Lot 286: AN INDO-PERSIAN KULAH KHUD STEEL HELMET WITH FLORAL DESIGN, 19TH CENTURY

This 19th-century Indo-Persian kulah khud helmet consists of a hemispherical bowl forged from steel. The exterior surface is extensively decorated with hand-engraved and chased scrolling foliate and floral motifs. A horizontal band encircling the base of the bowl contains multiple cartouches filled with Arabic or Persian calligraphy; the characters are not clearly legible for transcription but are arranged in a style typical of religious verses or poetic inscriptions common to Qajar or late Mughal armour. The apex is surmounted by a four-sided tapering steel spike. To the front is a sliding nasal guard held by a screw-retained bracket, both featuring gold floral scrollwork applied using the koftgari technique, where gold foil is hammered into a cross-hatched steel surface. A single plume holder is mounted to the side of the bowl. The lower rim is perforated with a series of small holes which originally served to secure a chainmail aventail.