Lot 125: A QAJAR GOLD-DAMASCENED STEEL HELMET (KULAH KHUD), PERSIA, 19TH CENTURY

This Qajar Persian helmet, known as a kulah khud, is constructed from forged steel with decorative gold damascening, or koftgari. The piece features a traditional hemispherical bowl topped with a tall, faceted central spike on a knopped base. The front of the helmet is fitted with two plume holders and a sliding nasal bar held by a screw-bracket, terminating in leaf-shaped plates. The surface of the bowl is densely decorated with etched and engraved floral and foliate arabesque patterns. A prominent horizontal band encircles the base of the bowl, containing a series of circular and oval cartouches with fluid Arabic or Persian calligraphic script. Such calligraphic bands typically contain religious verses or poetic couplets. The base rim is pierced for the attachment of a chainmail aventail made of small, interlinked metal rings.