Art Institute of Chicago

Turban Helmet

Eastern Turkey or Western Iran

Date

c. 1475–1500

Medium

Steel and silver

Culture

Western Iran

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Turban helmets such as this one, dating from the late 15th century, were used throughout modern Eastern Turkey and Iran by the Aq Qoyunlu tribal federation (known as the White Sheep Turkomans). Its bulbous shape and fluted (ribbed) body are intended to mimic the shape and folds of textile turbans. Together, with the associated mail face- and neck-guard (aventail) and a now-missing nasal bar, it was the principal head defense for a horseman. The wide bands along the base and top of the helmet are artfully worked with silver in a technique called damascening. This involved hammering or burnishing (smoothing) soft silver wire in a pattern over a roughened hard steel ground. This laborious process adheres the silver to the steel, resulting in a decorated hand-plated surface, which is executed here with Arabic inscriptions in Kufic script. Often these bands profess glory to certain rulers or luck to the wearer. The text on this helmet remains to be deciphered; the craftsperson creatively interwove the calligraphic script with interlacing foliage and florid embellishments, prioritizing beauty over legibility. A roughly incised circle with a Y-shaped figure inside it can be seen above the brow of the left eye opening. This mark is derived from a tamga , a Turkic tribal symbol or brand, which indicates the helmet was once kept in one of the many arsenals of the Ottoman empire, where it was preserved for centuries.

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