A RARE SAXON ELECTORAL GUARD COMB MORION of one piece with roped comb and brim, the base of the skull encircled by sixteen gilt-brass lion-masks capping the lining rivets (one replaced by a gilt-brass rosette), two with the original ring in their mouth, the surface decorated with gilt etching against a blued ground (rubbed) comprising narrow bands of foliated scrollwork encircling, on each side of the skull, figures of Mutius Scaevola and of Marcus Curtius leaping into the gulf, and on each side of the comb, respectively the arms of Saxony and the insignia of the Arch-Marshalcy of The Holy Roman Empire (plume-holder and cheek-pieces missing, both points of brim slightly damaged), struck on the brim with a maker's mark, a pellet, and with the Nuremberg mark, circa 1580 | Christie's

Lot 113

113

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

A RARE SAXON ELECTORAL GUARD COMB MORION of one piece with roped comb and brim, the base of the skull encircled by sixteen gilt-brass lion-masks capping the lining rivets (one replaced by a gilt-brass rosette), two with the original ring in their mouth, the surface decorated with gilt etching against a blued ground (rubbed) comprising narrow bands of foliated scrollwork encircling, on each side of the skull, figures of Mutius Scaevola and of Marcus Curtius leaping into the gulf, and on each side of the comb, respectively the arms of Saxony and the insignia of the Arch-Marshalcy of The Holy Roman Empire (plume-holder and cheek-pieces missing, both points of brim slightly damaged), struck on the brim with a maker's mark, a pellet, and with the Nuremberg mark, circa 1580

Details

A RARE SAXON ELECTORAL GUARD COMB MORION of one piece with roped comb and brim, the base of the skull encircled by sixteen gilt-brass lion-masks capping the lining rivets (one replaced by a gilt-brass rosette), two with the original ring in their mouth, the surface decorated with gilt etching against a blued ground (rubbed) comprising narrow bands of foliated scrollwork encircling, on each side of the skull, figures of Mutius Scaevola and of Marcus Curtius leaping into the gulf, and on each side of the comb, respectively the arms of Saxony and the insignia of the Arch-Marshalcy of The Holy Roman Empire (plume-holder and cheek-pieces missing, both points of brim slightly damaged), struck on the brim with a maker's mark, a pellet, and with the Nuremberg mark, circa 1580
11½in. high

Provenance

The Saxon Electoral Armoury, Dresden
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant

Literature

Bashford Dean, The Collection of Arms and Armor of Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, 1843-1909, No.26, pl.XV

Lot Essay

This belongs to the group of helmets made for the Trabantan Guard of the Electors of Saxony

For a similar helmet struck with the same combination of marks see helmet A117 in the Wallace Collection

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