This is something I recently finished and thought might be of interest here - a burgonet based on one in a portrait of Sir Richard Drake from 1577. The same dull black finish can be seen depicted on some armours in the contemporary sketchbook of the Greenwich master, Jacob Halder. Because of it's low gloss, my customer opted for a russet-based finish - one where the surface of the steel is deliberately rusted and then chemically converted to an inactive, velvety black finish. The black is contrasted with gilt edging.

I have excluded the stud shown on the cheek piece of the original, because there is no falling buffe to use it.

The portrait of Drake:
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My reproduction:
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Thanks for looking! There are more photos on my website.

-Jeffrey

That is really nice! Fantastic work. The black and gold look great together, better than a high gloss black, and I can really appreciate the defensive qualities of the burgonet style. Now on to the rest of the armor in the portrait, right? :D

Wow - that's stunning.

Thanks!

This helmet is the last piece in the ensemble, actually. The rest was already made by another armourer.

I agree. The tonal contrast of the black and gold would be pleasing by itself, by the addition of textural contrast takes it a step further.