Subject: cavalry archer

Culture: Parthian

Setting: Arsacid empire, Persia 1st-3rdc

Object: armor

* Museum of Fine Arts > Art of the Ancient World > Ancient Near East

"Helmet

Iran or eastern Turkey, Parthian,

249 B.C.-A.D. 224

This helmet is a metal version of a type of fabric or leather cap worn in Anatolia, Persia, and the Russian steppe. The surface details indicate that its model was quilted. These Eastern hats, with their forward-curling peaks, are represented frequently in Greek and Roman art. Most Greek and Roman slaves were of Eastern origin, and the hats eventually came to be identified with freed slaves. In the eighteenth century, particularly during the French and American revolutions, the hat -- commonly known as a Phrygian cap -- became a symbol of liberty." ...