This latest acquisition, a gift from Dee Robbins, is a leather helmet with an emblem of a winged griffin holding a sword and shield. An iron cross is attached to the emblem with an inscription "Fur Furst und Vaterland", or "for Prince and Fatherland".
This helmet is missing its topspitze, or "spiked adornment," for which this type of helmet is named pickelhaube, or "pick cap."
The spiked helmet was introduced by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in 1842 and became a standard of the German army from 1871 to WWI. Twelve other countries including the U.S. (1881-1902) also adopted a spiked helmet based on the Prussian design.
Learn More: Pickelhaube Helmet (2003.06.0001)
Most of the artifacts in New Acquisitions articles are chosen to allow website visitors to explore artifacts that are not on display in the Museum's galleries. Try searching the database or exploring the Virtual Tour to find artifacts on display.