Sassanian helmet

[Roxofarnes]

The illustration in Nicholle`s book (page 59) shows that warrior`s cheek guards are folded up. An interesting idea due the helmet`s construction. So it might have been of known conical Spangenhelmet construction.

Convincing in a way - Sogdian helmets of 7th and 8th centuries were of conical construction and had cheekpieces (as shown on murals in Afrasiab or Penjikent). If you however took a closer look at the dish itself the lines are not horizontal but triangular-vertical, which may relate them to some depictions of helmet decorations in art of China (nowadays China doesn't always mean the artefacts come from Chinese/Han culture) and also other Sogdian pieces (please note for instance the onager-ears decorated helmets or the headgear of besiegers' "commander"on Anikovskoe plate), and even more to Buddhist diadems with large triangular panels known in Chinese pre-Tang and Central Asian iconography. The scene seems to be most likely of sacred or mythological character therefore these helmets sould not be treated in purely "realistic" or "naturalistic" sense. They are to say something important about their wearers. One portable Buddhist altar comes especially to my mind whenever I think about the duel scene on said plate - there are some Buddhist personages armed and armored shown there, but they wear characteristic diadems. The altar seems slightly later than the Kulagysh dish. And Nicolle was absolutely right to emphasize the relations to some Iranian post - Sasanian or rather pre-Seljuk art however my guess would be that original decorative Central Asian items developed into different directions: wings, onager ears, triangular panels and horns. I would not exclude the influence of Sasanian crowns depictions of which were spread over the entire Asia on coins.
Eventually I do not believe that these could had been rised cheek pieces as the right position of cheekpieces in combat is on cheeks and stabilizing the helmet. I would supplement it with even more ridiculous supposition made by Raspopova that these elements were of practicla value and did not allow the blows to slide on shoulders Yeah - great success let's place the whole energy inside the scull...