Holder, helmet crest holder

A copper-alloy helmet crest support for a helmet with central spike in the box cradle and outwardly-curving arms. The main upright is square in section, while the three rectangular-sectioned tongues, for attaching the item to the helmet, are bent through 90°.

Three parallel tongues are unusual as most crest supports of this type use a T-shaped arrangement, where the central tongue slotted into the socket on the crown of the helmet with the other two arms perpendicular to it curving to fit the shape of the bowl, and this arrangement affords the optimum stability for a crest. The London object, which seems to have been pushed flat before withdrawal, may have been made this way as a mistake. Central spikes in the crest cradle are not unknown, with at least four from Vindonissa (Windisch, SWitzerland), two from Rheingönheim (Germany) and two highly-ornamented examples from Neuß (Germany).