Hello everyone,
I have a friend that has bought a "barbuta" for his collection. He asked me to give him an advic, but I'm not expert of such kind of historical helmets.
To me, even if the kind of steel seems to be old, it's an historismus probably made with an old steel sheet and tragically overpolished.
It has even a maker's punch in the back unknown to me.
I'm posting a few images and closeups, can anyone help us?
Thank you in advance,
Gabriele
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interior

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helmet

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punch

Gabriele, More detailed pictures would be helpfull in aiding you with this piece. Based on the few images supplied, the helmet does appear to have been raised from a single piece of steel or iron which was the period technique for making finer barbutes ( I have seen munitions examples made from three pieces riveted together ). While the helmet has been cleaned the patination inside looks good, smooth and even and of more brownish color rather than the bright orange of active rust that can sometimes indicate an artificially induced rusting used on forgeries. The cleaned outside patination does look like the finish on other over cleaned original pieces i've seen. I am curious what the six holes right around the opening for the face may have been for, as there is already a distinct series of holes for a lining band present. Some more close up pics would help, inside and outside, maybe some of the medial ridge of the helmet.

Hello Allan,
many thanks for your prompt reply.
Here're other imgs of the helmet. I must say that the thickness of that is pretty good, not too thin nor too thick as sometimes replicas are.
I hope those will help you.

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back view

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lateral

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left

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ridge inside

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ridge outside

Interseting the second set of holes makes the full circut as well. I wonder if this may have been covered in fabfic at one time? The medial ridge looks good. I would be indlined to lean twords a legitimate piece rather than a newer say Victorian copy. This is of course based just on looking at some pictures which is no substitue for having the object in hand. Do you happen to have any dimensions on it and perhaps a weight?

Follow this link:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7799

Apparently, helmets were covered in this "Venetian" style long after they were obsolete in warfare.

I am troubled by the overall shape, particularly the shape of the skull, which is far too hemispherical for my taste, and I would like to see some closeups of the interior of the helmet with side racking light, so that the internal hammer marks can more clearly be seen.

In my opinion the shape, the opening and the surface are all giveaways that there is something doggy going on here.
Sorry.

One of the lower rear rivet holes seems to have been made with a modern metal punch that slid its way through the metal giving to the hole a very specific shape, that of two superimposing circles.

Remind me these italian miniature...
http://manuscriptminiatures.com/speculum-huma...-593/2047/
http://manuscriptminiatures.com/speculum-huma...-593/2046/
http://manuscriptminiatures.com/speculum-huma...-593/2049/