Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 4).djvu/119

 Of all the fluted helmets with which we are acquainted, we know no finer example than that magnificently fashioned head-piece in the Artillery Museum of the Rotunda, Woolwich, which dates from the first quarter of the XVIth century (Fig. 1169). This helmet opens down the chin, somewhat after the fashion of the early armets, but the tail-piece of the crown is much broader. The skill shown in the fluting of the crown and in the forging of the twisted comb are most remarkable. Along its upper edge are etched various grotesque figures, and each of the rivets for the lining strap of the cheek-pieces forms the centre of an engraved six-leaved rose. The quilted linen lining of these cheek-pieces is still extant. The lower edge of the helmet finishes in a hollow roping as in the case of the previous head-piece.

German, about 1520. Artillery Museum, Rotunda, Woolwich

A helmet constructed on the same principles as the one last mentioned, though not quite so elegant in form, is to be seen in the Burges bequest to the British Museum (Fig. 1170); but in the case of this example the centre part of the visor has a salient projection with upright flutings and breathing apertures, showing a variation from the bellows visor of the other helmet.