Location: Probably Lahore, Punjab
Dates: 1825–50
Materials: Watered steel, iron, gold, brass, velvet and metal thread
Measurements: Height including camail 37.4 cm
Inv No: OA1769
Surviving examples of this type of helmet are rare, suggesting that they were produced for an elite brigade. The upper section has been designed to accommodate the turban and topknot worn by Sikh warriors.
One of the earliest written accounts of a turban helmet appeared following a meeting between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the British East India Company’s governor-general, Lord William Bentinck (1774-1839), in 1831. At the event, Sikh troops assembled for a review and among them were General Allard’s special brigade, the Fauj-i-khas, who were reported to have been wearing ‘a steel helmet in the shape of a Sikh turban’. General Allard was a former Napoleonic officer who found employment at the court of Lahore and was tasked with training troops along European lines.
The helmet’s gold decoration with bands of floral pattern-work is typical of the Lahore workshop. There is a slight flaw in the metal, just to one side, but it has been cleverly concealed by the craftsman, who has applied gold decoration in the shape of a bird directly over it. Another bird has been applied to the other side in order to balance the design. The ornamentation has been applied using the kuftgari technique, whereby the metal is crosshatched and gold wire is subsequently hammered onto the surface.
The links of the aventail have been arranged to create a pattern known as ‘Ganga-Jamuna’. The light-and-dark zig-zag pattern are meant to symbolise the currents of Ganga (Ganges) and Jamuna (Yamuna), two sacred rivers, when they are at a confluence.
Other examples of turban helmets can be found in the Royal Armouries, the Louvre, the Toor Collection, the Sheesh Mahal Museum (Patiala), the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum (Amritsar) and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.