Original Item: One Only. This comes from a small collection of these exceptionally rare primitive War Helmets from TIBET in the Himalayas. Acquired by IMA in 2003 from the Nepalese Royal Armory.

This Tibetan eight-plate helmet features four inner plates joined by four outer plates. The plates seem to be made of forged steel and iron. The four outer plates have raised ribs for extra strength. The outer plates have cusped edges forming two elongated points extending at either side, partially overlapping the inner plates. All are held together with rivets, most of them seem to be original to the piece.

A common material used in Tibetan armor was leather (which was really untanned or superficially tanned rawhide). Higher ranking Tibetan soldiers were equipped with iron or copper lamellar armor, often elaborately decorated with gold inlay.

We believe this Lamellar armor helmet to be from the 16th or 17th century, however, Tibetan armor is very hard to date. One should always be careful trying to date items based on their condition because the condition is often more indicative of storage conditions than actual age. The dry and oxygen deprived Tibetan climate is excellent for the preservation of metal and leather and pieces kept in local armories are often very well preserved.

The leather lacing of lamellar armor in the Metropolitan Museum was carbon dated to 1480 - 1660 with 95% reliability, indicating just how old some of these pieces can be. We believe a tentative 16th to 17th century dating for this helmet is not unreasonable.

Clearly an exceptionally old and apparently extremely rare, all original item ready for display and further research!

We submitted this helmet, with a few others, to the Curator of Arms and Armor at The Metropolitan Museum of Art here is his emailed response:

“Typical Tibetan 8-plate construction. The pairs of holes on the plates indicate that they were originally made to be laced together, which is the typical traditional method of assembly. On later and reused helmets you do sometimes see the plates riveted together, as on your examples. In any event, the shape of the plates and the form of the plume finial on the top of each helmet are characteristic for Tibetan helmets. Date is hard to judge. Could be anywhere from 17th to18th century.”

Tibetan Armor History
Tibetan culture has a long history of producing armor for military and ceremonial use. Tibetan armor came in many forms, and was produced into the 20th century due to the isolation of the Tibetan Plateau.

Tibetan armor was heavily influenced by the armors of China and the various Mongol peoples. According to Donald J. La Rocca of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Arms and Armor, Tibetan soldiers were most commonly protected by body armor, a helmet, and a rattan-reed shield reinforced with iron struts. Tibetan cavalry also protected their horses' bodies with thin leather armor and their heads with thick iron plates. The most common form of Tibetan armor was lamellar armor called byang bu'i khrab, which was created by overlapping squares of force-absorbing material.

A common material used in Tibetan armor was leather (which was really untanned or superficially tanned rawhide). Higher ranking Tibetan soldiers were equipped with iron or copper lamellar armor, often elaborately decorated with gold inlay. In later eras, iron-worked mail armor was used after being introduced. Some Eastern Tibetan tribes were speculated to have employed heavy infantry clad entirely in iron armor. This observation is complemented by an account by Chinese historian Du You in his encyclopedia Tongdian. He had noted that, during the reign of the Tibetan Empire (7th to 9th centuries AD), Tibetan heavy infantry were entirely encased in armor. He wrote that,

“The men and horses all wear chain mail armor. Its workmanship is extremely fine. It envelops them completely, leaving openings only for the two eyes. Thus, strong bows and sharp swords cannot injure them. Their archery is weak but their armor is strong.”
— Du You

Starting in the 17th century, Tibetan cavalrymen rode into battle protected by four large iron disks strapped to their torsos, backs, and sides, a method of protection dubbed "the four mirrors'' (me long bzhi). These heavy cavalry men also wore specialized helmets with iron wings on the sides. Some Tibetan armorers produced plate armor known as duru. Developments in armor design continued into the age of gunpowder, as the relative remoteness of the Tibetan plateau isolated Tibetan armorers from having to contend with the widespread use of firearms in warfare.