WW1 Imperial German Bavarian Reserve Officers Pickelhaube With Field Cover

The WW1 Imperial German Bavarian Reserve Officers Pickelhaube with Field Cover is a helmet representative of Bavarian reserve officers serving in the Imperial German Army during the First World War. This model features the traditional pickelhaube shape constructed from blackened leather with metal fittings, including a spike atop the crown and a Bavarian wappen (front plate) bearing the reserve officer’s cross. The reserve cross indicates the wearer’s non-career commission. This example includes a detachable wartime field cover made from drab cloth material, designed to reduce the helmet’s visibility in combat and protect its ornate surfaces. The helmet typically features officers’ cockades in Bavarian and national colors on either side, and leather or silk liner inside for comfort. Used primarily from 1914 until steel helmets became standard, the pickelhaube was both a mark of rank and a piece of protective gear. This piece offers insight into the uniforms and hierarchy of Bavarian forces within the German military structure of the era.