Artistry & Craftsmanship

Not only does this helmet feature several surface decoration techniques such as etching, gilding, and heat blackening, it is also a rare example of armor that retains its original cheekpieces and fabric lining. Interior fabric padded the helmets, making them wearable, but the lining rarely survived.

When the Mughal empire was founded in India in the early 1500s by invaders from Central Asia, they brought with them the artistic traditions of Persia, including arms and armor. The kulah khud is one of many variants of a helmet form used across the Islamic world with a rounded skull, top spike, and mail neck guard. However, the embossed pattern on this example, reminiscent of a lotus flower, is typically Indian.

Anton Peffenhauser, a leading armorer in Augsburg, Germany, hammered into the metal the deeper decorative patterns on this breastplate. His collaborator, Jörg Sorg, etched the shallower patterns, highlighting them with gilding and heat blackening. Sorg also kept an illustrated notebook of the armors he worked on, allowing us to identify this armor’s date, maker, and owner.

This cavalryman’s breastplate bears several stamps near its neckline. The crowned A of the Armourers’ Company of London can be seen on the left. To the right, one sees the stamped letters BK, for Boulter and Keene, the makers of the armor. Slightly further to the right is the inventory number I58. Contractors like Boulter and Keene mass-produced pieces like this for the opposing sides in the English Civil War (1642–51).

Protecting armor from rust was a constant challenge. Surface treatments like fire-bluing offered a degree of protection. Coating the metal with oil then applying heat created a stable oxide layer on the surface that resisted rust, while also adding a pleasing color. Although now black, this piece was originally fire-blued. Bluing can be easily removed by polishing and rarely survives. (See the nearby portrait of General George Monck to see a depiction of fire-blued armor with its original color.)

Along with hammers and tongs, anvils were (and still are) among the smith’s primary tools. This well-used example sat on a wooden block to help absorb the shock of the hammer. The hole on the upper face accommodated a stake, a steel post that could take a variety of forms to help the armorer create the shapes he needed.