called a "todenkopf," translating to "death's head."

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lennart Viebahn. A Pair of Luxury Flintlock Pistols by Gilbert. 2009.
• Fliegel, Stephen. "2013 Acquisitions: Medieval Art". Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 54, no. 2 (March/April 2014): 14.

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.