Helmet
early 17th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This type of segmented Tibetan helmet, used originally with a coat of lamellar armour, was probably derived from the form of Sasanian Persian helmets of the 3rd century CE. During the later 14th to the 17th century Tibet was a disunited country where a number of regional secular rulers allied to religious orders vied for power and in which warfare was not uncommon. A sizeable armour production in Tibet was the result of this situation.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Plate-metal armour; scale armour in steel or iron stitched with leather; padded cloth ear pieces |
| Brief description | lamellar, Armour, leather steel, Tibet, anterior 17th century |
| Physical description | Helmet of plate-armour, composed of eightcurved segments, overlapping, surmounted by the typical Tibetan spindle-shaped pike (to which the sacred colours of Lamaism - pieces of red, blue and yellow cloth - are attached). Attached are the short coif, or neck-piece, consisting of three rows of scale armour and ear-pieces of paddled cloth formely covered with leopard skin. |
| Credit line | Purchased from the Baillie Gallery |
| Object history | Purchased from the Baillie Gallery. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 1910- 2707M |
| Summary | This type of segmented Tibetan helmet, used originally with a coat of lamellar armour, was probably derived from the form of Sasanian Persian helmets of the 3rd century CE. During the later 14th to the 17th century Tibet was a disunited country where a number of regional secular rulers allied to religious orders vied for power and in which warfare was not uncommon. A sizeable armour production in Tibet was the result of this situation. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.75-1910 |
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| Record created | November 8, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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