U.S. museum displays Shirvashah's helmet
By Amina Nazarli
The art specimens of Azerbaijani masters spread all over the world since ancient times and had gained repute with its artistic excellence and beauty. The national handicraft masters’ works can be met in museums around the world, including in the United States.
Hundreds of rare art specimens can be found in the museums of Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston and other cities, art galleries and private collections.
Among the samples kept in the U.S. Metropolitan Museum of Art one can find also a turban helmet, belonging to Shirvanshah Farrukh Yashar, the last ruler of Azerbaijan’s state Shirvanshahs.
The helmet dates back to the late 15th century and is made from
steel, silver, copper alloy.
This especially attractive and well preserved turban helmet retains
the mail aventail that protected the lower half of the face and
neck. The aventail is fixed with a lead seal stamped with the mark
used in the Ottoman arsenals, an indication that this example, like
the other turban helmets also in the Museum's collection, passed
into Turkish possession as booty with the Ottoman conquest of Iran
and the Caucasus.
Although the label of the showpiece depicts that the helmet was
made for a ruler, the description mentions nothing about the
belonging of the helmet to Azerbaijan.
The information about the helmet says that “At least one turban
helmet decorated in a style comparable to this example bears the
name of Farruhk-Siar (reigned 1464–1501), ruler of Shirvan in the
Caucasus. Such evidence suggests that this helmet is also of
Shirvan manufacture.”
In fact, the State of Shirvanshahs founded between Shabran and
Gilgilchay was approximately existed 1,000 years. Shirvanshahs took
important role in continuation and upgrade of Azerbaijan people's
statehood traditions after the collapse of the Great Saldjuc
emperorship. The current capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, was for the
first time proclaimed the capital by Shirvanshahs in the 12th
century.
Azerbaijani historian Sarah Ashurbeyli writes “In spite of the heroic struggle for independence for ten centuries, the Shirvanshahs state after 1538 virtually ceased to exist, it fell under the blows of the troops appeared on the historical scene of a strong Azerbaijani Safavid state, and there was not even a trace from this dynasty, except only a name.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially "the Met", located
in New York City, is the largest art museum in the United States
and among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent
collection contains over two million works, divided among seventeen
curatorial departments.
The museum keeps many exhibits belonging to Azerbaijani history and
culture including national instruments, carpets, belts and
others.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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