Late Sasanian helmet
- Gallery: Room 52
- Culture: Late Sasanian
- Date: 6thC-7thC
- Object type: helmet
- Materials: iron; copper alloy; gold
- Museum number: 22498
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
This is a Late Sasanian helmet, made in what is now Iraq around the 6th to 7th century. You're looking at a beautifully engineered piece of wearable art—constructed of iron and copper alloy. It features two curved iron shells riveted into a copper frame, forming a slightly asymmetrical shape. The metal has corroded over time, but close inspection reveals the remains of fabric once sewn over the iron, suggesting a layered, protective design.
Notice the round-headed gilded rivets, carefully spaced, adding a touch of luxury. Though worn, these tiny gold-tipped fastenings speak to the craftsmanship of Sasanian metalworkers. This helmet is a spangenhelm type—an early form of segmented helmet often lined with leather or fabric, which is why you see traces of a second row of holes.
Believed to be from Nineveh, this helmet offers rare insight into military equipment of ancient Persia. While the style was once mistakenly attributed to earlier periods like Assyria, modern scholarship confirms it reflects the peak of Sasanian artistry and function.
See it in person
Late Sasanian helmet is on display in Room 52 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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