Sallet alla Veneziana ca. 1470; gilt mounts, probably added early 16th century Italian Italian paintings of the fifteenth century provide ample evidence that color played an important role in the appearance of the armored knight. The metal plates themselves were often colored by heat to a blue or black finish, and the edges were sometimes enriched with gilt metal borders; rich brocades and velvets frequently covered the armor, and huge crests composed of gilt metal, leather, parchment, and feathers surmounted the helmet. Helmets decorated in this way appear to have had great popularity in venice, so much so that helmets covered with velvet are generally referred to as alla Veneziana (in the Venetian manner). Decoration of this sort is ephemeral, however, and seldom survives in its original condition, though the present example preserves some hints of the brilliant effect such armor must have made.The helmet belongs to a type known as a sallet (from the Italian celata), an open-faced he