Since it is a helmet kind of day, what do you make of this?

[RSWORD]

Here is a very unusual helmet that I have discussed with some fellow forum members and just haven't gotten around to posting pics on the forum to get some additional feedback. The helmet is of the conical form with raised ribs done in a spiral motif with a spike-like finial on the top. The rim of the helmet has holes for the chain mail that is protective of the back of the neck. A very interesting feature of the helmet is that it is copper. It has developed a blackish patina over the years but is thick enough that it would have been effective has a working helmet. The inside has a wool liner and there is also a leather chin strap. I was discussing it with Jim and I believe he may have nailed it down. However, we cannot find similar items for comparison purposes and I wanted to see if anyone knows of similar examples in musuems or pictured in refererence books. Jim found a reference in Robinsons "Oriental Armour" about Nigerian helmets. I don't have the exact quote with me but it basically said that the Tower of London had acquired a very rare helmet from Nigeria that was made of tinned copper with holes around the rim that held the remnants of an aventail and was of conical shape. Very close description to what I have. An African origin would explain the blacksmith quality of this helmet and the way the liner is tied off on the inside and the chin strap could very well be influences from European helmets of the 19th century. I am hoping our contingent of African collectors may have some insight into armour in Africa and specifically helmets. Look forward to additional thoughts and I want to thank Jim for the excellent reference, to Wolviex(Michel) for looking about his musuem and to Philip for his excellent observations.