Skull Cap
Culturepossibly
English
Datelate 1600s
Mediumsteel
Dimensions10.8 × 17 × 21.7 cm (4 1/4 × 6 11/16 × 8 9/16 in.), 15 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.1120
Description1-piece, thin steel skull-cap shaped to top of head, with low crudely cut rounded openings over ears. Basal edge plain & unfinished, level across occiput, & rising slightly as it extends across brow. Over side cut outs are 3 lining-rivet holes, middle one of which retains an old rivet flush on exterior. Minor fragments of leather, from lining-band now lost, are found under large, flattened head of right rivet within.Label TextSkull caps were widely used by footsoldiers from the Middle Ages into the eighteenth century, and made a brief reappearance early in World War I. Such defenses were simple and inexpensive, and at one time filled armories all over Europe. Because they lacked great historical or artistic interest, they were rarely preserved, and great numbers are now found only in large arsenals such as the Royal Armouries Museum and Dover Castle.ProvenancePurchased by John W. Higgins on September 7, 1933 from Fenton & Sons, Ltd. (London). Given to the Museum on July 1, 1954. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
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