[B.I]

hi aqtai,
well observed in pointing out the helmet, as it is a strange concoction. it isnt a kulah khud and is pure ottoman, with slight changes. this is all theory, as it was sometime ago that i saw the collection, but the decoration and style of the whole helmet is ottoman and typical of a type, as is the decoration and the guilding.
the difference is the mail. these helmets didnt normally carry mail and instead had 2 ear flaps and a rear neck piece held on by leather, rivetted on to the bowl with copper rivets.
the peak and nasal bar were rivetted straight onto the bowl as well, again with copper.
the ear flaps and peak on this helmet are en-suite, and so can happily assume they were part of this helmet.
the most important point, is that they were normally deeper in bowl, and this fact may explain the current construction. my guess, would be that the helmet suffered damage at some time and was 'shortened'. the bowl was then pierced to hold the chainmail, and the peak and ear pieces were then attached. as it seems an unlikely design for use, there is a chance this may have happened after its working life, for aesthetic reasons only (otherwise you would have the peak bouncing around on your face)
if you follow the decoration around the rim, you see it almost ends abruptly. also, the guilding is lost around these holes and the guilding and decoration would have been originally applied after the construction was completed.
ottoman helmets carrying mail where done straight onto the helmet at a later design. helmets that carried mail of this period (most notably the 'turban' helmets) had fittings attached, into which a wire was threaded which held the chainmail.
still a great piece though!