Doha / Paris, un Décor Princier
Doha / Paris, un Décor Princier
A gold-overlaid steel helmet (kulah khud), Persia, Qajar, 19th century
Auction Closed
June 30, 08:46 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
A gold-overlaid steel helmet (kulah khud), Persia, Qajar, 19th century
of high domed form, the skull decorated with scrolling and interlaced arabesques around cartouches comprising inscriptions, a narrow band of calligraphic cartouches around the rim, with applied nasal guard, four plume holders, spike finial, and chain mail neck guard, the applied elements decorated with gold damascened floral motifs
26,4 cm ; 10⅜ in. (without aventail)
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Casque (kulah khud) en acier ciselé à décor damasquiné d’or, Iran, Qajar, 19e siècle
26,4 cm ; 10⅜ in. (sans aventail)
Les Lots d'origine perse/iranien sont susceptibles d'être soumis à des restrictions
d'importation dans certains pays, comme les Etats-Unis ainsi que dans certains
ou tous les pays membres de Gulf Co-operation council. Il appartient à l'acheteur
de veiller à s'assurer des règlementations en vigueur dans son pays de résidence ; l'incapacité à importer le lot ne pourra en aucun cas justifier une annulation de la
vente. This lot of Persian/Iranian origin may be subject to import restrictions in
some countries like the United States and some or all member countries of the Gulf
Co-Operation Council. It is the buyer's responsibility to ensure that the export /
import will comply with the regulations currently in place in their country of
residence; A buyer's inability to export or import these lots cannot justify a sale's
cancellation
Christie's London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 17 April 2007, lot 257
inscriptions
In the cartouches around the rim, in thuluth:
Persian couplets in praise of the helmet, also seen on other helmets, including lots 136, 137, and 141.
In the cartouches on the helmet, in nasta'liq:
A Persian couplet in praise of the helmet, the same as on lots 136 and 139.
Iranian helmets of this form, with a hemispherical bowl surmounted by a spike, are sometimes thought of as Safavid, but most of them date from the Zand (1751-94) and Qajar (1779-1925) periods. Earlier Safavid helmets with tall conical bowls, often fluted, were seen in the sixteenth and most of the seventeenth centuries. The small hemispherical bowls with spear shaped finials made an appearance in the later Safavid period and date from the late seventeenth century onwards. The decorative techniques employed for this group of helmets, which include gold and silver damascening as well as chiselled inscriptions, floral and figurative motifs, date from the eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century.
For further discussion on Iranian helmets, and for an example of a Qajar helmet dating from the eighteenth – early nineteenth century decorated with gold damascening and chiselled Arabic benedictory inscriptions, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see D. Alexander, Islamic Arms and Armour in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015, cat.no. 42, pp. 116-118. A further example of a nineteenth century Qajar helmet is in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, see D. Alexander, The Arts of War, London, 1992, no. 79, acc. no. MTW338, p.134, illus.p.137.
A fine eighteenth century Safavid helmet of similar hemispherical form and a spike finial, decorated with a gold-overlaid hunting scene, sold at Sotheby’s London, 9 April 2008, lot 259. For comparable nineteenth century Qajar examples which were sold at auction, see Sotheby’s London, 1 May 2019, lot 213; 25 October 2017, lot 213; 9 April 2008, lot 275; 24 October 2007, lot 232.
In the cartouches around the rim, in thuluth:
Persian couplets in praise of the helmet, also seen on other helmets, including lots 136, 137, and 141.
In the cartouches on the helmet, in nasta'liq:
A Persian couplet in praise of the helmet, the same as on lots 136 and 139.
Iranian helmets of this form, with a hemispherical bowl surmounted by a spike, are sometimes thought of as Safavid, but most of them date from the Zand (1751-94) and Qajar (1779-1925) periods. Earlier Safavid helmets with tall conical bowls, often fluted, were seen in the sixteenth and most of the seventeenth centuries. The small hemispherical bowls with spear shaped finials made an appearance in the later Safavid period and date from the late seventeenth century onwards. The decorative techniques employed for this group of helmets, which include gold and silver damascening as well as chiselled inscriptions, floral and figurative motifs, date from the eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century.
For further discussion on Iranian helmets, and for an example of a Qajar helmet dating from the eighteenth – early nineteenth century decorated with gold damascening and chiselled Arabic benedictory inscriptions, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see D. Alexander, Islamic Arms and Armour in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015, cat.no. 42, pp. 116-118. A further example of a nineteenth century Qajar helmet is in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, see D. Alexander, The Arts of War, London, 1992, no. 79, acc. no. MTW338, p.134, illus.p.137.
A fine eighteenth century Safavid helmet of similar hemispherical form and a spike finial, decorated with a gold-overlaid hunting scene, sold at Sotheby’s London, 9 April 2008, lot 259. For comparable nineteenth century Qajar examples which were sold at auction, see Sotheby’s London, 1 May 2019, lot 213; 25 October 2017, lot 213; 9 April 2008, lot 275; 24 October 2007, lot 232.