Important Collection of Antique Asian Arms
Lot 284:
This helmet comes from the distinct tribe called the Naga Konyak. The Naga livein the far east of India, on both sides of the border to Myanmar (in the states of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur in India and in the Sagaing division of northeastern Myanmar). Until the 19thcentury, the Nagas had very little contact with the outside world, even with the rest of India, andfiercely fought British occupation.At the heart of Naga society was the practice of headhunting. Young men could not move ontoadulthood or marry without completing the ritual of ritual of headhunting. They believed that thepractice was also essential for maintaining the fertility of the crops and the wellbeing of thecommunity. The Konyaks traditionally wear colorful tribal beaded jewelry, exotic accessoriesand intricately woven shawls. Nagas would also have elaborate facial and hand tattoos that weredrawn when someone managed to take an enemy’s head in a battle. One of the most distinctelements of Naga dress is the helmet, often made of woven cane and decorated with variousritual elements such as animal teeth, charms, and other meaningful trinkets to the bearer of thehelmet. These helmets generally follow a similar shape but look drastically different from eachother as they reflect the idiosyncratic elements valuable to the bearer. These helmets were alsoused in dances, and described in 1922 in the diary of Henry Balfour, anthropologist and chiefcurator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford: The dancers were led by the Puthi wearing a special kind of cane-work helmet covered withcloth of dogs hair dyed red and with long dogs hair strings hanging from it down the back.Pairs of boars tusks forming circles were applique on the cloth cover and thin horns ofmithan-horn stood out at the sides of the helmet.The example in the Schmiedt Collection is a finely preserved example with a finely woven cap, covered in skin, and then with a skull, likely a type of monkey, attached to the brim with horns tothe sides.Diameter : 9"References:1. Jacobs, J. (1998) The Nagas: Hill Peoples of Northeast India: Society, Culture and theColonial Encounter. Thames and Hudson2. Stone, G. C. (1934). A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms andArmor in All Countries and in All Times. Mineola NY: Dover Publications.3. Von Farer-Haimendorf, C. (1938). Through the Unexplored Mountains of the Assam-BurmaBorder. The Geographical Journal, 91(3).Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at [email protected]
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