Venetian helmet

Common card · No. 485660

The Venetian helmet was an elaborate headpiece designed to project the sultan's power in the context of the Ottoman–Habsburg rivalry. It was acquired by the sultan in 1532. The rivalry with the Habsburg monarchy was one of the most significant political and military relationships addressed by the sultan during his reign. In addition to military campaigns, Suleiman also took political and diplomatic steps in order to advance the Ottoman position, promoting trade with European powers and purchasing expensive jewels such as the helmet. The key figures behind the purchase of the helmet were Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha and his chief advisors, İskender Çelebi, the chief treasurer, and Alvise Gritti, a powerful jewellery merchant based in the Ottoman capital Konstantinyye, or Istanbul, as it was renamed in 1930. After the 16th century, the helmet was long known only from the closely similar prints by Agostino Veneziano and others (it is not entirely clear which of these first created the image...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Agostino Veneziano (Agostino dei Musi) (Italian, Venice ca. 1490–after 1536 Rome) British Museum, Public domain