A GOLD-DAMASCENED STEEL HELMET (KHULA KHUD)
Safavid Iran, 17th century

Of typical hemispherical shape, with three plume holders with openwork fitting on the front, the steel surface decorated with fine gold-damascened cusped and oval cartouches of nasta'liq calligraphy of both Quranic and auspicious content around the base and amidst elegant interlocking vegetal meanders all over the head, a shaped two-tone mail skirt below decorated in the 'tiger-skin' pattern, 18.5cm diam. and 8.6cm high without the mail skirt.

Provenance: Roseberys, 3 April 2020, lot 215.

Inscriptions:

Around the base: Sura al-Baqarah, Ayat al-Kursi (2:255)

On the head: the Bismillah, invocations to Ali, Muhammad and Allah, and further clusters of prayers.