Helmet thumbnail 1
Not on display

Helmet

early 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Lahore (made)

Helmet with sliding nasal made of steel, chiselled and overlaid with gold. Aventail of copper and brass butted mail links, two aigrettes and a central plume. The lining has become detached from the helmet.

Object details

Categories
Arms & Armour
India Museum
Court
Object type
Helmet
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.

  • Helmets
  • Plumes
  • Plumes
  • Plumes
Brief description
Helmet with sliding nasal, ventail of copper and brass butted mail links, two aigrettes and a central plume, worn at the court of Ranjit Singh, Lahore, early 19th century.
Physical description
Helmet with sliding nasal made of steel, chiselled and overlaid with gold. Aventail of copper and brass butted mail links, two aigrettes and a central plume. The lining has become detached from the helmet.
Dimensions
  • Height: 500mm
  • Left to right width: 200mm
  • Front to back (inc. nose guard) depth: 250mm
  • Height: 810mm (Note: Technician's measurement August 2017)
Gallery label
(August 2018)
HELMET
Watered steel, chiselled and overlaid with gold, heron feather plumes
Lahore
Early 19th century
3421 (IS)
Acquired by the Indian Museum in 1855. [sn 8585]
This helmet was acquired in 1855 by the Indian Museum. It was said to have been worn at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and was therefore probably made in Lahore within the royal toshakhana, where stores for the court were kept and articles made and repaired. The helmet must have been taken at the annexation of the Punjab by the British in 1849, when Sikh Crown Property was also appropriated.
Credit line
Transferred from the India Museum in 1879
Object history
Historical significance: Worn at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (d. 1839)
Production
Transferred from the India Museum to South Kensington Museum in 1879
Bibliographic references
  • Egerton, Wilbraham, An illustrated handbook of Indian arms; being a classified and descriptive catalogue of the arms exhibited at the India museum: with an introductory sketch of the military history of India, London, 1880 p.134
  • Jackson, Anna and Ji Wei (eds.) with Rosemary Crill, Ainsley M. Cameron and Nicholas Barnard, compiled by the Palace Museum, translated by Yuan Hong, Qi Yue and Liu Ran. The Splendour of India' Royal Courts : Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beijing: the Forbidden City Publishing House, 2013. Text in English and Chinese. ISBN 9787513403917. pps. 184-185
  • Lord Egerton of Tatton, Indian and Oriental Armour, London, 1896, p. 134, Cat. No. 703
Other numbers
  • 703 - Egerton Catalogue Number
  • 8585-'55 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
3421:1to:4/(IS)

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Record createdSeptember 8, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84034/helmet-unknown/
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