Help with Helmet Identification

[estcrh]

These helmets were actually Egyptian, they were made in England for use by the forces of the Khedive of Egypt. In the mid to late 1800s Egypt was modernizing their military, they hired European and American military advisors and started using several types of European made armor, first these helmets with split ring camail and split ring mail shirts from England and then later a French made helmet with butted link camail and a steel cuirass.

The Sudanese ended up with Egyptian armor by capturing it or by buying or trading for it. A lot of Sudanese armor, weapons and accessories were captured and sent to England after battles with the fanatic Islamic revolutionaries of the self proclaimed "Mahdi" in the late 1800s.

Here are a couple of links with information on the Khedives and the Sudanese.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16920

http://www.ottoman-uniforms.com/egyp...820-till-1914/

http://www.pinterest.com/samuraianti...ives-of-egypt/

http://www.themailresearchsociety.er...tmrs_pdf_9.pdf

[Runjeet Singh]

Fantastic research Eric - do you know (or does anybody) know the name of the maker in Birmingham? Personal curiosity - you understand!

[CharlesS]

Eric,

What a superb addition to the thread!! Thanks so much. I remember how helpful you were with the Egyptian Guard's helmet as well.

Thanks again!

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Akaalarms

Fantastic research Eric - do you know (or does anybody) know the name of the maker in Birmingham? Personal curiosity - you understand!

Runjeet, its unbelievable how hard it is to find any information about of the armor worn by the Egyptian military during the time of the Khedives, all I have ever read about the English armor is "Birmingham".

[Iain]

I can only agree with all the other comments, Sudanese and a rare find. Not to mention an intriguing window into the last days of this sort of industrial old fashioned armour.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Iain

I can only agree with all the other comments, Sudanese and a rare find.

Iain, these helmets are actually not Sudanese at all they are Egyptian, the only reason they are associated with Sudan is due to the use of appropriated examples by Sudanese warriors during various conflicts there. Here is a print showing this type of helmet being worn by an Egyptian cuirassier.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Iain, these helmets are actually not Sudanese at all they are Egyptian, the only reason they are associated with Sudan is due to the use of appropriated examples by Sudanese warriors during various conflicts there. Here is a print showing this type of helmet being worn by an Egyptian cuirassier.

Hi Eric, yes they originated in Egypt, however in the context most showed up in European collections they were as items captured during the Sudanese campaigns taken off Sudanese.

But I see your point. Actually the style was well known in Sudan before these later 19th century helmets as well, the occasional older example turns up.