Helmet
MakerAttributed to
Normand Smith
(American)
Date1790-1800
MediumHand-stitched heavy black leather, stiffened by jacking, with a leather sweatband and visor, a wool (?) velvet turban, silver wire cord tassels, silver wire twist cord, and an embossed leather cockade with a silvered ornament
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (crown length x crown height x visor width): 9 x 8 x 9in. (22.9 x 20.3 x 22.9cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineThe Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund
Object number2003.7.3
DescriptionMilitia Dragoon helmet, hand-stitched of heavy black leather, which has been further stiffened by jacking (the application of a tar-like substance). The helmet has a brown leather sweatband sewn along the lower edge of the crown. The helmet is unlined, though there appears to be a piece of paper pasted into the top of the crown. The paper has letters written on it in ink, but it is too fragmentary to be able to read. Judging from shadowing adjacent to the label, it appears that this was a maker's label. The helmet has a leather visor edged with a strip of brass.
The helmet has a turban of red wool (?) velvet wrapped around the base of the crown, terminating at the rear of the helmet in two tubes, with four loops of silver wire cord attached to the ends of each to form tassels. The turban is held in place by two bands of silver wire twist cord on either side of the helmet, attached to white metal buttons fixed to the helmet just above the turban. The turban is bordered by two strands of silver wire twist cord which run along the top edge of the turban from the center front to near the back, then run down the turban to its lower edge and run along the lower edge back to the center front. Where the wire cord turns to run toward the bottom edge of the turban, there is thread tufting on the helmet, suggesting the location of now missing buttons and cord loops. On the proper left side of the helmet, there is a circular, black, embossed leather cockade, which is attached to the turban by means of a silvered eagle's head ornament.
On the inside of the helmet, there is a series of small holes running along the center seam of the crown, from the front of the helmet to the back. The holes are about half an inch apart, across the helmet seam, and approximately one inch apart along the length of the seam. This, and the gap in the turban at the center front of the helmet, suggest that the helmet was originally surmounted by a metal comb, which probably held a horsehair crest.
The helmet has a turban of red wool (?) velvet wrapped around the base of the crown, terminating at the rear of the helmet in two tubes, with four loops of silver wire cord attached to the ends of each to form tassels. The turban is held in place by two bands of silver wire twist cord on either side of the helmet, attached to white metal buttons fixed to the helmet just above the turban. The turban is bordered by two strands of silver wire twist cord which run along the top edge of the turban from the center front to near the back, then run down the turban to its lower edge and run along the lower edge back to the center front. Where the wire cord turns to run toward the bottom edge of the turban, there is thread tufting on the helmet, suggesting the location of now missing buttons and cord loops. On the proper left side of the helmet, there is a circular, black, embossed leather cockade, which is attached to the turban by means of a silvered eagle's head ornament.
On the inside of the helmet, there is a series of small holes running along the center seam of the crown, from the front of the helmet to the back. The holes are about half an inch apart, across the helmet seam, and approximately one inch apart along the length of the seam. This, and the gap in the turban at the center front of the helmet, suggest that the helmet was originally surmounted by a metal comb, which probably held a horsehair crest.
Status
Not on view
1939-1945
