Once again about the helmet with golden notch from the collection of the North Kazakhstan Regional Museum

Abstract

The article deals with a vintage iron helmet owned by the Northern Kazakhstan Regional Museum (Petropavlovsk, Republic of Kazakhstan). The design and decoration of the helmet are described in detail, the dating and attribution are specified, and photographs of the headpiece are presented for the first time under all main angles. Regarding the material of manufacture of the helmet crown, it belongs to the class of iron (steel), by the construction of the crown – to the section of solid-forged articles, by the shape of the dome – to the hemispherical type. The surface of the hoop and the “box-shaped” visor are covered with inscriptions in Arabic, floral and geometric ornaments reproduced in the technique of gold incision on metal. The inscription on the hoop contains verses 255–257 from the Qur’an, Surah 2 Al-Baqarah “The Cow”, while the one on the “shield” of the visor is a prayer for protection, addressed to caliph ʿAli and known as the “message of peace” recited before a long journey or a difficult and dangerous enterprise, including combat action. During the use of the headpiece, the original pommel was removed and replaced with a slightly convex copper alloy pommel. Typological analysis allows us to date the helmet within the 17th – early 18th century. The item could have been manufactured in Mawara’annahr, Xinjiang, or a certain town on the Syr Darya, for a high-ranking Uzbek, Uyghur, or Kazakh warrior. This definition may explain the combination of a solid crown and a hoop with Arabic inscriptions with a box-type visor typical of helmets worn by Mongolian and Turkic nomads of Central Asia. The closest parallels are found in the museums of Kazakhstan. Judging by the traces of repair and reconstruction, this helmet was used for a long time.