Horse Helmet

Created by combining multiple iron plates held together by fasteners, this horse helmet was armor to protect a horse’s head. Though it is thought there would be more pieces to this horse helmet, only the flower-shaped portion from the eyeholes to the crown of the helmet survived, so much remains unknown. In the wall paintings of the Complex of Goguryeo Tombs (located in present-day North Korea; built during the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history, approximately the 1st-7th centuries C.E.), there are depictions of running horses in full helmets and armor with a flag attached to the back of a saddle, so it is possible this horse helmet was made in the Korean peninsula during the Three Kingdoms period. There has only been one other artifact of this type found in Japan.