Leather Helmet with Auspicious Symbols
Not on view
One of the few surviving examples of its kind, this helmet, made of two halves of molded leather, imitates an iconic form of Tibetan helmet comprising eight overlapping iron plates joined together by leather laces. Its red surface is decorated with vajras and sixteen seed syllables forming the repeating mantra "Om ah hum." Red leather armor is an attribute of several deities, including the dharmapala Chos skyong bse khrab pa, whose name literally means "leather-armored dharma protector." While its vajras and mantra imbue this helmet with potent spiritual protection it is also a practical piece of defensive equipment. The use of hardened-leather armor is documented in regions that were culturally Tibetan for at least one thousand years, from the eighth or ninth century into the nineteenth.
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