NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1800

The nose guard in the form of a sarpech or turban ornament is a relatively rare feature of late 18th and early 19th century North Indian helmets. It can also be seen on a handful of helmets in the Wallace Collection, London (OA1469, OA1498 and OA1864; Thom Richardson and Paula Turner (eds.), The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Arms & Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World, London, 2026, pp.142-3). This feature probably means that the suit of armour was worn by a figure of some standing. The presence of en suite four-plate body armour and pair of vambraces sets the present suit apart from the often fragmentary survivals in public collections.