Triple-Combed Burgonet 1540 - 1550

This is an anonymous, elaborately-wrought burgonet, or helmet, made in Europe sometime in the 16th or 17th century. Though its maker is unknown, we can still consider how such an object comes to be made and displayed. Helmets of this kind were both functional and fashionable. They were intended to protect the wearer from blows to the head. But the three comb-like decorations at the top are clearly more ornamental than practical. The owner would likely have been a nobleman, eager to express his social status through luxurious display. One can imagine how such an image would be presented, and who the target of the message would be. Today, the helmet is displayed in an art museum. It has been taken out of its original social context to become an object of aesthetic contemplation. As art historians, we might consider how and why this has happened, by looking at collecting practices, museum histories, and the evolution of social tastes. Through such institutional analysis, we can better understand the changing meanings of the artwork.