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Above: Italian, Sallet in the Shape of a Lion's Head, ca. 1475-80, embossed gilt and copper fitted over steel, 11 3/4 in x 8 1/4 in x 12 1/2 in; 7 lbs, 14 oz.  Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1923. This helmet is the earliest surviving example of Renaissance armor all'antica (in the antique style), according to that museum. It represents the head of the Nemean Lion, "whose pelt was worn as a headdress and cloak by the mythological hero Hercules​", who was frequently portrayed in Renaissance art as a symbol of courage and perseverance.  Please see our Spring 2023 issue on the great Heroic Armors of Milan and the works of Missaglia, Negroli and Piccolomini.