WARRING STATES PERIOD, 5TH-3RD CENTURY BC

A very similar bronze helmet is illustrated by Cheng Dong and Zhong Shao-yi, Ancient Chinese Weapons—A Collection of Pictures, Beijing, 1990, image 12, no. 4-157, where it is dated Eastern Zhou. The earliest bronze helmets in China date back to the Shang dynasty and covered the neck and ears and were often decorated with taotie masks and animal faces to make the warrior appear fearsome. For two examples found in Anyang, see ibid., p. 40. See, also, the Shang dynasty example surmounted by a horse-shaped finial from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 24 September 2020, lot 880. While Shang dynasty helmets were fashioned from bronze, body armor was more commonly made from leather, both because it was more economical than bronze and also because metallurgical techniques at the time were not advanced enough to produce body armor that was light enough to wear in battle.