An Oirat Sphero-Cylindrical Helmet and Arming Cap from the Central State Museum Collection of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Bobrov L.A. Kabuldinov Z.E. Agatay O.M.
2022Institute of Archaeology and Enthnography of the Siberian Branch of The Russian Academy of Sciences
Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia
2022#50Issue 491 - 98 pp.
We describe an unusually shaped riveted sphero-cylindrical iron helmet and an accessory arming cap made of fabric (Cat. No. 2067/8), owned by the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On the basis of museum documents, we reject the former geographic attribution-Semirechye, southeastern Kazakhstan. Instead, we demonstrate that the items come from the former Cossack village Magnitnaya (presently Magnitogorsk, Southern Urals). Typological analysis indicates that the helmet falls within the interval between the 1610s to early 1700s. The closest parallels are from Western Mongolia, Tibet, and Southern Siberia. We hypothesize that artisans who manufactured such helmets were inspired by the idea of the Buddhist stupa (suburgan in Kalmyk). The likely customers were Oirat Buddhist warriors. This is the first helmet of such type that may be attributed to the Volga Kalmyks-people of the westernmost Oirat enclave in Eurasia. This modifies our views on the Kalmyk armor of that period. The specimen could have got to the Southern Urals as a trophy, diplomatic gift, or barter. It could also have belonged to a Kalmyk warrior who had settled in the land of Bashkir or Kazakhs. The accessory headgear, with a white woolen padding, is shown to be an arming cap. This is the only known original Oirat headgear of such type, dating to the 17th or 18th century. © 2022 Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences © 2022 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Dzungaria , Kalmyk armor , Kalmyk helmet , Kalmyk Khanate , Oirat armor , Oirats
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Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 1, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, Shevchenko 28, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Satpayev 2, Astana, 010008, Kazakhstan
Novosibirsk State University
Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
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