Other than fragmentary excavated examples, few helmets of this type have survived, and virtually none is in as pristine condition as this one. The general type was in use from eastern Europe through Central Asia by the sixth century and may have remained in use in Tibet and among the Mongols and other Central Asian peoples as late as the seventeenth century. A carbon-14 test on a sample of the lacing from this helmet resulted in a date range of 1271 to 1431.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Lamellar Helmet
Date:13th–15th century
Culture:Mongolian or Tibetan
Medium:Iron, leather
Dimensions:H. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); Diam. 9 in. (22.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 2.5 oz. (978.1 g)
Classification:Helmets
Credit Line:Purchase, Gift of William H. Riggs, by exchange, and The Sulzberger Foundation Inc. Gift, 1999
Object Number:1999.158
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arms and Armor: Notable Acquisitions 1991–2002," September 4, 2002–January 18, 2004, no. 41.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet," April 5–July 4, 2006, no. 9.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tibetan Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection," December 13, 2007–April 29, 2012.
Nicolle, David, Greenhill Books, and Stackpole Books. Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era 1050–1350: Islam, Eastern Europe and Asia. Vol. II. London / Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 1999. pp. 317, 488, no. 813g, fig. 813g.
Broń i uzbrojenie Tatarów / Tartar Arms and Armour. Katalog zabytków tatarskich, Vol. 1. Warsaw, 1997. pp. 24, 48, 78, no. 9, pl. 9.
Pyhrr, Stuart W., Donald J. La Rocca, and Morihiro Ogawa. Arms and Armor: Notable Acquisitions, 1991–2002. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. pp. 44–45, no. 41, ill. p. 45.
La Rocca, Donald J. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. pp. 8, 52, 68, 70–71, 74, no. 9, ill.
La Rocca, Donald J. "Tibetan Warriors: The Challenges of Presenting the Warlike Side of a Peaceful Culture." In The Universal Heritage of Arms and Military History: Challenges and Choices in a Changing World, ICOMAM Conference, Vienna 2007. Vienna: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, 2008. p. 43, fig. 5.
Kubik, Adam Lech. "Sasanian Lamellar Helmets." Crowns, Hats, Turbans and Helmets: The Headgear in Iranian History (2017), p. 198, fig. 5.
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