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Helmet with Nose Guard and Chain Mail
The wearer of this helmet would have been protected by the sturdy steel cap and nasal (the thin section that slid down over the nose) and by the chain mail around the face and neck. Further protection for the Muslim warrior, who may have been a cavalryman, was provided by the inscription, now largely effaced, at the cap's lower edge. It is part of a verse from the Qur'an that ends: "God is all-hearing, all-knowing" (Sura al-Baqara: chapter 2, verse 256). The overall arabesque, or scrollwork, design above the inscription is another common decorative motif on Islamic armor.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1940 | Exhibition of Persian Art. Iranian Institute, New York. |
| 1940 | Again: Arms and Armor. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/1/2001 | Treatment | cleaned; other |
| 10/3/2001 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
Iran (Place of Origin)
Measurements
13 11/16 x 8 1/16 in. (34.7 x 20.4 cm) (diam.)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911
Location in Museum
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.
51.67