3rd-7th century AD. A substantial iron-framed cavalry helmet formed as a hemispherical bowl with band to the rim, silver bosses and applied discs; the surface covered by concentric rings of appliqués, each a disc with central boss, raised ring and beaded outer band; the rim a flat band with repoussé beaded circles and bosses, six large silver radiating bosses; apical silver dome; the interior with bowl fragments in a matrix. See Grancsay, S.V. A Sasanian Chieftain's Helmet in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 21, No. 8 (April, 1963) for discussion; also Ahmad, S.N. A new Sasanian helmet in the Musee d’Art Classique de Mougins, in Historia i ?wiat, 2015. 2.7 kg, 21cm diameter (8 1/4"). From the collection of a North London gentleman; acquired in the 1980s. Accompanied by a positive metallurgic analytical report, written by Metallurgist Dr. Brian Gilmour of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford. The helmet shows no sign of having been constructed from bands or panels, the most frequently encountered method for producing iron and bronze helmets in antiquity. It is therefore probably beaten out of a single sheet of iron, a known type of construction which appears in Sassanian art, for example in the rock-carved jousting scene at Firuzabad and in a cameo showing Shapur I's victory over the Roman Emperor Valerian. They are not a common type based on the archaeological record, and the iconographic sources are not always clear asd to what construction method was employed. The covering of metal plates is typical of Sassanian helmets, as are the bands with repoussé detailing; these helmets are sometime referred to as 'Sassanian Spangenhelms'. They appear to have been worn over a textile or leather cap which extended to the neck; on later helmets this developed into a mail camail encircling the head and face below the helmet's rim. [A video of this item is available to view on TimeLine Auctions website.] Fine condition, some restoration. Rare.