Home I Biography I Fine Reproductions I Online Shop I Events I Consultancy |Contact

Chris Dobson

Master Armourer

A North Italian Armet, circa 1505 (1992).

The armet was the classic helmet for the Italian mounted man at arms, from the early 15th century, until the early 16th century. They were exported in large numbers to Northern Europe and England from Milan and Brescia, and the armet construction was adopted at the Royal Armouries in Greenwich, where they remained popular until the beginning of the 17th Century. German armourers developed their own armets in the first half of the 16th Century.

This commission is based on North Italian examples from the early 16th Century. This shape was also to be seen in the Low Countries and England, either imported from Italy, made by emigrè Italian armourers, or by the local craftsmen they influenced.

Left: General view of the helmet.

Click on the thumbnails below to see full-size photos.