OFFICER'S HELMET OF THE MOUNTED GENDARMERIE, model 1912, Third Republic. 27811-1

OFFICER'S HELMET OF THE MOUNTED GENDARMERIE, model 1912, Third Republic. 27811-1

Helmet composed of: a skull; a visor; a neck protector; a headband; two chinstraps; a crest; a mane; a plume holder and an interior lining.

The skull, made of a single piece of brass sheet, is stamped, planed, and polished. It is pierced at the top with three vent holes (diameter 1.5 cm). Depth of the skull 12.5 cm.

The visor, also made of brass sheet, is inclined at a 53-degree angle below a horizontal plane passing through the junction of the visor and the skull. It is bordered by a 8 mm wide nickel silver ring placed at its edges and fixed with five rivets. The underside of the visor is lined with dark green leather. Full visor width 5.4 cm.

The neck protector, also made of brass sheet, concave, forming a throat, with rounded angles and welded inside, it features two silvered nickel silver nails with spherical heads (diameter 8 mm) riveted inside. Like the visor, the neck protector is bordered by an 8 mm wide nickel silver strip. The underside of the neck protector is lined with ochre calf leather.

The headband, silvered nickel silver, stamped with a flaming grenade surrounded by laurel leaves, is attached to the skull. Its base rests on the visor and its ends are riveted to the skull in the part concealed by the chinstrap rosette. Headband width 6.5 cm.

Each chinstrap is made up of 10 stamped nickel silver scales in the shape of laurel leaves, decreasing in width from the top, which is 3.5 cm, to the last, which is 2 cm. These scales are attached with flattened wire staples on a leather core covered with black velvet. The right chinstrap is adorned at its end with a small nickel silver loop. The left chinstrap end is adorned with a black varnished calf leather buckle. The top scale of each chinstrap has a raised rosette at its end in the form of a lion's head framed by a triple beaded border.

The skull is topped with a copper crest composed of two wings, a mask in silvered nickel silver. The wings, placed vertically 3.2 cm apart in the front and 2.5 cm in the back, have a convex curvilinear triangle shape at the top that connects to the skull with a concave base forming a scalloped edge. The edge is fixed to the skull with two rounded nickel silver screws secured inside the helmet with square copper nuts. The wings are adorned with acanthus leaves and palmettes, and a molding representing two laurel branches with a palmette in the center, all stamped in relief. A tinned metal plate joins the upper edges of the wings, fixing their spacing. The mask that serves as the front connection between the two wings is stamped in relief with a Medusa head.

A mane made of cut horsehair in a brush-like style and ending in a floating tail, dyed black, is attached to a thick nourished cow leather sole, in which the hair is assembled with tinned brass wires with a piece of leather glued to the assembly. The mane is fixed to the crest by two copper screws with nuts.

A silvered nickel silver plume holder, stamped and engraved with laurel leaves, 3.5 cm high, forming a socket is obliquely fixed, from bottom to top, on the skull slightly in front of the left chinstrap, using two threaded rods passing through the skull.

The interior lining consists of a turban and a cap. The turban is made of canvas, in one piece, attached with two chinstrap counterplates. The cap is made of black leather cut into 7 wolf teeth and gold-brushed on the inner edge.

France.
Third Republic.
Very good condition, gold plating mostly absent, light dents on the skull, worn but in perfect condition interior lining.

NOTE:
Officer's helmets of the Gendarmerie are much rarer than helmets of Dragoons or Cuirassiers.