Hercules Rossicus? O pochodzeniu europejskiego hełmu ceremonialnego ze zbiorów Orużejnej Pałaty.
The article, based on the author’s previous research, is dedicated to unique ceremonial helmet preserved in the arms and armor collection of The Moscow Kremlin Museums. The helmet suffered from the great fire of 1737. In 2018 it experienced thorough conservation process for the first time in its history. That helped to partially restore the helmet’s original splendor, showing multiple remaining traces of gilding. Once fully gilt, the helmet is richly decorated with chased patterns and mythological scenes. The study of iconography and stylistic properties shows that chased and embossed scenes of the Labours of Hercules were undoubtedly influenced by the cycle of prints of Cornelis Cort based on the paintings of Frans Floris, which allows to suggest that the helmet was made and decorated after 1563. To evaluate the hypothesis considering this helmet as an ambassadorial gift to Tsar Fyodor I from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the author analyses Russian documents from 1590-1591. While inclining to the version of Flemish origin of the helmet, the author also mentions the possibility of South German craftsmanship being involved. The iconographical program and recent studies confirming the connections between Southern Netherlands and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth allow to consider the helmet in question «a gilt helmet», offered to the tsar by a Polish gentleman Pavel Sapieha. However, that attribution still remains hypothetical. A further study of the unique ceremonial helmet would require a search for additional information about the gift brought by Pavel Sapieha to the Russian court in Polish archives.
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