Tue 1 Aug 2006
A modified Soviet helmet of Uzbek origin, painted black and crudely embellished with old coins and cow horns. In all probability a flashy Uzbek craft without traditional significance.
An amalgam of Soviet utilitarianism and Turkic earthiness; an icon of Turkestan.
Purchased in Istanbul from rose-faced youths. They also fitted me for a brown pakol and expressed a distaste for Wahhabism. Late 2004.
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After posting this, I consulted with Nathan Hamm of Registan.net about the traditional significance of the helmet. I have reproduced his response below:
I’ve never seen anything like it! I think you’re right about it being
modified Russian surplus.
I’m far from an expert on Uzbek or Turkic symbols and iconography, but
nothing on it looks culturally significant in any way I can recognize.
The coins strike me as not particularly Uzbek looking, and anything
having to do with animals I would expect to portray horses, lions, or
something more Persian.
That said, it’s an interesting piece!