Helmet (Basinet) with Detachable Visor

One of the most widely used head defenses of the fourteenth century, the bascinet went out of general fashion soon after 1400. The present example is of a rare late type distinguished by its deep and elegantly curved sides and by its centrally hinged, detachable visor. Especially in Germany, this form remained popular well into the first half of the fifteenth century and eventually influenced the development of another helmet type, the sallet, examples of which can be found in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. nos. 29.150.4a, 29.150.8a, 29.158.11).

Credit: Rogers Fund, 1904