The State Hermitage Museum: Exhibitions

The elongated round shape of the helmet ending in a spike was borrowed from the East. This type of helmet, known as the szyszak, appeared in the early 16th century and remained in use through to the 17th. The helmet is made of small steel plates riveted to a leather lining. Such helmets were one part of whole suits of “scale armour”, known by the Polish name karacena, that were worn by the Polish heavy cavalry in the third quarter of the 17th century during the reign of Jan (John) Sobieski.