Lobster tailed helmet circa 1640

[Victrix]

I think some zischägges and other helmets and armour were blackened whilst others were not. Probably some of the more munitions grade items used in the field/in action were blackened, but some more decorated items clearly were not. On some items the partial blackening form part of the decoration. I found this in Peter Krenn and Walter Karcheski’s “Imperial Austria, Treasures of Art, Arms & Armour from the State of Styria” (1998).