Turban Helmet with Neck Guard of Mail and Nose Guard
This helmet bears the distinctive mark of the royal arsenal in Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Dynasty of Turkey (1453-1922). Composed of a circle enclosing a loop over three vertical lines, the stamp is clearly visible to the right of the nose guard on this helmet. In 1839, the Ottoman repository discarded some of its holdings and sold them on the open market. The famous French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme was among the European collectors who acquired these Islamic arms and armor including this very helmet.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Royal Armory of Istanbul. Purchased by Jean-Léon Gérôme [1824-1904], Paris; purchased by Dikran Kelekian, Istanbul and Paris; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1913; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
2015-2016 | Gérôme and His Circle: Travel, Art, and Business in the Middle East. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
2000-2001 | Noble Dreams, Wicked Pleasures: Orientalism in America, 1870-1930. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
Treatment | Cleaned in preparation for exhibition. | |
Examination | Examined, cleaned | |
Examination | Examined and cleaned in preparation for exhibition. | |
2/23/1962 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
6/25/2015 | Treatment | Cleaned |
Geographies
Turkey, Istanbul (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Helmet H: 11 13/16 × W: 9 7/16 × D: 11 in. (30 × 24 × 28 cm); Mail L: 20 1/2 in. (52 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1913
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.74