Conserving a Late Eighteenth–Early Nineteenth Century Indian Helmet: A Technical Study

This paper describes the treatment of a distinctive late eighteenth/early nineteenth-century helmet from Gwalior in India known as a kolah khud or top. The fine mail aventail of the helmet, comprised of butted rings of iron or steel and brass, had fallen into a severe state of disrepair and was at risk of further deterioration without interventive conservation. The processes of replicating new mail rings and integrating these into the original structure as well as cleaning the helmet are discussed together with an analysis of the ethical implications of such actions.