Thursday, January 27, 2011

Mind Your Head

My crown is called content, a crown that seldom kings enjoy.
~ Wm. Shakespeare


Suleiman the Magnificent
by Agostino Veneziano

Porcupine fish helmet, Kiribati
From the Pitt Rivers Museum

A Phoenix Crown
The Official Imperial Portrait of Song Dynasty's Empress

Crown of the Sultan of Siak
The National Museum of Indonesia
Hawaiian feather helmet (mahiole)
The British Museum

Samurai Helmet and Mask
The Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Helmet Mask (Mukyeem)
Kuba people, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dallas Museum of Art
Photo by Mary Harrsch

Links:
Crowns: A Brief History of Church Hats
Headgear in previous posts: African crowns, jesters, a Roman cavalry helmet, fencing, and masks.
Native American Headdresses: Facts for Kids
Crown of Daisies by Liz Kalloch
Ice Cream Headband

2 comments:

10-mile backup said...

Wearing any of these helmets would certainly secure your standing in the community!

Some are beautiful, some daunting, some just leave you scratching your head (like the Porcupine fish helmet) or maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea. ;-)

M Pax said...

Wow. Those are fantastic. I would certainly call myself magnificent in any of those.

I, too, wonder at the purpos of the porcupine fish helmet. Love it's originality though.