Conical, in plain golden copper, underlined by a double thread at the bottom. Hallmark of the Tughra of the Ottoman arsenal. Stamped with the Kayı boyu Tamgha 27 cm. high, 23.5 cm. diam. Provenance: Sothebys 1993 LOT 138 Footnotes:  This helmet is of a shape consistent with 15th and 16th century Ottoman helmets and derives its form from the flutings of "turban helmets" of the 15th century. It appears that this example was heavily gilded and th may have been made for a royal patron, although according to James Allan much of the steel Ottoman weapons and armour in the Topkapi Sarayi armoury includes many objects made for the Ottoman sultans themselves (Y. Petsopoulos,Tulips, arabesques & turbans: Decorative arts from the Ottoman Empire, 1982, p.41, no.16a). The significant number of tombak pieces in the Karlsruher Türkenbeute from the Baden-Baden collections confirms that tombak armour was certainly ed at the siege of Vienna in 1683, and mt have made a glorio impression on the battle field. The absence of an inscription on our helmet may be due to the loss of the cheek and neck guard, or it may have been present on the now-heavily rted lower border. Forparable Ottoman helmets with pleats see Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World, 18 April 2007, lot 158; a tombak example in the Metropolitan Meum of Art, New York (MMA 1974.118); and another in the Istanbul, Askeri Muze (Inv. 6622); and B. Mohamed, The Arts of the Mlim Knight , Milan, 2007, nos. 305-307.