Day 147 - Boabdil's helmet



April 22, 2019

Gallery 379 houses a collection of Ottoman, Iranian, and Mughal arms and armor mostly dating from 1500 forward. I'm struck by the elaborate and beautiful ornamentation of the sabers,  daggers, and scabbards,  and also of a number of flintlock rifles on display. Several of the Mughal daggers, with their delicate traceries of gold and inlays of emeralds and rubies, are really stunning.  I also note how many of the works make reference to Allah, a reminder of how commonly God, by whatever name, is invoked in times of conflict. 

I didn't choose today's object, a helmet from 15th century Moorish Spain, because of its beauty, although it certanly impresses visually. The helmet is made of steel and covered entirely with gold leaf; silver lines its rim. Incised teardrop shapes and circles are inlaid with delicate cloisonne' enamel; adding the tiny drops of red, white, green, and black must have been painstaking (and eyesight-ruining) work.

But what really seizes me about this piece is that it is said to have been owned by Boabdil (Abd 'Abdullah  Muhammad), the last Moorish king of Granada before the city's recapture by the Christians in 1492. You feel the presence and weight of history in this helmet.

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