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Drawing 2 (top right): Head with helmet
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Reference number
SM volume 115/150b
Purpose
Drawing 2 (top right): Head with helmet
Aspect
View of side
Scale
Not known
Signed and dated
- c.1515
Datable to c.1515
Medium and dimensions
Pen and brown ink over black chalk
Hand
Bernardo della Volpaia
Notes
The main interest of this drawing is the depiction of the helmet, the first of several such studies on the codex’s final pages (Fol. 97r and flap/Ashby 161 and Fol. 97 verso of flap/Ashby 161a). It is of the burgonet type, which was developed in the late fifteenth century, and generally comprises a skull (the head covering) with a comb running down its centre, a prominent peak at the front, a flange protecting the nape of the neck, and cheek guards. This example has a skull ornamented with acanthus, a frond-like comb, a short peak adorned with a volute-like scroll, and an extravagant flange decorated with an angry face. It was not conceived for realistic protection in warfare but may have been devised for ceremonial use or simply as a design experiment. The drawing is stylistically consistent with a date of c.1515.
Literature
Ashby 1904, p. 71
Level
Drawing
Digitisation of the Codex Coner has been made possible through the generosity of the Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance, Berlin.
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk