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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 54
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I'm attaching pics of a rattan helmet I picked up a few months ago that I suspect is Vietnamese, but I wanted to get some other opinions. I have a few reasons for suspecting its Vietnamese origin, but without going into long and laborious detail, I'm simply going to attach an illustration of a South Vietnamese soldier, circa 1850. Note that both helmets have a spiral construction, similar to Chinese and Vietnamese rattan shields. As far as I know, there is no Chinese equivalent to this helmet construction, but I'd like to know if anyone else here is aware of any other cultures that constructed helmets in a similar way. I would think Indonesia could be a candidate, but I'm largely unfamiliar with their armor. In short, I want someone to come up with a plausible candidate other than Vietnam.
The helmet is slightly oval, being 11.25 inches at its longest and a hair under 11 inches at its shortest. Height is about 6.25 inches. The model in the photo is my lovely wife. She enjoys supporting me in my hobby and can't seem to resist putting this thing on her head. |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 54
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A soldier from South Vietnam (Cochinchina), circa 1850.
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,247
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Neat headpiece, Nick. One thing I'm interested in is how thick the main strand of rattan is. If it's a functional helmet, then the rattan needs to be thick enough to absorb a blow. Otherwise, it could be primarily a fashionable hat, as your wife so ably demonstrates.
F |
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 675
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Nick,
I chanced on your query out of curiosity and do not profess knowing anything about this helmet. I asked my secretary, who is a Thai and she immediately said that it was Vietnamese. She knows nothing about armour and arrived at her conclusion on the strength of appearances. Cheers Chris |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: What is still UK
Posts: 5,781
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Wives can be really handy in so many ways. What a super thing to have.
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#6 | |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 5,503
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 407
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Here is an example of a Chinese rattan helmet. It is a bit different, and may be asymetrical to give more overhang for the face. European accounts describe Chinese soldiers using them in the water, but I would imagine they were widely used.
Josh http://forum.grtc.org/viewtopic.php?...ighlight=naval |
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